Soil water repellency in north-eastern Greece with adverse effects of drying on the persistence
Apostolos K. Ziogas A , Louis W. Dekker B C , Klaas Oostindie B and Coen J. Ritsema BA Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Civil Engineering, Vas Sofias 1, Prokat, Xanthi 67100, Greece.
B Alterra, Green World Research, Department of Land Use and Soil Processes, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
C Corresponding author. Email: Louis.Dekker@wur.nl
Australian Journal of Soil Research 43(3) 281-289 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR04087
Submitted: 25 June 2004 Accepted: 24 December 2004 Published: 25 May 2005
Abstract
Many soils may be water repellent to some degree, challenging the common perception that soil water repellency is only an interesting aberration. When dry, water repellent soils resist or retard water infiltration into the soil matrix. Soil water repellency often leads to the development of unstable wetting and preferential flow paths. In the present study the persistence of water repellency was examined on samples from topsoils in Thrace, north-eastern Greece, using the Water Drop Penetration Time (WDPT) test. The soil samples were collected from agricultural fields throughout the prefectures of Xanthi and Rodopi. Six sites were selected for intensive sampling of water repellency and soil moisture content in transects. Water repellency was measured on field-moist soil samples and after drying the samples at increasing temperatures, to study the influence of drying temperature on the persistence of soil water repellency. Measurements of soil samples taken in agricultural fields under different crops, e.g. winter wheat, tobacco, clover, olive groves, kiwi fruit, and vineyards, in the area of Thrace, revealed that 45% of the locations exhibited actual water repellency during dry periods. Drying of samples from the Sostis site resulted in wettable soil, whereas drying of samples from the Mitriko site increased repellency. Therefore, water repellency should preferably be measured on samples taken in the field under dry conditions in order to reveal and determine the highest persistence of water repellency that might occur in the field.
Additional keywords: actual water repellency, critical soil water content, irregular wetting, potential water repellency, transition zone.
Acknowledgments
This project was carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Community. It was financed under the work program FAIR (ref. 4027). The project does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s views and in no way anticipates its future policy in this area. The thorough and constructive comments provided by two referees were very helpful in improving the paper.
Bachmann J,
Horton R,
Van der Ploeg RR, Woche S
(2000) Modified sessile drop method for assessing initial soil-water contact angle of sandy soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64, 564–567.
Bauters TWJ,
Steenhuis TS,
DiCarlo DA,
Nieber JL,
Dekker LW,
Ritsema CJ,
Parlange J-Y, Haverkamp R
(2000) Physics of water repellent soils. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 233–243.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bisdom EBA,
Dekker LW, Schoute JFTh
(1993) Water repellency of sieve fractions from sandy soils and relationships with organic material and soil structure. Geoderma 56, 105–118.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bond RD, Harris JR
(1964) The influence of the microflora on physical properties of soils. I. Effects associated with filamentous algae and fungi. Australian Journal of Soil Research 2, 111–122.
| Crossref |
Chan KY
(1992) Development of seasonal water repellence under direct drilling. Soil Science Society of America Journal 56, 326–329.
DeBano LF
(1969) Water movement in water-repellent soils. ‘Proceedings of a Symposium on Water Repellent soils’. Riverside, CA, 6–10 May 1968. (Ed. LF DeBano ,
J Letey )
pp. 61–89. (University of California: Riverside, CA)
DeBano LF
(1981) Water repellent soils: a state-of-the-art. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PS W-46, Berkeley, CA.
DeBano LF
(2000) Water repellency in soils: A historical overview. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 4–32.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dekker LW
(1998) Moisture variability resulting from water repellency in Dutch soils. PhD thesis, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands.
Dekker LW,
Doerr SH,
Oostindie K,
Ziogas AK, Ritsema CJ
(2001) Water repellency and critical soil water content in a dune sand. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 1667–1674.
Dekker LW, Jungerius PD
(1990) Water repellency in the dunes with special reference to the Netherlands. Catena Supplement 18, 173–183.
Dekker LW, Ritsema CJ
(1994) How water moves in a water repellent sandy soil. 1. Potential and actual water repellency. Water Resources Research 30, 2507–2517.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dekker LW, Ritsema CJ
(2000) Wetting patterns and moisture variability in water repellent Dutch soils. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 148–164.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dekker LW,
Ritsema CJ,
Oostindie K, Boersma OH
(1998) Effect of drying temperature on the severity of soil water repellency. Soil Science 163, 780–796.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Doerr SH,
Dekker LW,
Ritsema CJ,
Shakesby RA, Bryant R
(2002) Water repellency of soils. The influence of ambient relative humidity. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 401–405.
Feng GL,
Letey J, Wu L
(2002) The influence of two surfactants on infiltration into a water-repellent soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 361–367.
Jaramillo DF,
Dekker LW,
Ritsema CJ, Hendrickx JMH
(2000) Occurrence of soil water repellency in arid and humid climates. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 105–111.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
King PM
(1981) Comparison of methods for measuring severity of water repellence of sandy soils and assessment of some factors that affect its measurement. Australian Journal of Soil Research 19, 275–285.
| Crossref |
Richardson JL
(1984) Field observation and measurement of water repellency for soil surveyors. Soil Survey Horizons 25, 32–36.
Ritsema CJ, Dekker LW
(1994) How water moves in a water repellent sandy soil. 2. Dynamics of fingered flow. Water Resources Research 30, 2519–2531.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ritsema CJ, Dekker LW
(1995) Distribution flow: a general process in the top layer of water repellent soils. Water Resources Research 31, 1187–1200.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ritsema CJ, Dekker LW
(1996) Water repellency and its role in forming preferred flow paths in soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 34, 475–487.
| Crossref |
Ritsema CJ, Dekker LW
(1998) Three dimensional patterns of moisture, water repellency, bromide and pH in a sandy soil. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 31, 295–313.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ritsema CJ,
Dekker LW,
Nieber JL, Steenhuis TS
(1998) Modeling and field evidence of finger formation and finger recurrence in a water repellent sandy soil. Water Resources Research 34, 555–567.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Van’t Woudt BD
(1959) Particle coatings affecting the wettability of soils. Journal of Geophysical Research 64, 263–267.
Wallis MG, Horne DJ
(1992) Soil water repellency. Advances in Soil Science 20, 91–146.
