ABSTRACT
Dynamics of water storage and retention in soil K. Rajkai, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary; F. Ács, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary; B. Tóth, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and University of Pannonia, Hungary; and A. Makó, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
1 Introduction
2 Measuring and modelling soil water retention
3 Case study: assessing the variability of water retention data and related soil properties
4 Methods for predicting soil hydraulic properties on catchment scales
5 Using data sets with soil hydrological properties
6 The outlook for soil hydraulic properties prediction
7 Factors affecting water retention and loss
8 Conclusion
9 Future trends
10 Where to look for further information
11 References
Soils form the main water sources for plants. Soils develop pore structure and high porosity from the process of aggregate formation. Aggregates are stabilized by humidified organic compounds having high water absorption. Aggregate formation of soil can also be affected by root growth and microbial activity. Rain and other surface waters are the main sources of water in soils. In cases of a shallow groundwater table depth, capillary rise can also be a soil water source. Since it does not form a separate body, water in soil is referred to as soil moisture. Crop farmers are interested mostly in the quantity of usable soil moisture. The availability of soil moisture depends on the variable size of the capillary network in the soil. Edgar Buckingham described these forces between soil and water as capillary potential (Buckingham, 1907), also known as the matric potential of soil water (Schofield, 1935).
