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FIELD ESTIMATION OF MACROPORE FUNCTIONING AND SURFACE HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY IN A FEN PEAT
Author(s) -
BAIRD ANDREW J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1085(19970315)11:3<287::aid-hyp443>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - infiltrometer , peat , macropore , hydraulic conductivity , soil water , infiltration (hvac) , soil science , water table , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , vadose zone , environmental science , groundwater , geotechnical engineering , ecology , chemistry , mesoporous material , biochemistry , biology , catalysis , physics , thermodynamics
Abstract A limitation of existing models of water and solute movement in fen peats is that they fail to represent processes in the unsaturated zone. This limitation is largely due to a lack of data on the hydraulic properties of unsaturated peat, in particular the relationship between hydraulic conductivity ( K ) and pressure head (ψ). A tension infiltrometer was used to measure K (ψ) of a fen peat in Somerset, England. It was found that macropores could be important in water and solute movement in this soil type. It was also found that (i) variability of K in this peat was less than that reported for other peats and mineral soils, and (ii) the K data were better described by a log‐normal distribution than a normal distribution in accord with findings from other peat and mineral soils. Recommendations on improving the understanding of water and solute movement in the unsaturated zone of this soil type are made. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.