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Water Infiltration into Stratified Soil¹

ABSTRACT

A laboratory investigation was made of the effects of textural and structural stratification within the profile on rate of water infiltration into soil. A recording infiltrometer was devised and a method developed for obtaining uniformly packed tubes of soil. Infiltration data were obtained for soil conditioner treated Palouse silt loam. These data were used to test several infiltration equations found in the literature. It was observed that none of the equations tested adequately describe the experimental data.

Effects of strata within soil were related to the pore characteristic differences between the layering material and the surrounding soil. When most of the pores in a layer were larger than those in the surrounding soil, infiltration was temporarily inhibited after the wetting front reached the layer. The degree of inhibition was increased when the pore sizes in the layer were increased. Water must accumulate at a layer-soil interface until it is at a tension low enough to allow it to move into pores in the layer. Water movement into the surface is reduced while the accumulation takes place.

¹ Scientific Paper No. 1929, Washington Agr. Exp. Sta. Pullman. Work was conducted under Project 1219, a contributing project to Regional Research Project W-29, Soil-Water-Plant Relationships under Irrigation. Portion of a dissertation submitted by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph. D. degree.

² Acting Instructor and Professor, respectively. The senior author is now Soil Scientist, Northwest Branch, SWCRD, ARS, USDA, Prosser, Wash.

Received for publication September 26, 1960. Accepted for publication September 21, 1961.

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