Preferential flow systems amended with biogeochemical components: imaging of a two-dimensional study

The vadose zone is a highly interactive heterogeneous system through which water enters the subsurface system by infiltration. This paper details the effects of simulated plant exudate and soil component solutions upon unstable flow patterns in a porous medium (ASTM silica sand; US Silica, Ottawa, IL, USA) through the use of two-dimensional tank light transmission method (LTM). The contact angle (θ) and surface tension (γ) of two simulated plant exudate solutions (i.e., oxalate and citrate) and two soil component solutions (i.e., tannic acid and Suwannee River natural organic matter, SRNOM) were analyzed to determine the liquid–gas and liquid–solid interface characteristics of each. To determine if the unstable flow formations were dependent on the type and concentration of the simulated plant exudates and soil components, the analysis of the effects of the simulated plant exudate and soil component solutions were compared to a control solution (Hoagland nutrient solution with 0.01 M NaCl). Fingering flow patterns, vertical and horizontal water saturation profiles, water saturation at the fingertips, finger dimensions and velocity, and number of fingers were obtained using the light transmission method. Significant differences in the interface properties indicated a decrease between the control and the plant exudate and soil component solutions tested; specifically, the control (θ =  64.5° and γ =  75.75 mN m−1) samples exhibited a higher contact angle and surface tension than the low concentration of citrate (θ =  52.6° and γ =  70.8 mN m−1). Wetting front instability and fingering flow phenomena were reported in all infiltration experiments. The results showed that the plant exudates and soil components influenced the soil infiltration as differences in finger geometries, velocities, and water saturation profiles were detected when compared to the control. Among the tested solutions and concentrations of soil components, the largest finger width (10.19 cm) was generated by the lowest tannic acid solution concentration (0.1 mg L−1), and the lowest finger width (6.00 cm) was induced by the highest SRNOM concentration (10 mg L−1). Similarly, for the plant exudate solutions, the largest finger width (8.36 cm) was generated by the lowest oxalate solution concentration (0.1 mg L−1), and the lowest finger width (6.63 cm) was induced by the lowest citrate concentration (0.1 mg L−1). The control solution produced fingers with average width of 8.30 cm. Additionally, the wettability of the medium for the citrate, oxalate, and SRNOM solutions increased with an increase in concentration. Our research demonstrates that the plant exudates and soil components which are biochemical compounds produced and released in soil are capable of influencing the process of infiltration in soils. The results of this research also indicate that soil wettability, expressed as cosθ1∕2, should be included in the scaling of the finger dimension, i.e., finger width, when using the Miller and Miller (1956) scaling theory for the scaling of flow in porous media