RESEARCH PAPER
Fitting the van Genuchten model to the measured hydraulic parameters in soils of different genesis and texture at the regional scale
1
Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland
2
Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Białystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45E, 15-351 Białystok, Poland
Final revision date: 2024-07-17
Acceptance date: 2024-07-18
Publication date: 2024-09-03
Corresponding author
Jerzy Lipiec
Zakład Badań Systemu Gleba-Roślina, Instytut Agrofizyki PAN, ul. Doświadczalna 4, 20-290, Lublin, Poland
Zakład Badań Systemu Gleba-Roślina, Instytut Agrofizyki PAN, ul. Doświadczalna 4, 20-290, Lublin, Poland
Int. Agrophys. 2024, 38(4): 373-382
HIGHLIGHTS
- van Genuchten (vG) function fitted well to the measured soil water retention
- vG parameters were less influenced by the genetic type than the soil texture
- vG parameters were more discontinuous in fine than coarse-textured soils
KEYWORDS
soil hydraulic parametersvan Genuchten modelsoil texturegenetic soil typesvertical distributionregional scale
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Soil hydraulic parameters are a key input for predicting soil water retention curves and water flow. The van Genuchten model is widely used to fit the van Genuchten hydraulic parameters including residual water content, saturated water content, a fitting parameter related to the inverse of the air entry pressure, and the shape parameter. This study aimed to show the interrelations of the soil hydraulic parameters on a large scale with both the inherent soil properties and the genetic type. The measured van Genuchten parameters originated from soil water retention curves determined in 100 pedons at 4 depths corresponding to the main soil diagnostic horizons. The results showed that the effect of soil texture on the van Genuchten hydraulic parameters was greater than that of the genetic soil type. The van Genuchten hydraulic parameters were in general significantly higher in fine-textured than coarse-textured soils. The vertical distribution of the hydraulic parameters was more discontinuous in fine- than in coarse-textured soils. The van Genuchten equation fits well to measured soil water retention (R2 > 0.885) and thereby can predict the soil water retention curve for a variety of soils with acceptable uncertainty and improve soil water conservation on a large regional scale.
FUNDING
This work was partially funded by the HORIZON 2020, European Commission, Programme: H2020-SFS-2015-2: SoilCare for profitable and sustainable crop production in Europe, project No. 677407 (SoilCare, 2016-2021).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no competing interests.
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