PITFALLS IN INTERPRETATION OF SOIL DRAINAGE FROM SOIL SURVEY INFORMATION

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. McKEAGUE ◽  
G. C. TOPP
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Soil Morphology ◽  
Soil Series ◽  
Soil Drainage ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Drainage Texture

Soil drainage groups assigned on the basis of soil survey information were evaluated against measured saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) data for nine soils in Ontario. The drainage groups used in the drainage guide for Ontario, are based mainly on assumed relationships between soil texture and the capacity of the soil to transmit water.Measured Ksat values were incompatible with the drainage groups assigned to at least four of the nine soils. For the soils tested, there was very little relationship between texture and Ksat. Structure, including porosity, had a major influence on Ksat, and near-surface structure is influenced greatly by land use. Thus, general interpretations of the drainage characteristics of soil series have serious limitations. The usefulness of soil survey information for interpretation of soil drainage could be increased by improved description of soil morphology and by reliable estimates of Ksat during mapping. Such estimates can be based on morphology if they are regularly recalibrated by measurement. Key words: Hydraulic conductivity, tile drainage, texture, soil morphology

ESTIMATING VERTICAL SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY FROM SOIL MORPHOLOGY IN ALBERTA

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. COEN ◽  
C. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Soil Morphology ◽  
Soil Series ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
The Mean

Vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity, as an important soil characteristic, should be part of the information displayed on soil survey maps. As rigorous measurement techniques are relatively slow and cumbersome, a rapid procedure for estimating vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity of soils using soil morphology was tested for Prairie conditions. Morphological estimates of vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity were compared to field measurements using an air entry permeameter for 36 sites representing 25 soil series. Eighty-three percent of the estimated values were within one saturated hydraulic conductivity class of the mean measured value. It was concluded that morphological observations are sufficiently accurate to allow field characterization of pedons. In Alberta, in Chernozemic areas, management procedures do not appear to modify strongly the saturated hydraulic conductivity. This in turn allows useful predictions of saturated hydraulic conductivity to be related to soil series concepts and therefore allows extrapolation to manageable tracts of land using map unit concepts. Key words: Saturated hydraulic conductivity, soil morphology, Alberta, estimating

Soil - landscape relationships of downlands soils formed from loess, eastern South Island, New Zealand

Soil Research ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 827 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Webb ◽  
S. J. Burgham
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Soil Variability ◽  
Soil Morphology ◽  
Soil Series ◽  
Potential Productivity ◽  
Soil Material ◽  
Landscape Models ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Soil Landscape

The Timaru and Claremont soil series occupy >145 000 ha of loess-mantled downlands of the South Island. The soils are mapped in large map delineations and the accompanying soil reports provide very generalised descriptions and definitions of the units. Almost no information is recorded on the nature and causes of soil variability. In this study soil variability is described along transects at 12 locations. The sites selected encompass a range of aspect (sunny and shady), topography (easy rolling to strongly rolling terrain), and land use (non-ploughed, pastoral, and mixed cropping). The definitions of the Timaru and Claremont series are refined and the variability in soil morphology is related to landscape features. Morphological data from the transects are collated into generalised soil–landscape models. Similar arrays of soils occur within the Timaru and Claremont soil–landscape models. The models vary mainly in the occurrence and depth to reducing conditions. The soil–landscape models provide a framework within which to derive soil attribute values for use in predictive models and land-use interpretations, and provide a baseline from which future studies may assess the impacts of land-use practices. In both soil series, the thickness of topsoils, depth to reducing conditions, and depth to fragipans are greatest on footslopes and generally decrease to shoulderslopes. Penetration resistance is lowest on footslopes and increases to shoulderslopes. In cultivated land, footslope sites have markedly over-thickened topsoils. Relocation of topsoil material from upper to lower slopes is attributed mainly to the effects of cultivation, either directly, through mechanical movement of soil material during cultivation operations, or indirectly, through the promotion of soil erosion. Variations in depth of soil materials are expected to have attendant affects on potential productivity.

Refining soil survey information for a Dutch soil series using land use history

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonneveld M.P.W.* ◽  
J. Bouma ◽  
A. Veldkamp
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Land Use History ◽  
Soil Series

SOIL DRAINAGE CLASSES AND SOIL WATER TABLE RELATIONS IN MEDIUM AND COARSE TEXTURED SOILS IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO

1978 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. MACKINTOSH ◽  
J. VAN DER HULST
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Free Water ◽  
High Water ◽  
Tile Drainage ◽  
Septic Tank ◽  
Soil Morphology ◽  
Soil Drainage ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Poorly Drained Soils

Water table levels were recorded for up to 5 yr on five soil catenas, each containing a well, imperfectly, poorly and very poorly drained member. Water table measurements in combination with soil morphology were used to establish the zone of free water saturation and from this, periods of saturation were recorded at pre-determined depths or, alternatively, mean high water table and mean low water table levels were calculated for the periods 1 Jan.–31 Dec. and 1 May–31 Oct. Periods of saturation for well/imperfectly and imperfectly/very poorly drained soils were significantly different at the.2 level of probability, but there was no significant difference between the imperfectly/poorly or poorly/very poorly drained members. At the.05 level of probability, only two drainage classes were significantly different. The large within -class variability raises some conern over relying on soil morphology to determine water table characteristics and as well, questions the usefulness of soil drainage classes as currently defined. The significance of the data is discussed in relation to soil mapping, tile drainage and septic tank disposal of wastes.

Evaluation of methods for inferring air and water properties of soils from field morphology

Soil Research ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 587 ◽  
Author(s):  
NJ Mckenzie ◽  
KRJ Smettem ◽  
AJ Ringrose-Voase
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Soil Morphology ◽  
Water Properties ◽  
Water Capacity ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Available Water Capacity ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Semi Empirical

The accurate characterization of soil water and air properties is difficult in soil survey because of logistic constraints. Less reliable surrogates are commonly used to estimate these properties. The surrogates provide a method for moving from measures that tend to be static and semi-empirical to those characterizing soil processes. The utility of four schemes for predicting air-filled porosity, available water capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity on the basis of field-determined soil morphology has been assessed using data from a limited number of profiles with features commonly encountered in Australia. None of the systems provided statistically significant predictions of available water capacity and the results for air-filled porosity were moderate (McKeague et al. (1986), r2 = 0.58; Hall et al. (19771, r2 = 0 -64; Williams et al. (1991), r2 = 0.70). Encouragingly, the Hollis and Woods (1989) system generated good predictions of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (r2 = 0.77). It is concluded that better measurement methods and programs of data collection are needed for both the properties used as surrogates (e.g. morphology) and those for which predictions are required (e.g. air and water properties).

scholarly journals Digital Mapping of Soil Drainage Classes Using Multitemporal RADARSAT-1 and ASTER Images and Soil Survey Data

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Abou Niang ◽  
Michel Nolin ◽  
Monique Bernier ◽  
Isabelle Perron
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Optical Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use Type ◽  
Soil Drainage ◽  
Digital Mapping ◽  
Optimal Subset ◽  
Earth Observation Data

Discriminant analysis classification (DAC) and decision tree classifiers (DTC) were used for digital mapping of soil drainage in the Bras-d’Henri watershed (QC, Canada) using earth observation data (RADARSAT-1 and ASTER) and soil survey dataset. Firstly, a forward stepwise selection was applied to each land use type identified by ASTER image in order to derive an optimal subset of soil drainage class predictors. The classification models were then applied to these subsets for each land use and merged to obtain a digital soil drainage map for the whole watershed. The DTC method provided better classification accuracies (29 to 92%) than the DAC method (33 to 79%) according to the land use type. A similarity measure (S) was used to compare the best digital soil drainage map (DTC) to the conventional soil drainage map. Medium to high similarities (0.6≤S<0.9) were observed for 83% (187 km2) of the study area while 3% of the study area showed very good agreement (S≥0.9). Few soil polygons showed very weak similarities (S<0.3). This study demonstrates the efficiency of combining radar and optical remote sensing data with a representative soil dataset for producing digital maps of soil drainage.

Refining soil survey information for a Dutch soil series using land use history

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.P.W. Sonneveld ◽  
J. Bouma ◽  
A. Veldkamp
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Land Use History ◽  
Soil Series

scholarly journals Validation of Soil Survey Estimates of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in Major Soils of Puerto Rico

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Fernando E. Juliá ◽  
Victor A. Snyder ◽  
Miguel A. Vázquez
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soil Survey ◽  
Geometric Standard Deviation ◽  
Soil Series ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Survey Estimates

Ranges or “classes” of probable saturated hydraulic conductivity values (Ksat) are listed for all soil series in USDA-NRCS Soil Survey reports. Listed values are not measured, but rather estimated from other soil properties using a pedotransfer function (PTF). To validate the PTF, we compared estimated Ksat classes with measured values in various horizons of nine major soil series of Puerto Rico. For each horizon, a minimum of 9 and usually 16 Ksat measurements were made with Guelph permeameters near locations where soil pedons had been thoroughly described. In most horizons, Ksat was log-normally distributed. The ratios of Ksat values corresponding to one geometric standard deviation above and below the mean were usually less than 10, which is the ratio of upper and lower class boundaries in the Ksat classification system. For most horizons, measured Ksat values were distributed among the rated Ksat class and the next higher class, indicating that the PTF systematically underestimated the Ksat distributions, but by less than an order of magnitude. From the point of view of soil and water management decisions requiring conservative Ksat estimates, the PTF estimates appeared reasonably conservative without deviating from actual values so as to limit the usefulness of the estimates.

Preventing Land Use Problems with the Use of the Soil Survey

Soil Horizons ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Garland H. Lipscomb
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Survey
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