Evaluation of Field Methods for Measuring or Predicting Soil-Water Properties

The variability of soil-water properties such as bulk density, the soil-water characteristic and the hydraulic conductivity of soil profiles were measured with respect to depth in four field plots. Simplified solutions of the flow equation were tested as to their adequacy in predicting soil-water flux during unsaturated drainage and as a simple means of measuring the hydraulic conductivity as a function of soil-water content. Results indicate that simple approaches for measuring hydraulic conductivity and for calculating the soil-water flux do provide sufficient accuracy in light of natural soil variability.