scholarly journals Determination of Field Capacity in a Florida Sandy Soil and Drainage Time at Different Depths

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mongi Zekri ◽  
Lawrence R. Parsons

The development of improved equipment for measuring soil water content has created the need for a better understanding of soil water drainage and movement. Without this understanding, it is impossible to know if an observed decrease in soil water content at a particular depth is due to evapotranspiration and/or continual drainage. This study was designed to determine the length of time for different soil depths of a Florida Candler fine sand to reach field capacity. A field site with no vegetation on it was saturated with water and covered with a plastic tarp to prevent evaporation. At 6- to 24-hour intervals, soil water content was measured gravimetrically in the top 15 cm (6 inches) and with the neutron probe from 30 to 150 cm (12 to 59 inches). The 15-cm depth reached field capacity after one day, but it took 4 days for the 30- to 150-cm depths to reach field capacity because of rewetting by water draining form higher horizons. The time required for drainage to stop must be considered when evaluating changes in soil water status at a particular depth. This is important for distinguishing between plant water uptake and drainage for different soil layers.Soil water characteristic curves of undisturbed soil samples, bulkdensity, porosity, and field capacity in situ were also determined for this soil. Field capacity values found in situ were compared to those found using the pressure plate technique. Laboratory values were higher than field values because the laboratory data were closer to hydrostatic conditions than the field data and the degree of saturation provided during wetting of the cores was higher in the laboratory. Water was not readily retained in Candler fine sand because the soil was very porous, infiltration rates were high, drainage was rapid, and water storage capacity was limited. Using field measurements, field capacity values of soil at different depths ranged from 4.8% to 6.2% volume for Candler fine sand. These are considered to be low values when compared to other types of soil.

Author(s):  
MUHAMMAD ASLAM ALI ◽  
SANJIT CHANDRA BARMAN ◽  
MD. ASHRAFUL ISLAM KHAN ◽  
MD. BADIUZZAMAN KHAN ◽  
HAFSA JAHAN HIYA

Climate change and water scarcity may badly affect existing rice production system in Bangladesh. With a view to sustain rice productivity and mitigate yield scaled CH4 emission in the changing climatic conditions, a pot experiment was conducted under different soil water contents, biochar and silicate amendments with inorganic fertilization (NPKS). In this regard, 12 treatments combinations of biochar, silicate and NPKS fertilizer along with continuous standing water (CSW), soil saturation water content and field capacity (100% and 50%) moisture levels were arranged into rice planted potted soils. Gas samples were collected from rice planted pots through Closed Chamber technique and analyzed by Gas Chromatograph. This study revealed that seasonal CH4 emissions were suppressed through integrated biochar and silicate amendments with NPKS fertilizer (50–75% of the recommended doze), while increased rice yield significantly at different soil water contents. Biochar and silicate amendments with NPKS fertilizer (50% of the recommended doze) increased rice grain yield by 10.9%, 18.1%, 13.0% and 14.2%, while decreased seasonal CH4 emissions by 22.8%, 20.9%, 23.3% and 24.3% at continuous standing water level (CSW) (T9), at saturated soil water content (T10), at 100% field capacity soil water content (T11) and at 50% field capacity soil water content (T12), respectively. Soil porosity, soil redox status, SOC and free iron oxide contents were improved with biochar and silicate amendments. Furthermore, rice root oxidation activity (ROA) was found more dominant in water stress condition compared to flooded and saturated soil water contents, which ultimately reduced seasonal CH4 emissions as well as yield scaled CH4 emission. Conclusively, soil amendments with biochar and silicate fertilizer may be a rational practice to reduce the demand for inorganic fertilization and mitigate CH4 emissions during rice cultivation under water stress drought conditions.


2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Leblanc ◽  
D. C. Cloutier ◽  
C. Hamel

A 2-year field study was conducted in corn to determine the influence of rainfall, irrigation and soil water content on common lambsquarters and barnyardgrass emergence. Rainfall or irrigation had no influence on the final weed density and little on the pattern of weed emergence because the soil water content was at or greater than field capacity during the main weed emergence period. Irrigation may hasten the first weed emergence by warming the soil when temperature is limiting for germination. In southwestern Quebec, temperature appears to be the most important factor regulating germination in the spring since soil moisture is normally at field capacity for a long period, in part because of the melting of snow. Key words: Irrigation, weed emergence, soil moisture


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1030-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Wen ◽  
G. Liu ◽  
R. Horton ◽  
K. Noborio

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152
Author(s):  
Jasreman Singh ◽  
Derek M. Heeren ◽  
Daran R. Rudnick ◽  
Wayne E. Woldt ◽  
Geng Bai ◽  
...  

HighlightsCapacitance-based electromagnetic soil moisture sensors were tested in disturbed and undisturbed soils.The uncertainty in estimation of soil water depth was lower using the undisturbed soil sample calibrations.The uncertainty in estimation of soil water depletion was lower than the uncertainty in volumetric water content.Undisturbed calibration of water depletion quantifies water demand with better precision and avoids over-watering.Abstract. The physical properties of soil, such as structure and texture, can affect the performance of an electromagnetic sensor in measuring soil water content. Historically, calibrations have been performed on repacked samples in the laboratory and on soils in the field, but little research has been done on laboratory calibrations with intact (undisturbed) soil cores. In this study, three replications each of disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from two soil texture classes (Yutan silty clay loam and Fillmore silt loam) at a field site in eastern Nebraska to investigate the effects of soil structure and texture on the precision of a METER Group GS-1 capacitance-based sensor calibration. In addition, GS-1 sensors were installed in the field near the soil collection sites at three depths (0.15, 0.46, and 0.76 m). The soil moisture sensor had higher precision in the undisturbed laboratory setup, as the undisturbed calibration had a better correlation [slope closer to one, R2undisturbed (0.89) > R2disturbed (0.73)] than the disturbed calibrations for the Yutan and Fillmore texture classes, and the root mean square difference using the laboratory calibration (RMSDL) was higher for pooled disturbed samples (0.053 m3 m-3) in comparison to pooled undisturbed samples (0.023 m3 m-3). The uncertainty in determination of volumetric water content (?v) was higher using the factory calibration (RMSDF) in comparison to the laboratory calibration (RMSDL) for the different soil structures and texture classes. In general, the uncertainty in estimation of soil water depth was greater than the uncertainty in estimation of soil water depletion by the sensors installed in the field, and the uncertainties in estimation of depth and depletion were lower using the calibration developed from the undisturbed soil samples. The undisturbed calibration of soil water depletion would determine water demand with better precision and potentially avoid over-watering, offering relief from water shortages. Further investigation of sensor calibration techniques is required to enhance the applicability of soil moisture sensors for efficient irrigation management. Keywords: Calibration, Capacitance, Depletion, Irrigation, Precision, Sensor, Soil water content, Structure, Uncertainty.


Author(s):  
Luca Piciullo ◽  
Graham Gilbert

<p>In the last decades, rainfall thresholds for landslide occurrences were thoroughly investigated, producing several different test cases and relevant technical and scientific advances. However, a recent literature review on rainfall thresholds articles (Segoni et al., 2018), published in journals indexed in SCOPUS or ISI Web of knowledge databases in the period 2008-2016, highlighted significant advances and critical issues about this topic. Only in the 11% of the analysed papers (a total of 115) there were installed instruments for measuring physical parameters other than rainfall. The implication was that, in most cases, the occurrence of landslides was forecasted considering exclusively a rainfall correlation, completely neglecting soil characteristics.</p><p>A reanalysis dataset (ERA5-Land) providing a consistent view of the evolution of land variables over several decades at an enhanced resolution has been used to evaluate the soil water content. Reanalysis combines numerical model data with observations from across the world into a globally complete and consistent dataset using the laws of physics. A comparison between in situ measurements with the results of the model has been carried out for two sites in Norway (Eidsvoll, Morsa catchmen) with 3 different vegetation types: grass, bush, tree. The results showed a good agreement between the modelled soil water content layer 2 and 3 (respectively representing 2 - 28 cm and 28 -100 cm depths) and, respectively, in-situ measurements at 30 and 50 cm depths.</p><p>Then, 15 Norwegian basins with moraine and peat covers and, previous landslide occurrences in the period 2009-2018, have been selected for correlations. Combinations of rainfall and soil water contents that triggered and not-triggered landslides have been analysed. Rainfall-soil water content thresholds have been defined for the selected basins highlighting the important role played by soil water content, together with rainfall, in triggering landslides. The use of the soil water content contributed to increase the performance of the thresholds and to reduce the uncertainties of landslide forecast.</p><p>This paper has been conceived in the context of the project "Klima 2050-Risk reduction through climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure" http://www.klima2050.no/, and it is included into Work Package 3.3-Early warning systems.</p><p> </p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Passalacqua ◽  
Rossella Bovolenta ◽  
Bianca Federici ◽  
Alessandro Iacopino

<p>Soil water content is often a landslide’s trigger factor, in particular the shallow ones. Although there is no simple relationship between the water content into the soil and the hydraulic conditions of the slopes at the depths at which the landslides develop, the knowledge of the actual soil moisture is fundamental for the study of landslides, thus, it should be monitored.<br>The LAMP (LAndslide Monitoring and Predicting) system is employed in the INTERREG-ALCOTRA project called AD-VITAM. LAMP (Bovolenta et al., 2016) was yet formulated for the analysis and forecasting of landslides triggered by rain. It adopts a physically based Integrated Hydrological Geotechnical (IHG) model (Passalacqua et al., 2016) and is implemented in GIS. In this Project, the IHG model is fed by data measured using a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), this formed by low-cost and self-sufficient sensors. The WSN may gather rainfall, temperature, surface’s displacement data (these by mass-market GNSS receivers in RTK) and, in this case, soil water content (by capacitive sensors).<br>The WaterScout SM100 capacitive sensors were lab-analyzed then, recognized as satisfactory, installed on-site together with their related equipment. These sensors connect to a “Sensor Pup”, which has four available channels; therefore, four sensors are installed at each node, at different depths from ground-level, in order to achieve a vertical soil-moisture profile and the rate of infiltration.<br>The selection of the most suitable spots for the water content soil-sensors’ installations depends on the presence of shallow soil layers and of the radio signal emission-reception’s too.<br>The sensors may be set up both in vertical or horizontal direction. In general, the vertical installation is preferable. This implies the creation of small adjacent vertical holes, each one reaching a different depth, where the sensors are singularly pushed. Alternatively, the horizontal one may be adopted, by the opening of a small trench where the sensors are manually inserted at different depths, along a quasi-vertical vertical line. The full contact between the soil and the sensors is always verified, immediately after the installation, using a directly connected FieldScout reader to any single sensor. Furthermore, it is necessary to protect the emerging cables and to avoid preferential ways for water infiltration along the wiring lines.<br>The monitoring networks, installed at the two Italian sites of Mendatica and Ceriana, are currently providing informations in real-time. The data acquired at five nodes, distributed at each of these two sites (40 sensors in total), are currently relayed on a specific web-portal by a GSM connected Retriever-Modem, marking the evolutions of soil moisture profiles at depths between 10 and 85 cm from ground level: these continuous data allow the analysis of the infiltration and evapotranspiration phenomena. Moreover, a correlation between the soil moisture contents and the local displacements is made possible. Finally, a specific calibration of the SM100 sensors’ in relation to the on-site soil types is in progress.</p>


Soil Research ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Foley ◽  
E. Harris

Past studies have shown that soil-specific calibrations are required to attain a higher level of accuracy when measuring soil water content with ThetaProbe and ECHO probe soil water sensors, particularly in swelling clay soils. Both probes were assessed for their capacity to accurately monitor soil water in a deep drainage study on a Black Vertosol. Probes were trialled in situ and calibrated against hand-sampled volumetric measurements. The generic calibrations given by the manufacturers resulted in significant errors in water content estimates for both probes. Using the generic calibration, ECHO probes under-estimated water content by 0.10–0.2 m3/m3, whereas ThetaProbes under-estimated by 0.04 m3/m3 at the wet end and over-estimated by 0.08 m3/m3 at the dry end. The soil-specific calibrations significantly improved the accuracy of both probes. ThetaProbes were chosen for the drainage study. The calibration allowed for accuracy across the full wet–dry range to within 0.001–0.004 m3/m3 of volumetric measurements. ECHO probes were less accurate at the wet end, but still determined soil water content to within 0.02–0.05 m3/m3 of volumetric measurements.


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