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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #57990
Title: COMPARING TWO METHODS USED TO DETERMINE UNSATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY FUNCTIONS

Author
item MUTZIGER, A - UC RIVERSIDE
item ERNST, F - UC RIVERSIDE
item Yates, Scott
item SPENCER, W - 5310-20-20

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/1993
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The hydraulic properties of a sandy loam soil were determined by two methods. First, an in situ experiment was conducted in which an instrumented soil profile was saturated then covered and allowed to drain for two and a half months. Data collected included gravimetric water content, bulk density, and matric head. Second, vertical cores from this profile were collected and a hanging water column was used to define the properties. From these data, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions were calculated by two methods: the predictive approach using Mualem's (Water Resour. Res. 12:513-522) method of relating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity to the water characteristic function and direct procedures which include the instantaneous profile and one-step methods. Therefore, the comparison not only assesses one method of calculating unsaturated hydraulic conductivity relative to another, but also compares the application of these techniques when data are collected in situ versus by laboratory methods. Furthermore, all of the comparisons are made for a depth above and for a depth below the plow pan.