Infiltration Measurements for Soil Hydraulic Characterization

This book summarises the main results of many contributions from researchers worldwide who have used the water infiltration process to characterize soil in the field. Determining soil hydrodynamic properties is essential to interpret and simulate the hydrological processes of economic and environmental interest. This book can be used as a guide to soil hydraulic characterization and in addition it gives a complete description of the treated techniques, including an outline of the most significant research results, with the main points that still needing development and improvement

Deriving physical and unique bimodal soil Kosugi hydraulic parameters from inverse modelling

This research was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Endeavour Fund, through the Manaaki Whenua-led `Next Generation S-map' research programme, C09 x1612. We would like to thank from Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research John Dando for the laboratory physical determinations, Veronica Penny for collecting soil cores and samples, and John Drewry for reviewing the manuscript. Mathieu Sellier from Civil Mechanical of the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) is also thanks for reviewing the manuscript.Hydraulic parameters define the water retention, theta( psi), and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, K(theta), functions. These functions are usually obtained by fitting experimental data using inverse modelling. The drawback of inverting the hydraulic parameters is that they suffer from non-uniqueness and the optimal hydraulic parameters may not be physical. To reduce the non-uniqueness, it is necessary to invert the hydraulic parameters simultaneously from observations of theta( psi) and K(theta), and ensure the measurements cover the full range of theta from saturated to oven dry. The challenge of using bimodal theta(psi) and K(theta) compared to unimodal functions is that it requires double the number of parameters, one set for the matrix and another set for the macropore domain. The objective of this paper is to address this shortcoming by deriving a procedure to reduce the number of parameters to be optimized to obtain a unique physical set of bimodal soil Kosugi hydraulic parameters from inverse modelling. To achieve this, we (1) derive residual volumetric soil water content from the Kosugi standard deviation parameter of the soil matrix, (2) derive macropore hydraulic parameters from the water pressure head threshold between macropore and matrix flow, and (3) dynamically constrain the Kosugi hydraulic parameters of the soil matrix. The procedure successfully reduces the number of optimized hydraulic parameters and dynamically constrains the hydraulic parameters without compromising the fit of the theta(psi) and K(theta) functions, and the derived hydraulic parameters are more physical. The robustness of the methodology is demonstrated by deriving the hydraulic parameters exclusively from theta(psi) and Ks data, enabling satisfactory prediction of K(theta) even when no additional K(theta) data are available.Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Endeavour Fund C09 x161

Analysis of the Role of Tortuosity and Infiltration Constants in the Beerkan Method

It has recently been proposed to couple the Beerkan method with the Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters (BEST) algorithm to facilitate the estima- tion of soil hydraulic parameters from an infiltration experiment. Although this simplified field procedure is relatively rapid and inexpensive, it has been doubt - ed if the Beerkan method can represent a valid and reliable alternative to other conventional methods. This study explored the impact of the tortuosity param- eter (p) and two infiltration constants included in the BEST algorithm using a sensitivity analysis applied to three experimental soils. The analysis that was validated using the numerical model HYDRUS 2D/3D indicates that the tortuosity is relatively insignificant compared to parameters b and g that have a large impact on the estimation procedure

Comparing Beerkan infiltration tests with rainfall simulation experiments for hydraulic characterization of a sandy-loam soil

[EN] Saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, K-s, data collected by ponding infiltrometer methods and usual experimental procedures could be unusable for interpreting field hydrological processes and particularly rainfall infiltration. The K-s values determined by an infiltrometer experiment carried out by applying water at a relatively large distance from the soil surface could however be more appropriate to explain surface runoff generation phenomena during intense rainfall events. In this study, a link between rainfall simulation and ponding infiltrometer experiments was established for a sandy-loam soil. The height of water pouring for the infiltrometer run was chosen, establishing a similarity between the gravitational potential energy of the applied water, E-p, and the rainfall kinetic energy, E-k. To test the soundness of this procedure, the soil was sampled with the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameters procedure of soil hydraulic characterization and two heights of water pouring (0.03m, i.e., usual procedure, and 0.34m, yielding E-p=E-k). Then, a comparison between experimental steady-state infiltration rates, i(sR), measured with rainfall simulation experiments determining runoff production and K-s values for the two water pouring heights was carried out in order to discriminate between theoretically possible (i(sR)K(s)) and impossible (i(sR)3.0.co;2-vCerdà, A. (1999). Seasonal and spatial variations in infiltration rates in badland surfaces under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Water Resources Research, 35(1), 319-328. doi:10.1029/98wr01659Cerdà, A. (2000). Aggregate stability against water forces under different climates on agriculture land and scrubland in southern Bolivia. Soil and Tillage Research, 57(3), 159-166. doi:10.1016/s0167-1987(00)00155-0Cerdà, A. (2001). Effects of rock fragment cover on soil infiltration, interrill runoff and erosion. European Journal of Soil Science, 52(1), 59-68. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2389.2001.00354.xCerdà, A., & Doerr, S. H. (2007). Soil wettability, runoff and erodibility of major dry-Mediterranean land use types on calcareous soils. Hydrological Processes, 21(17), 2325-2336. doi:10.1002/hyp.6755Cerdà, A., Ibáñez, S., & Calvo, A. (1997). Design and operation of a small and portable rainfall simulator for rugged terrain. Soil Technology, 11(2), 163-170. doi:10.1016/s0933-3630(96)00135-3Di Prima, S. (2015). Automated single ring infiltrometer with a low-cost microcontroller circuit. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 118, 390-395. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2015.09.022Di Prima, S., Lassabatere, L., Bagarello, V., Iovino, M., & Angulo-Jaramillo, R. (2016). Testing a new automated single ring infiltrometer for Beerkan infiltration experiments. 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Environmental assessment of the behavior of a BOF steel slag used in road construction : the PRECODD-ECLAIR research program

International audienceSteel production generate great amounts of by-products as steel slags. The use of Basic Oxygen Furnace slags (BOF slags) has been restrained due to insufficient volume stability, and due to the lack of environmental regulations. The purpose of the PRECODD-ECLAIR research program is to develop a behavior model based on a multi-scale physico-chemical, mechanical, hydrodynamic and ecotoxicological characterizations of a BOF slag used in a public works scenario. This paper aims at presenting the overall ECLAIR research program, the equipped experimental platform constructed using a BOF steel slag, and the first results of the slag characterization

Impacts of thinning of a Mediterranean oak forest on soil properties influencing water infiltration

In Mediterranean ecosystems, special attention needs to be paid to forest-water relationships due to water scarcity. In this context, Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) has the objective to establish how forest resources have to be managed with regards to the efficient use of water, which needs maintaining healthy soil properties even after disturbance. The main objective of this investigation was to understand the effect of one of the AFM methods, namely forest thinning, on soil hydraulic properties. At this aim, soil hydraulic characterization was performed on two contiguous Mediterranean oak forest plots, one of them thinned to reduce the forest density from 861 to 414 tree per ha. Three years after the intervention, thinning had not affected soil water permeability of the studied plots. Both ponding and tension infiltration runs yielded not significantly different saturated, Ks, and unsaturated, K-20, hydraulic conductivity values at the thinned and control plots. Therefore, thinning had no an adverse effect on vertical water fluxes at the soil surface. Mean Ks values estimated with the ponded ring infiltrometer were two orders of magnitude higher than K-20 values estimated with the minidisk infiltrometer, revealing probably soil structure with macropores and fractures . The input of hydrophobic organic matter, as a consequence of the addition of plant residues after the thinning treatment, resulted in slight differences in terms of both water drop penetration time, WDPT, and the index of water repellency, R, between thinned and control plots. Soil water repellency only affected unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity measurements. Moreover, K-20 values showed a negative correlation with both WDPT and R, whereas Ks values did not, revealing that the soil hydrophobic behavior has no impact on saturated hydraulic conductivity

Soil physical quality of citrus orchards under tillage, herbicide, and organic managements

Soil capacity to support life and to produce economic goods and services is strongly linked to the maintenance of good soil physical quality (SPQ). In this study, the SPQ of citrus orchards was assessed under three different soil managements, namely no-tillage using herbicides, tillage under chemical farming, and no-tillage under organic farming. Commonly used indicators, such as soil bulk density, organic carbon content, and structural stability index, were considered in conjunction with capacitive indicators estimated by the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameter (BEST) method. The measurements taken at the L'Alcoleja Experimental Station in Spain yielded optimal values for soil bulk density and organic carbon content in 100% and 70% of cases for organic farming. The values of structural stability index indicated that the soil was stable in 90% of cases. Differences between the soil management practices were particularly clear in terms of plant-available water capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Under organic farming, the soil had the greatest ability to store and provide water to plant roots, and to quickly drain excess water and facilitate root proliferation. Management practices adopted under organic farming (such as vegetation cover between the trees, chipping after pruning, and spreading the chips on the soil surface) improved the SPQ. Conversely, the conventional management strategies unequivocally led to soil degradation owing to the loss of organic matter, soil compaction, and reduced structural stability. The results in this study show that organic farming has a clear positive impact on the SPQ, suggesting that tillage and herbicide treatments should be avoided