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Factors Influencing Point Measurement of Near‐surface Saturated Soil Hydraulic Conductivity in a Small Sicilian Basin
Author(s) -
Baiamonte Giorgio,
Bagarello Vincenzo,
D'Asaro Francesco,
Palmeri Vincenzo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.2674
Subject(s) - structural basin , hydraulic conductivity , elevation (ballistics) , spatial variability , land cover , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , soil texture , soil science , sampling (signal processing) , soil water , digital elevation model , land use , streams , spatial distribution , geology , geomorphology , remote sensing , ecology , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , computer network , statistics , geometry , filter (signal processing) , biology , computer science , computer vision
Hydraulic conductivity of saturated soil, K s , controls many hydrological processes. Parameterization of basin hydrological models in terms of K s is complicated and uncertain owing to the very high spatial variability of this soil property. A small Sicilian basin was intensively sampled by the simplified falling head technique to obtain spatially distributed K s data, and an attempt to explain their spatial variability on the basis of soil physical characteristics, digital elevation model‐derived topographic attributes and land cover was carried out. High K s values were obtained when clay content was low and both elevation and mean slope were high. Moreover, differences in K s among land cover classes were detected. However, soil texture was found to have a main role on K s variability. This finding was supported by a subsequent intensive sampling of two areas differing by elevation and land cover. The conclusion was that, for the sampled basin, a good knowledge of the spatial distribution of the soil textural fractions is necessary to develop an appropriate sampling plan for K s , regardless of both the position within the basin and land use. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.