Measurement of Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Conductivity and Comparison With Four Estimation Models

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Former Graduate Student of Irrigation and Drainage, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad

2 Associate Professor of Irrigation, College Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad

3 Professor of Irrigation, College Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz

4 Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad

Abstract

Knowing soil hydraulic properties and their applications in soil water flow models play an important role on solving many water management issues. Unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity (Ku), probably is considered the most important parameter in this category. Currently, there are numerous models for estimating Ku. In this study, Ku was measured for three sites with different soil textures using instantaneous profile (internal drainage) method of Hillel et al. (1972) for a 45-day period. Then, the performances of four Ku predicting models 1) Rawls and Brakensik (1989), 2) Vereeken et al. (1990), 3) Wosten (1997), and 4) Wosten et al. (1999) were investigated. Soil moisture was measured for 10 cm layers by using a calibrated TDR. A final depth of 60, 60, and 30 cm was adopted for the three sites under study. Corresponding suction for each moisture value was estimated through relevant soil moisture retention curve (SMRC) which was determined in the laboratory using undisturbed samples by sand table and pressure plate apparatus. A statistical test was conducted between measured and predicted values. The results showed that due to high sensitivity of Ku to saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), two models of Wosten (1997) and Rawls and Brakensik (1989) performed better than others when Ks is estimated by the same models.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Soil Research
Volume 20, Issue 2
February 2007
Pages 283-294

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