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Spatial and Temporal Variation of Ponded Infiltration
Author(s) -
Starr J. L.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1990.03615995005400030001x
Subject(s) - infiltration (hvac) , tillage , environmental science , hydraulic conductivity , sorptivity , soil science , spatial variability , hydrology (agriculture) , infiltrometer , surface runoff , soil water , geology , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , ecology , geography , porosity , biology , statistics , meteorology
Infiltration of water into soil is controlled by a complex set of soil and biotic factors, and may be an important factor affecting the fate of water and agrochemicals under different tillage systems. This study was conducted to assess the spatial and temporal variation of ponded infiltration as affected by plow‐ (PT) and conservation‐tillage (CT) corn ( Zea mays L.) systems under different plant and row location conditions. Ponded‐infiltration rates were measured on eight dates from 3 June to 7 November. Saturated hydraulic conductivity and sorptivity, K s and S , were estimated by fitting a mechanistic infiltration model to the data. Subsequently, a third parameter, the cumulative 1‐h infiltration, I 1 , was calculated from the model using the derived K s and S values. All three infiltration parameters were used to assess treatment and sampling‐position effects on infiltration. Frequency distributions for K s , S , and I 1 were highly skewed with quasi‐log‐normal distribution. Temporal variation gave rise to a strong seasonal impact on infiltration, resulting in I 1 values under CT that were significantly greater than those under PT from June through August. An abrupt change in K s occurred by early October, resulting in PT and CT then having similar infiltration characteristics.