Millimeter-Scale Spatial Variability in Soil Water Sorptivity
Scale, Surface Elevation, and Subcritical Repellency Effects
P. D. Hallett*,a,
N. Nunana,
J. T. Douglasb and
I. M. Youngc
a Plant Soil Interface Programme, Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, DD2 5DA, Scotland
b Environment Division, Scottish Agricultural College, Bush Estate, Penicuik, EH26 0PH, Scotland
c Scottish Informatics Mathematics Biology & Statistics SIMBIOS (Centre), University of Abertay Dundee, Bell Street, DD1 1HG, Scotland

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Fig. 1. Water uptake with time at two locations on the test slab that illustrate the extreme range of transport properties examined. The solid line indicates steady-state conditions from which Q was evaluated.
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Fig. 2. Frequency distribution and semivariograms for (a) water sorptivity, (b) ethanol sorptivity, (c) surface elevation, and (d) water repellency.
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Fig. 3. Spatial plots of transport properties and elevation on the test slab. The elevation data has been kriged using the conditions defined by the geostatical analysis. Both ethanol sorptivity and repellency are for a subset of points with the x-y coordinates identifying their location in the larger sampling area plotted for the other variables. The sampling interval is 50 mm using a 1.4-mm radius infiltrometer.
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Fig. 4. Relationships between water sorptivity and (a) elevation and (b) ethanol sorptivity, at a sampling interval of 50 mm and an infiltrometer size of a 1.4-mm radius.
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Fig. 5. Relationship between water sorptivity and elevation for measurements obtained using Smith's (1999) ponded method with (a) small and (b) large rings, and for (c) a tension infiltrometer.
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Copyright © 2004 by the Soil Science Society of America.