Annals of Clinical Trials and Vaccines Research

Soil Water Top Journals

Water dynamics in soil are governed by many factors that change vertically with depth, laterally across landforms and temporally in response to climate (Swarowsky, et al., 2011). This article focuses on soil water dynamics and introduces concepts of soil moisture storage, water flow and the soil properties that influence these processes. The learning objectives discussed here include: 1) an introduction to the soil water balance equation; 2) the factors and soil properties that govern water potential and plant available water holding capacity; and 3) soil morphologic features and classification methods to describe the fate of water in soil. These concepts are integrated with a case study that describes the interplay between hydrologic processes, water dynamics in soil, and soil genesis. Water storage and redistribution are a function of soil pore space and pore-size distribution, which are governed by texture and structure (Childs 1940). Generally speaking, clay-rich soils have the most important pore space, hence the best total water holding capacity. However, total water holding capacity doesn't describe what proportion water is out there to plants, or how freely water drains in soil. These processes are governed by potential energy. Water is stored and redistributed within soil in response to differences in P.E. . A potential energy gradient dictates soil moisture redistribution and losses, where water moves from areas of high- to low-potential energy (Hillel 1982). When at or near saturation, soils typically display water potentials near 0 MPa. Negative water potentials arise as soil dries leading to suction or tension on water allowing the soil to retain water sort of a sponge.    

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