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Estimation of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of peat soils; laboratory versus field data

K. Schwaerzel, J. Simunek, H. Stoffregen, G. Wessolek and M. T. van Genuchten
Estimation of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of peat soils; laboratory versus field data
Vadose Zone Journal (May 2006) 5 (2): 628-640

Abstract

As compared with mineral soils, there are few in situ measurements of the unsaturated hydraulic properties of peat soils available. We used parameter estimation (inverse) methods to estimate the water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions of drained peat soils from both laboratory and field data. The laboratory data were obtained on small cores using the traditional evaporation method, while the field data were obtained by means of evaporation experiments using groundwater lysimeters with and without vegetation. The field experiments without vegetation produced highly uncertain parameters and were limited to a relatively small pressure head range. Better results were obtained for the lysimeter with a grass cover that caused the peat soil to dry out more. However, a physically realistic minimum in the objective function for the plant-covered lysimeter could be found only when prior information about several parameters was included in the optimization. Good agreement was obtained between the laboratory and field measurements. The hydraulic functions were subsequently tested by comparing forward simulations with independently measured pressure heads and water contents of an additional lysimeter experiment under grass. The dynamics of the drying process was described well using the optimized soil hydraulic properties.


ISSN: 1539-1663
Serial Title: Vadose Zone Journal
Serial Volume: 5
Serial Issue: 2
Title: Estimation of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of peat soils; laboratory versus field data
Affiliation: University of Technology, Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecology, Dresden, Federal Republic of Germany
Pages: 628-640
Published: 200605
Text Language: English
Publisher: Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, United States
References: 51
Accession Number: 2006-056714
Categories: SoilsHydrogeology
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. 5 tables
N52°40'00" - N52°40'00", E12°30'00" - E12°30'00"
Secondary Affiliation: University of California at Riverside, USA, United StatesTechnical University of Berlin, DEU, Federal Republic of GermanyU. S. Department of Agriculture-ARS, USA, United States
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute. Abstract, Copyright, Soil Science Society of America. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States
Update Code: 200631
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