ABSTRACT
Profile Method......................................................... 245 6.4. Recommendations For Further Research ......................................... 246 6.5. Concluding Remarks ......................................................................... 247 References ................................................................................................... 247
Soil hydraulic properties influence the entry, movement, and removal of water in the unsaturated or vadose zone. More specifically, they control the rate of water entry into the soil during the process of infiltration, the rate of water translocation within the soil during the process of redistribution, and the rate of water removal from the soil during the processes of drainage, evaporation, and plant uptake (transpiration). Through their control of water movement, soil hydraulic properties also exert a strong influence on many other soil processes, such as soil water storage (Chapters 4, 5), soil gas accumulation and flux (Chapter 13), surface water runoff, soil erosion, groundwater recharge, leaching of solutes (e.g., crop nutrients, pesticides, contaminants) (Chapters 9, 10, 12, 14), soil pedogenesis, plant growth, soil biota (Chapter 15), and the accumulation or loss of soil organic matter. Consequently, soil hydraulic properties are critically important to natural processes associated with the hydrologic cycle, and to a vast range of human activities associated with agriculture and soil-water management.
