How dose affecting water in

movement
Prepared by :
What is water movement ?

The movement of water from the roots to

the leaves is a critical function in a plant's
life. The flow of water depends upon air
pressure, humidity, adhesion, and
cohesion. At sea level, air pressure can
force water up the columns of xylem from
the roots to a height of many feet.
Movement of soil water
(A) Liquid water
(i Saturated flow: - Most of the pores are filled with water by rainfall and
irrigation. Water in this condition is tension free.
(ii) Unsaturated flow: - The pores are partially filled with air. The water
is linder tension in this condition
(B) Water vapour
(i) Diffusion: - Water vapour may move by diffusion as a result of vapour
pressure (partial pressure) differences.
(ii) Mass flow: - Water vapour may flow in a mass with the other gases of
the system in response to differences in total pressure
(C) Ice
Under ordinary conditions water movement in the soil does not occur in
the form of ice. But formation of ice lenses (slice of ice) makes the soil
heave (swelling in soil or to lift the soil). Such movement of water in solid
phase only occurs as a part of a movement of the entire soil body.
Concept of flow
Water movement through soil is
proportional to the product of the driving
force and the conductivity of the soil for
water. This movement, both liquid and
vapour,
The Driving Force
The driving force in the case of water is a pressure gradient. The
water moves from a position of high pressure to a position of low
pressure. This is true for saturated and unsaturated liquid flow and
also for vapour flow. The unit of force is dyne.
The Hydraulic Conductivity (Unit-›cm/hours): The conductivity of
soil for liquid water depends on the cross-sectional area of the
pores and on the size of pores. In saturated flow the conductivity
increases as the fourth power of the radius. In unsaturated flow the
conductivity depends on the degree of unsaturation. The
conductivity of a very porous soil is generally higher than that of a
less porous soil in case of saturated flow but in case of unsaturated
flow, this relationship may be reversed. The permeability of soil for
water vapour is directly proportional to the volume of water free
pore space (not to the size of pore space).
Saturated flow

Itis the flow of water held with water

potentials greater than- 1/3 bars.
Saturated flow in soil occurs when the
water is not under tension. All or most of
the pores are completely filled with water.
The rate of saturated flow, such as ground
water flow, is stated in two equations. The
law of Poiseuille expresses the flow of
water in a narrow tube:
Unsaturated Flow
Itis the flow of water held with water potentials lower than - 1/3 bars).
The rate of unsaturated flow depends on the size of active pores and
tension (which is occurs due to held water). In this type of flow pores
are partially filled with air and the water is under tension. The less
cross section area of effective pores creates the slower movement of
water. As the soil gets drier, the films around the particles become
discontinuous and liquid flow stops completely.
The two forces responsible for this type of movement (i) Attraction of
soil solids for water (adhesion) (ii) Attraction of water molecules for
each other (cohesion). Under field conditions this movement occurs
when the soil macrospores filled with air and microspores filled with
water and partly with air.
The movement of unsaturated flow ceases (Stop) in sandy soils at a
lower tension than in fine textured soils, because the water films lose
continuity sooner (Quickly) between the large particles.
Vapour Movement
The two main forms of water movement in the
vapour pnase are.
1. Bodily movement of soil atmosphere
2. Diffusion or distillation of water vapour
1. Bodily movement: - The bodily movement of soil atmosphere
can be
caused OV-
(i) Change in atmospheric pressure (ii) Change in soil
temperature
(iii) Pressure change caused by infiltration and percolation
Such mass flow of water vapour represents only a small portion
of
the entire water vadour movement in che soil.
Diffusion or distillation of water vapour
Diffusion of water vapour caused by a vapour
pressure gradient as the driving force. Vapour
pressure of soil moisture is affected by:
(A) Moisture content- Vapour pressure
increases with moisture content.
(B) Temperature-Vapour pressure increases as
the temperature
increases.
(C) Soluble salts- Vapour pressure decreases
with increase of soluble salt content.