HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free An erratum has been published Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Regalado, C. M. Articles by Ritter, A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Regalado, C. M. Articles by Ritter, A. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Regalado, C. M. Articles by Ritter, A. Related Collections Volcanic Soils Water repellency Hydrophobicity

Soil Physics

Characterizing Water Dependent Soil Repellency with Minimal Parameter Requirement

Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias (ICIA), Dep. Suelos y Riegos, Apdo. 60 La Laguna, 38200 Tenerife, Spain

^* Corresponding author (cregalad{at}icia.es)

Soil water repellency varies nonlinearly with soil moisture, describing a repellency versus water content curve. Despite this water dependence, soil repellency is usually characterized by repellency indexes measured at fixed soil water content. We provide a statistically robust yet simple method to determine water repellency at a range of soil water contents, by proposing alternative water-dependent soil repellency parameters derived from the molarity of an ethanol droplet (MED) test. Useful correlations are found between some of these proposed repellency parameters, such is the case of the integrated area below the repellency curve, which is found to be strongly correlated with the soil water content at minimum repellency. Consequently, an efficient strategy for describing the repellency versus water content curve is designed based on a combination of parameter interdependence and a minimum number of determinations necessary. Following this strategy, only 27 samples are sufficient (p < 0.05) to characterize the water-dependent repellency of the studied soil. The integrated area below the repellency curve is proposed as the key index for repellency characterization. Furthermore, a new combined parameter IRDI (Integrative Repellency Dynamic Index) is defined as a measure of the average water dependent repellency. This allows simple comparisons of the whole water repellency behavior among different soils by coalescing the repellency curve into a single characteristic value.

Abbreviations: CDF, cumulative distribution function • CV, coefficient of variation • IRDI, Integrative Repellency Dynamic Index • MED, molarity of an ethanol droplet • OM, organic matter • PP, probability plots • SD, standard deviation • WDPT, water drop penetration time

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Kawamoto, P. Moldrup, T. Komatsu, L. W. de Jonge, and M. Oda Water Repellency of Aggregate Size Fractions of a Volcanic Ash Soil Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., September 28, 2007; 71(6): 1658 - 1666. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Bachmann, M. Deurer, and G. Arye Modeling Water Movement in Heterogeneous Water-Repellent Soil: 1. Development of a Contact Angle Dependent Water-Retention Model Vadose Zone J., August 1, 2007; 6(3): 436 - 445. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Arye, I. Nadav, and Y. Chen Short-term Reestablishment of Soil Water Repellency after Wetting: Effect on Capillary Pressure-Saturation Relationship Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., April 5, 2007; 71(3): 692 - 702. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. M. Regalado and A. Ritter Geostatistical Tools for Characterizing the Spatial Variability of Soil Water Repellency Parameters in a Laurel Forest Watershed Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., May 23, 2006; 70(4): 1071 - 1081. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]