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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #381881
Research Project: A Systems Approach to Improved Water Management for Sustainable Production

Location: Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research

Title: Transdisciplinary contributions and opportunities in soil physical hydrology

Author
item WENDROTH, OLE - University Of Kentucky
item Bradford, Scott
item HARTER, THOMAS - University Of California, Davis

Submitted to: Vadose Zone Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/3/2021
Publication Date: 2/25/2021
Citation: Wendroth, O., Bradford, S.A., Harter, T. 2021. Transdisciplinary contributions and opportunities in soil physical hydrology. Vadose Zone Journal. 20(2). Article e20114. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20114.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20114

Interpretive Summary: This paper is the introduction to a special issue in Vadose Zone Journal entitled "Transdisciplinary Contributions and Opportunities in Soil Physical Hydrology". Real-world problems are transdisciplinary in nature and therefore require close cooperation of multiple disciplines to find solutions. Examples of transdisciplinary research are highlighted in this paper from the career of Jan Hopmans as well as others in the soil physics and hydrology community. This special issue provides motivation for soil physicists and hydrologists to reach out to colleagues in other disciplines to tackle global environmental challenges and agricultural management issues.

Technical Abstract: As in many other soil science disciplines, in soil physics and hydrology, we have arrived at a point where substantial gains in knowledge depend to a large extent on reaching out to related disciplines. The purpose of this special section on "Transdisciplinary Contributions and Opportunities in Soil Physical Hydrology" is to honor Professor emeritus Jan W. Hopmans, University of California Davis, CA as one of the pioneers in transdisciplinary research. In this introduction, the 12 articles collected in this special section are summarized, and their relationship to Hopmans’ work during his productive career emphasized. The contributions reflect the depth and width of soil physics and hydrology and are aimed to stimulate transdisciplinary science to meet the existing challenges in agriculture and the environment.