ACHARYA N.G.

RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

Agricultural College, Bapatla.
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry

COURSE NO. : SOIL-501

COURSE TITLE : SOIL PHYSICS
TOPIC : SOIL WATER RETENTION – SOIL MOISTURE
CHARACTERESTIC CURVES AND HYSTERESIS.

Submitted To
Dr .P. Mohana Rao
Assistant Professor Presented by :
B.Pavan
Dept. of SS&AC
BAM2021-40
1
SOIL WATER RETENTION –
SOIL MOISTURE
CHARACTERESTIC
CURVES , HYSTERESIS
TOPICS INCULDED
SOIL WATER RETENTION
SOIL MOISTURE CONSTATNTS
SOIL MOISTURE CHARACTERESTIC CURVES
FACTORS AFFECTING SMC
HYSTERESIS
FACTORS AFFECTING HYSTERESIS
CASE STUDIES
RETENTION OF SOIL WATER IN
THE FIELD
Soil water is specially held on the surface of soil particles especially colloidal particles and on the
pores.
After complete drainage of excess water the forces responsible for retention of water in the soil are
caused by adsorption caused by Surface tension, capillarity.
The fraction of water per unit mass of the oven dry soil is called as soil wetness.
The state of soil water described in terms of Free energy known as Potential .
The tenacity with which soil water held in the soil matrix which includes particles surface sand pores
of soil is known as Soil Matrix, which is of a negative pressure.
Schofield introduced the idea of using p F.

p- negative logarithm
F- Free energy of soil water in terms of equivalent head
 So, pF is defined as negative logarithm of height in centimetre of water column that is to produce
desired suction.
ADVANTAGE: it simplify terms and used as a wide range of moisture.
DISADVANTAGE : Data are only of a wet range and zero tension cant be expressed.
The highest wet condition of soil in which all soil pores are filled with water is Saturation and lowest
wet condition is Oven dryness.
The terms commonly used to describe varying degrees of soil wetness i.e. soil water constants are
i. Maximum retentive capacity / Maximum water holding capacity
ii. Field capacity
iii. Wilting coefficient
iv. Hygroscopic coefficient
v. Moisture equivalent
 Maximum retentive capacity/Maximum water holding capacity:
During heavy rain or irrigation, when almost all the pores are filled with water the soil is said to
be saturated with water.
At this point, the soil moisture constant is said to be maximum retentive capacity under well
drained condition and maximum water holding capacity under poorly drained condition.
The soil remains at maximum retentive capacity only as long as water infiltrates into the soil
because after the cessation of infiltration, water in the large pores will percolate downward mainly
under the influence of gravitational forces.
 Maximum retentive or water holding capacity may be defined as the average soil wetness or
water content (expressed in percentage on oven dry weight basis) of a disturbed soil sample of 1.0
cm high which is at equilibrium with a water table at its lower surface.
The moisture tension a maximum water holding capacity is close to zero (0.00098 bar or pF is
zero)
Field capacity:
 Following the heavy rain or irrigation, if soil surface is covered to check evaporational losses,
there is relatively rapid downward movement of water from the macro pores due to
gravitational force and after two or three days the downward movement of water becomes
negligible, the soil is then said to be at its field capacity.
Thus field capacity may be defined as the amount of water held in soil after excess water has
drained away and the rate of downward movement of water has materially decreased which
usually takes place within two to three days after heavy rain or irrigation.
At field capacity water is held at a tension of 1/10th bar (equivalent pF value is 2) for light soils
and 1/3rd bar (equivalent pF value is 2.5) for heavy soils. Water at field capacity is readily
available to plants.
Wilting coefficient or permanent wilting
point:
As soil dries due to loss of water by evapotranspiration, a point is reached when water is so
firmly held by the soil particles that plant roots are unable to draw water and the plants began to
wilt during day time.
At first plants regain their vigour at night but ultimately they remain wilted even at night and at
this stage the amount of water in the soil is known as wilting coefficient or permanent wilting
point.
So wilting point may be defined as the soil wetness below which soil water extraction by a given
plant is insufficient to balance the transpiration rate demand of it by the atmosphere, in a specific
climatic environment.
The wilting coefficient or permanent wilting point can be defined as the soil wetness at which
the wilted plant fails to recover its turgidity even when it is placed in a saturated atmosphere for
12 hours. At wilting coefficient water is held at a tension of 15 bar (equivalent pF value is 4.1855
4.2). It represents the point at which the soil is unable to supply the required amount of water to
the plant.
Hygroscopic coefficient
As soil further dries due to evapotranspirational loss, the soil water content is lowered below
the wilting point, the water molecules remain very tightly on colloidal surface by adsorptive
forces.
 This is almost equivalent to a condition when a soil sample is kept in a saturated (98% relative
humidity) water vapor and equilibrium is established.
Thus hygroscopic coefficient may be defined as the amount of water retained by the soil when
an air dry soil is kept in a nearly saturated atmosphere (98% relative humidity) until it absorbs
no more water (i.e. until equilibrium is established).
At hygroscopic coefficient water is held at a tension of 31 bar (equivalent pF value is 4.4996 =
4.5). Water at hygroscopic coefficient is not available to plants.
Moisture equivalent:
The term moisture equivalent refers to the percentage of water held by a one centimetre thick
layer of saturated soil after subjected to a centrifugal force of 1000 times of gravity for half an
hour.
Generally for most of the soils, value of moisture equivalent is approximately same as the value
of field capacity. But for sand, the value of moisture equivalent is less than that of field capacity.
The relationship of moisture equivalent with field capacity and wilting coefficient is given below.
Field capacity = 0.86 Moisture equivalent + 2.6 Wilting coefficient.
Wilting coefficient= Moisture equivalent/1.84
MOISTURE CHARACTERESTIC
CURVES
A curve showing the relationship between matric suction and volumetric water content is known
as soil moisture characteristics curve.
This curve states that water retention is a continuous function of the soil matric suction and it
decreases with increase in suction.
The rate of decrease is rapid up to 1 bar suction but it becomes slow from 1 to about 2 bar and
very slow there after. This is a fundamental soil property for the particular soil.
The suction or tension as well as the hydrostatic pressure are zero in a saturated soil which is in
equilibrium with free water at the same elevation. If a light suction is applied to a saturated soil,
no water may be released from the soil until the suction is increased to a critical value.
 This critical suction is called air entry suction. As suction is increased gradually over the air entry
suction, water is released first from the larger pores and subsequently gradually from the
progressively smaller pores.
 At high suction values surface of soil particles. At very low suction (> 0.33 bar) water is held in
both macro and micro pores and at 0.33 bar suction it is held only in micro pores. Further
increase of suction is associated with the decrease in thickness of hydration envelops over the
particle surfaces.
So an increase in soil matric suction is associated with decrease in soil wetness. Thus water
retention is a function of the size and volume of water filled in pores and adsorbed on the
surface of soil particles and therefore it is a function of the matric suction.
This function is generally determined experimentally and it is represented graphically by a
curve known as soil moisture characteristic curve.
 This curve show that most of the water is held at low (upto 1 bar) suction and water retention
between 1 to 15 bar suction is very low as compared with that held upto 1 bar suction.
Here the amount of water retained in the lower suction mainly depends on Capillary effect
which is related to Pore size distribution and it is affected to Soil Structure but where as in high
tension water retention it depends on thickness of hydration envelope covering the soil surface
so here less affected by soil structure and strongly affected by the texture and specific surface of
the soil particles.
Soil water characteristics curves are very non linear which means that for a given change of
0.32 is associated with a change of matric potential - 0.26 to 0.33 bar (a difference of 0.07 bar)
another value.
 For example, for a silt loam soil a change of volumetric water content from 0.30 to where as
for a change of volumetric water content from 0.11 to 0.09, matric potential changes from-3.50
to 4.65 bars (a difference of 1.15 bars). This non linearity makes it difficult to estimate matric
potentials from measurements of volumetric water content or vice versa
Factors affecting soil moisture
characteristic curves:
There are different factors which affect SMC curves . They are as follows:
1. Soil texture
2. Soil structure
3. Nature of clay minerals
4. Organic matter
5. Compaction
6. Compaction and concentration of soil solution
1.Soil texture:

Soil moisture characteristic curve (i.e. a curve showing the volumetric particular matric
potential increases with increase in clay content.
In sandy soil total porosity is low and most of the pores are macro pores resulting low retention
of water at any particular suction. With the application of small amount of suction in the
saturated sandy soils, these macro pores are emptied quickly and after that only a small amount
of water remains in the soil.
But in clayey soils, the pore size distribution is more uniform, most of the pores are micropores
and the specific surface area is high causing a high retention of water at any suction and a
gradual decrease in water content with increase in matric suction .For the same quantity of
volumetric water content, suction will be significantly low in course textured soil as compared
with that in fine textured soil.
2. Soil structure
Soil water retention particularly at very low matric suction range (0 to 1 bar) is highly affected
by soil structure because the amount of water retained at very low matric suction values (0 to 1
bar) depends primarily on total pore space and pore size distribution of soil which are highly
affected by soil structure.
 In well aggregated soil total pore space is high and is likely to have equal amount of macro
pores and micro pores causing more retention of water at low matric suction.
 Water retention at very high matric suction is not affected by soil structure because, the water
retention at very high suction is related to surface adsorption on soil particles which depends on
specific surface of the soil and hence it is not at all related with the soil structure.
 Water retention at low matric suction (1 to 2 bar) is high in well aggregated soil due to uniform
pore size distribution
3.Nature of clay minerals
The nature of clay minerals also affects water retention of soil at various matric suction. Soils
having montmorillonite as the dominant clay mineral e.g. black soils, retain largest amount of
water, followed by soils having illite as the dominant clay mineral e.g. alluvial soils and the soils
having kaolinite as the dominant clay mineral e.g. lateritic soils retain smallest amount of water.
These variations are related to the expansion and specific surface of the clay minerals,
4. Organic matter
 Water retention is always higher in soils having high organic matter as compared to the soils
having low organic matter. The is high at low matric suction and it decreases with increase in
matric suction. This may be due to the formation of well aggregated crumby type structure in
soils having high amount of organic matter causing higher amount of total pore space and
uniform pore size distribution
 5.Compaction
Soil water retention at low and intermediate suction range is highly affected by compaction because
compaction upon a soil decreases the total porosity of soil by decreasing volume of macro pores causing
decrease in water retention at low matric suction (0-1 bar); but the amount of micro pores increases
resulting increase in water retention at intermediate matric suction. But at high matric suction water
retention is not affected by soil compaction because at very high matric suction water retention depends on
the specific surface which is not at all related with compaction .

6. Composition and concentration of the soil

solution
Water retention at any matric suction is more when the soil solution is fairly concentrated with electrolytes
of divalent cations such as calcium due to suppression of swelling. On the other hand water retention at any
suction becomes lower when the soil solution is diluted with electrolytes of monovalent cations such as
sodium due to increase of swelling.
Hysteresis
The curves showing the relationship between the matric potential () and the volumetric water
content of a soil known as soil moisture characteristic curve may be obtained in two methods:
(1) Desorption (drying) and
(2) Sorption (wetting).
Desorption curve is drawn from the values obtained by gradually drying a completely saturated
soil through application of increasing suction to the specified matric potentials and taking
successive measurements of volumetric water contents at those matric potentials.
Sorption curve is drawn from the values obtained by gradually wetting up an originally air dry
soil to the specified matric potentials and taking successive measurements of volumetric water
contents at those matric potentials.
 Each of the desorption and sorption methods produce curves which are continuous but are
generally not identical.
The equilibrium soil water content at a given matric suction is higher in desorption (drying)
curve than in sorption (wetting) curve .
The relationship between soil water content and matric potential the produces different curves
in the processes of desorption (drying) and sorption (wetting) is termed as hysteresis.
 In other words the relationship between soil water content and matric potential determined as
a soil dries out after saturation, will differ from the relationship measured as the same soil is
rewetted and this phenomena is known as hysteresis.
Also if the process is reversed at any intermediate stage of wetting or drying between
saturation and air dryness, the curve will follow a different course within the limits set by these
two boundary curves which means that soil moisture characteristic curves exhibit hysteresis at
any stage on wetting or drying between saturation and air dryness.
 Causes of Hysteresis :

1. Size and shape of pores

2. Contact agle
3. Entrapped air
4. Swelling and shrinking
1. Size and shape of pores:
Soil contains pores of varying shapes and sizes. These pores are interconnected by narrow passages
resulting pores larger than their openings like an ink bottle. That is why hysteresis due to the effect of
geometric non uniformity of individual pores is some times called as 'ink bottle effect’.
When the geometric non uniform water filled pores of a saturated soil are allowed to drain by increasing
the suction (desorption process), no water will be drained out unless suction is increased beyond certain
value at which all water in the pores drains out abruptly.
But when an air dry soil having geometrically non uniform pores is wetted gradually (sorption process).
water can not enter the pores unless the suction is reduced beyond certain value at which water will
rush into the pores and all portions of pores will be filled with water suddenly. So the two soil water
characteristic curves obtained by desorption and sorption processes do not follow the same path. The ink
bottle effect is illustrated
2.Contact angle:
Variation in the contact angle of water with soil between drying and wetting is also a source of
hysteresis. The contact angle of water on solid walls of pores as well as the radius of curvature is
smaller during desorption (drying) phenomenon than sorption (wetting) phenomenon .
Usually contact angle is presumed to be zero during drying.
A higher contact angle during wetting may be due to the presence of surface active substances on the
solid and the surface roughness, but none of these is likely to affect the contact angle during drying.At
equilibrium with a given suction, radius of curvature and equilibrium column height must be smaller for
wetting than for drying.
This means that the soil pore will contain less water on wetting than on drying at a given suction and
hysteresis will therefore occur
3. Entrapped air:
 Air trapped in soil during wetting reduces the penetration of water in the pore space causing decrease
in water content at same matric suction values in sorption curve than in desorption curve.

4. Swelling and shrinking:

Wetting and drying may cause swelling and shrinking of clays which results differential changes in pore
space as well as in pore size distribution due to changes in soil structure.
Such changes in pore space and pore size distribution have a differential effect on the relationship
between soil water contents and matric potentials obtained in the processes of wetting (sorption) and
drying (desorption).
Thus hysteresis in this condition may be due to the internal resistance to particle rearrangement which
keeps the volume higher on shrinking than on swelling.
Case study-1
Effect of biogas waste applications on soil
moisture characteristic curve and assessment of
the predictive accuracy of the Van Genuchten
model

Eurasian journal of soil science Pelin Alaboz et al.(2020)

The study investigates the use of waste, the final product of production, as a soil conditioner and
fertilizer for sustainable soil management. The study examines the effects of different amounts of
biogas waste [0 (B0), 1 (B1), 2 (B2), 3 (B3) and 4 (B4) ton] on some soil properties and soil moisture
characteristic curve (pF). In addition, the Van Genuchten model, which has been long and widely
used in many studies for the prediction of hydraulic properties, was compared with the pF curves
that were obtained using the predicted and real values obtained from the applications.
Application material and experimental setup
The study was carried out in accordance with the randomized block experimental design. The
biogas waste (B) used as the organic material was obtained from a biogas production facility.
Farmyard manure was used in biogas production and the waste that contain 15% moisture and
leave the Separator Press as an end product was used as the organic material. Different ratios of
biogas waste were used [0(B0), 1(B1), 2(B2), 3(B3), 4(B4) ton da-1] and the waste was applied in 5
repetitions to parcels of 3*5 m2.
Conclusions
The biogas waste applications were determined to be more effective on the increase in
moisture in the wet region of the moisture characteristic curve than in the dry region. The
effects of the B3 and B4 applications on the soil properties were either generally similar or the
B3 application can be considered more effective. Therefore, we recommend the B3 application
as the effective dose considering the economic aspects of its use and improvements in the soil
physical properties.
Using the van Genuchten model, the most realistic predictions were obtained in the control
(B0) application and the model had high predictive accuracy. The van Genuchten model
achieved an accuracy of about 70% in the examined region. We recommend testing the model
for larger areas and different soils. Conventional agriculture is carried out in the study area.
Therefore, organic materials of different forms are applied to the soils.
Case study-2
Effects of hysteresis on redistribution of soil
moisture and deep percolation at continuous
and pulse drip irrigation

Elsevier journal S. Elmaloglou et al.(2008)

The infiltration and redistribution of soil moisture under surface drip irrigation considering
hysteresis were investigated in two soils (loamy sand and silt loam) of different texture. The effect of
continuous versus intermittent application of 1, 2 and 4 l/h to the soils was evaluated in terms of
wetting front advance patterns and deep percolation under the root zone.
Here different methods were included for this analysis
Mathematical model
Hysteresis and soil physical characteristics
Validation of the mathematical model
Numerical procedure.
Here we observe that
i. The pulse irrigation with hysteresis has less deep percolation compared with others.
ii. And the coarse textured soil have more percolation percentage compared to fine textured soil
Comparing with evaporation and without evaporation , neglected evaporation shows more deep
percolation and when hysteresis is included to this it varies great extent.
 If we compare continuous and pulse irrigation with and without hysteresis, pulse irrigation slightly
reduces
Conclusions
Numerical experiments were conducted on two soils (loamy sand and silt loam) to study the
effects of hysteresis on the redistribution of soil moisture and on deep percolation at continuous
and pulse drip irrigation.
For both soils and the three discharge rates considered in this work, the deep percolation below
the root zone seems to be higher in the coarser loamy sand than in the finer silt loam.
Hysteresis seems to play an important role during the redistribution process. The results show
that in both types of irrigation, hysteresis reduces significantly the water losses under the root
zone and strongly retards the draining process. This may have significance for the availability of
the water for uptake by the plants roots. For the same discharge rate, the reduction of water
losses is higher in the coarser loamy sand than in the finer silt loam. Also, when evaporation is
neglected, deep percolation is slightly higher for all cases and hysteresis reduced the deep
percolation in a greater extend.
Finally, it was found that hysteresis reduced more the deep percolation under the root zone at
higher discharge rates and consequently at higher water contents at the soil surface.