SOIL WATER, THE FIELD WATER CYCLE &

IRRIGATION

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 1. Soil water
Introduction:
 Important to understand the soil-water-plant
(and atmospheric) relationships that exist in soils.
 Role of water in soils:
o Dissolves and transports plant nutrients,
o Required by plants for biomass production,
translocation and transpiration,
o Affects soil temperature,
o Affects soil aeration

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Properties of water that affects its
behaviour in soils:

oIs bipolar hence it is

oA good solvent

oHas a high surface tension

oHas a high specific heat 3

 Soil water content

Soil moisture content (Ө) can be quantified in 2 ways:

o Gravimetric water content (Өg), also called Mass wetness:

o Өg = Mw/Ms (Mw = mass of water; Ms = mass of oven dry soil)

Volumetric moisture content (Өv), also called Volume wetness:

Өv = Vw/Vt (Vw = volume of water; total volume of soil )

(Remember, vol. of water is equivalent to its mass; Dw =
1Mg/m3)

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Vw = Mw/Dw & Vt = Ms/Db (Db = bulk
density of soil)
 
Substituting for Vw & Vt in Өv
 
Өv = Mw/Dw/(Ms/Db) = Mw/Ms x
(Db/Dw) = Өg x (Db/Dw) = Өg x Db
 
Remember Dw = 1Mg/m3

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 Units of soil moisture content
 Өg is expressed as a fractional water content
i.e. grams water per gram of soil gg-1 (kgkg-1)
or g water per 100g soil (= g100g-1 = %).

 Өv is similarly expressed as a fractional water

content in volume (a fraction of water of the
total soil volume) i.e. m3 water per m3 soil
(m3m-3) or as a depth mm-1 or mmmm-1).

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In irrigation scheduling, a common unit is
mm water per 100mm soil (%).
 
Worked example:
If Өg = 0.2 kgkg-1 & Db = 1.3Mgm-3; convert
the soil moisture to volumetric water basis as
a % (mm water per 100mm soil).

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Answer:
 
1.3Mgm-3 = 1.3 x 1000kgm-3 = 1300kgm-3
 
Dw = 100kgm-3
 
Өv = Өg x Db/Dw = 0.2 x 1300/1000 = 0.26
m3m-3 = 0.26 mm3mm-3 = 0.26mmm-1 soil =
26% water.
 

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 Measurement of soil moisture

 Important to measure soil moisture for

agronomy trials, irrigation water management,
drainage designs, catchment and hydrological
studies.

 Some of the methods used:

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 Thermogravimetric analysis

 Auger, spade or core sample is sealed in plastic bags to minimise

evaporation losses.

 The samples are weighed, then oven-dried at 105 oC for 24-48h

before re-weighing.
 
 Өg = (wet soil mass – o.d. soil mass)/o.d. soil mass
 
 A direct, cheap, easy and accurate method!

 But also laborious, time-consuming and destructive as holes may

be left in the sampling area.
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Electrical resistance method
 A small cylindrical block of porous material in which
electrodes are immersed is used

 The block is buried in the soil at required depths.

 The moisture in the soil penetrates the porous material

of the block till an equilibrium with the moisture is
reached.

 When an electric current is passed, the electrodes, a

certain resistance is measured. 11
 Low m.c. in soil, resistance is high and a high
m.c. in the soil, resistance is low.

 A calibration curve of resistance to moisture is

plotted and the soil m.c. are determined by
reference to this curve.

 What could be the advantages &

disadvantages of this method?

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Neutron moisture meter

 Also neutron probe: widely used in Zimbabwe

 The radioactive source (often Americium-

Berylium) emits a cloud of fast neutrons which
pass through the access tube into the soil.

 These neutrons collide with various atoms in the

soil & are slowed down.
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 The more H+ ions there are in the water
molecule, the more the neutrons are slowed
down.

 The number of slowed neutrons are counted by

a special detector (usually containing Boron
trifluoride) and the count rate is sent to the
meter for reading.

 A calibration curve is constructed with m.c vs.

count rate 14
Diagram of Neutron Probe 15
 Advantages: quick, accurate & non-destructive.
The m.c. is measured at the same site each time

 Disadvantages: costly equipment (1997 about

100 000 ZWD), potential radioactive hazard
(safe equipment if used with due care)

 Other equipment: theta probes, gamma-ray

attenuators and the TDR

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 2. Energy state of Water
 

 Like any other bodies in nature, water has free

energy

 Free energy is the sum of all forms of energy

available to do work and is a measure of the
tendency of the substance to change.

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E.g. water will move or change from a
state of higher energy (wet soil) to one of
lower energy (dry soil).

Therefore if we know the energy levels of

water at different positions in the soil, we
can predict the direction of water
movement.

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Factors affecting the free energy of water:

Four factors:

oAdsorption forces due to attraction of

soil for the water

oOsmotic forces due to attraction of

solution & ions of water
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 o Gravitational force which pulls water
downwards

o Overburden forces due to weight of

overlying soil water pressing on the water in
the subsoil levels.

 Soil water potential ψt is the difference between

the free energy of soil water and that of pure
water in a standard reference state.
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 Total soil water potential arising from the 4
forces are:
o Matric potential ψm = it arises from 2 phenomena,
namely adhesion (adsorption forces of the soil
particles for the soil water) & capillarity due to
capillary movement of water through narrow pores
in the soil.

o Capillary forces move soil water upward from

saturated zone in the soil (in the same way that a
liquid moves up a straw).
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o Osmotic potential ψo = arises due to salts in solution that
lower the free energy of water. Ψo has little effect on water
movement in soils unlike ψm & is more important in affecting
uptake of water by roots.

o Gravitational potential ψg is expressed relative to a reference

level usually the soil surface. Important in removing excess
water from topsoil following a rainfall event or irrigation.

o Overburden potential ψt. This component of ψt is small

except in the subsoil levels & it arises from the overburden
force acting on the soil water.

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 Water will move from one place to another in the soil
depending on the soil water potential, ψt .

 If is ψ1 >> ψ2 , water moves from site 1 to site 2.

 Units:
o Several units are used to express the energy level
differences of water

o Standard units are energy per unit volume, Jm-3 =

kgm-2s-2m-3 = N(Newtons)m-2 = Pascal (Pa)
(pressure units).
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Measurement of Soil Water Potential (SWP), ψt

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 The tension or suction with which water is held is an
expression of the SWP (and is expressed in +ve terms
rather than –ve).

 Tensiometers are used to measure the tension/suction.

 The soil tends to draw the water of the ceramic cup &
cause a suction to register in the gauge/manometer or
transducer.

 Water moves in and out of the ceramic cup in response

to the suction gradient.
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Soil water potential curve:
 
 The relationship between the soil water
content & the SWP can be represented by a
curve called the Soil Moisture Characteristic
(SMC) curve or Soil Moisture Release
Curve or Soil Moisture Retention Curve.

 Below Soil Moisture Release curves of a

clay, loam and sand soils
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 Soil saturated (very wet): all pores filled with water & the
suction/potential is zero.

 As water drains out of the pores (perhaps under gravity or

plant root uptake, suction increases).

 As water content steadily decreases, water films around the

soil particles becomes smaller & the water is held more
strongly by the particles hence suction increases.

 When the remaining water is held so strongly that only oven

drying will remove it, the suction is extremely large.

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 Clay soils absorb water more strongly than
sands

 At every given water content, clays have a

larger suction then sands

 The moisture release curve varies with soil

type as each soil has a particular pore size
distribution…curve also affected by the soil
structure.

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 Some values of soil Water Content & Soil Water
Potential
Table: Some values of Soil Water Content & Soil Water Potential
Soil moisture content Өv Soil Water Potential Suction/ Type of Water Lost Field Description
Tension from soil

[%] m3m-3 kPa Bars kPa

60 0.6 0 0 0 gravitational Saturated (all pores filled with water)

40 0.4 -10 -0.1 10 capillary FC. Gravitational water has drained away. Upper limit
for irrigation

20 0.2 -1 500 -15 1 500 capillary WP. Lowest limit at which plants can abstract water

16 0.16 -3 100 -31 3 100 Hygroscopic (adsorbed Water not available to plants. Held strongly around
water) soil aprticles

approx. 1 -0.01 -40 000 -400 40 000 Hygroscopic (adsorbed Air dry
water)

0 0 -100 000 -1 000 100 000 Hygroscopic (adsorbed Oven dry

water)

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Field Capacity FC

 is the mc at which drainage due to gravity

ceases or has become extremely slow. FC is the
practical upper limit of mc for irrigation.

 At FC, the soil pores contain a mixture of air

and water both of which are required for plant
growth

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Wilting Point WP

 When soil becomes very dry, the remaining water is

adsorbed so strongly that it cannot be removed &
taken up by plant roots.

 Plants can not maintain turgor, they wilt and die.

 WP is the m.c. at which this wilting & permanent los

of turgor occurs, even if placed in a saturated
atmosphere

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 This is taken as the lower limit for irrigation
scheduling.

 In irrigation, the soil is maintained at m.c. between FC

& WP

 Available Water Capacity AWC tells how much plant

available water is stored in the soil

 AWC = FC – WP

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Worked Example
 
If the FC & WP of a soil are 0.2kgkg-1
and 0.12kgkg-1 respectively, calculate the
AWC in mm100mm-1 using Db of
1600kgm-3.

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Answer:
 
 Өv = Өg x Db/Dw
 FC = 0.2 x 1600/1000 = 0.32m3m-3 = 0.32mm3mm-
3
= 0.32 mmmm-1 = 32.0mm100mm-1
 WP = 0.12 x 1600/1000 = 0.192m3m-3 =
19.2mm100mm-1
 AWC = FC – WP = (32 – 19.2)mm100mm-1 =
12.8mm100mm-1
 Soil stores 12.8mm of plant available water in
every 100mm of soil depth.

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 3. Irrigation Scheduling

 Irrigation scheduling answers 2 questions:

o How much water to apply?
o When to apply that water?

 Data required to answer the 2 questions:

o About the soil
o Crop & the
o Factors affecting Evapotranspiration

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Determining Plant available water
 Plant Available Water (PAW) =AWC x Root
Zone Depth

 If roots are 600mm deep, AWC =

14mm/100mm, then, PAW = 14 x 600/100 =
84mm water per 600mm soil = 84mm600mm -1

 Hence in the 600mm soil depth occupied by

roots, 84mm of water is available for the crop
to use (from FC to WP).
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Determining the Depletion Level

 Irrigators do not allow crop to finish-up all the

AWC before re-applying some water

 There is risk of equipment breakdown; need to

“play safe” & only allow a portion of PAW to be
taken up before re-applying that same amount of
water to bring soil back to FC.

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 Also most crops grow better in moist soil close
to FC

 Hence irrigators dry the soil to a certain

Depletion Level of the PAW e.g. 60% DL

 Given a PAW of 84mm, irrigator allows the

crop to use 60/100 x 84mm = 50.4mm

 Hence the soil has 34mm water in reserve

should a problem arise. 41
When to apply the water?

 Need information on the daily ET water use (how fast

is crop using up the PAW from the soil?

 Evaporation pans & Crop Factors are used

 Evaporation pans measures open water evaporation.

The pans are Diameter = 120.9cm and Height = 25cm
(Class A pan)

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 Level of water is measured daily by a graduated dip
stick

 Subtracting the level of water measured on Day 2 from

that of Day 1 gives a measure of daily evaporation
loss.

 Epan in Zimbabwe ranges from 2mm/day (July) to as

high as 10mm/day (in Oct).

 The crop factor (Kc) tells what the crop/soil is

evaporating relative to a Class A pan
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Meteorological conditions affecting
pan evaporation are the same as those
affecting ET

Kc = ET/Epan

Variation of Kc values with plant

growth
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Figure: Crop coefficient curve
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Worked example

Wheat crop at 8 weeks after planting has a

Kc value of 0.85, calculate the total pan
evaporation that should occur before the
next irrigation

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Answer:

 Suppose the next irrigation requires 50mm i.e. the amount of ET

that has occurred from the field

 Epan = ET/Kc = 50/0.85 = 59mm

 Epan total water loss of 59mm, crop ET = 50mm and irrigator

must apply 50mm

 Suppose daily Epan = 5mm/day, the 59mm/5mm/day = 12 days

should pass before pan has lost 59mm water.

 Therefore the irrigation cycle is 12 days

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Homework

Maize root depth = 1.5m, AWC = 9%. Assume

irrigator is using 50% depletion level, Daily pan
evaporation = 10mm & Kc = 1.02.

• How often should the farmer irrigate his crop?

• Why does the farmer need to know the Kc

value of his crop? 
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9.4 Introduction to the field water cycle

 Also known as the hydrological cycle

 The annual water cycle from rainfall to runoff is a

complex system where several processes
(infiltration, surface runoff, recharge, seepage, re-
infiltration, moisture recycling) are
interconnected and interdependent with only one
direction of flow: downstream.
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 A catchment is therefore one single system and more than the sum
of a large number of subsystems (Figure below).

Figure: The water cycle (Pallett, 1997: 20) 51

Man can intervene in many of these
processes

Changes in water stored in the Soil and

Plants = (Gains) – (Losses)

∆Soil + ∆Plant = Gains – Losses

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 ∆S + ∆B = (P + I + U) – (R + D + E +T)

 Where:
o ∆S = change in soil water storage,
o ∆B = change in plant water (biomass water) storage,
o P = precipitation,
o I = irrigation,
o U = upward (capillary) water,
o R = run-off,
o D = deep drainage,
o E = evaporation,
o T = transpiration.
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THE END

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