Hydraulic properties of a red-brown earth determined from in situ measurements

Abstract

Hydraulic conductivity characteristics are described for the soil profile of a red-brown earth exhibiting swelling properties. These were determined from in situ measurements of water content and suction during the redistribution of water following the irrigation of a non-vegetated field plot. Greater water contents were required for the same hydraulic conductivity in the subsoil than for the surface soil below cultivation depth. At a given suction, hydraulic conductivity was generally lower in the subsoil. In a field check on the theory of hydrostatics in swelling soils, values of the overburden potential (Ù) were derived from theory in terms of readily measurable parameters; these were shown to be in good agreement with values determined independently from the measured change in soil-water suction following the removal of overburden.