Module 4b - Soil - Water - Movement

Soil water movement
Dulo S. O.
Department of Civil and Construction Engineering
University of Nairobi
Top soil
an unsaturated zone
near the surface
a saturated zone
at depth
Unconfined Aquifer
Unsaturated Zone:
Pores include both air and water
Groundwater Table
Saturated Zone:
Pores filled with water
Soil Water
Source: Dept of Agriculture Bulletin 462, 1960

Soil Water
 The water table is defined as the surface on
which the fluid pressure p in the pores of a
porous medium is exactly atmospheric.
 The location of this surface is revealed by the
level at which water stands in a shallow well
open along its length and penetrating the
surface deposits.
 If p is measured in terms of gauge pressure
(i.e. relative to atmospheric pressure), then at
the water table p=0.
Ranges of
porosities,
field
capacities,
and
permanent
wilting points
for soils of
various
textures
Water Movement Movie
Be prepared for exam

questions from this movie!
Describe in your own words what happens to the water in
the diagram below.
Water
A horizon - Air Dry

Soil
Answer
 The water moves sideways
and downward at the same
rate. This is because of
adhesion and cohesion. WATER
 Would the movement be
different if the soil was
saturated?
 Yes. The movement would
mainly be downward due to
gravity.
Water Movement
Water
Loam
Sand
Water Movement
 Water front does

not move into sand Water
until loam is
saturated
Loam t1
t2
t3
t4
Sand
Water Movement
 Water front moves
into clay upon
contact with clay,
but because it moves Water
slow water builds up
above the clay layer. loam
clay
Summary Points from Water
Movement Movie
1. Pore size is one of the most important
fundamental properties affecting how water
moves through soil. Larger pores as in sand
conduct water more rapidly than smaller pores in
clay.
2. The two forces that allow water to move

through soil are gravitational forces and
capillary forces. Capillary forces are greater in
small pores than in large pores.
3. Gavitational and capillary forces act
simultaneously in soils. Capillary action
involves two types of attractions, adhesion and
cohesion. Adhesion is attraction of water
molecules to solid surfaces; cohesion is the
attraction of water molecules to each other.
Gravity pulls water downward when the water
is not held by capillary action. Thus gravity
influences water in saturated soils.
4. Sandy soils contain larger pores than clay

soils, but do not contain as much total pore
space.
5. Sandy soils do not contain as much water per unit volume of
soil as clay soils.
6. Factors that affect water movement through soil include
texture, structure, organic matter and bulk density. Any
condition that affects soil pore size and shape will affect
water movement.
7. Examples include compaction, tillage, decayed root channels
and worm holes.
8. The rate and direction of water moving through soil is also
affected by soil layers of different material. Abrupt
changes in pore size from one layer to the next affect
water movement. When fine soil overlies coarse soil,
downward water movement will temporally stop at the fine
coarse interface until the fine layer above the interface is
nearly saturation.
9. When a coarse soil is above a fine soil,
the rapid water movement in the
coarse soil is greater than through the
clay and water will build up above the
fine layer as the water front comes in
contact with the fine layer. This can
result in a build up of a perched water
table if water continues to enter the
coarse layer.
Soil Water
and Plant Use
Water Budget
http://wwwcimis.water.ca.gov/cimis/infoIrrBudget.jsp
Water Balance Diagram
Evapotranspiration
Potential ET
Water amount
Soil moisture Actual ET

utilization
Recharge Runoff Recharge
Precipitation
Ap May June July Aug. Sept Oct
ET > Precip = Soil moisture utilization

Precip > ET = Recharge, surplus, and runoff
Calculating Soil Moisture
 Gravimetric
 The mass of water in a given mass
of soil (kg of water per kg of soil).
 Pw = Percent water by weight or
 Pw = wt. water ÷ wt. O.D. soil
 Weight of water = wet soil-O.D.Soil
Pw = (weight of wet soil – weight of oven dry soil) X 100

weight of oven dry soil
What determines Plant Available
Water Capacity (AWC)
AWC = FC-WP
 Rooting depth a) type of plants, b) growing stage

 Depth of root limiting layers
 Infiltration vs. runoff (more water entering soil,
more will be stored )
 Amount of coarse fragments (gravel)
 Soil Texture - size and amount of pores
silt loam has greatest AWC, followed by
loam, clay loam silty clay loam
Soil Water Classification
AWC by Texture
 Texture Available Water Capacity in
mm/m of Depth
 Coarse Sands …………… 20- 60
 Fine Sands 60 - 80
 Loamy Sand 90 - 100
 Sandy Loams 100 - 115
 Fine Sandy Loam 125 - 170
 Loam ……………… 150- 170
 Silt Loams 170 - 205
 Clay Loam 150 - 170
 Silty Clay Loams 150 - 170
 Silty Clay 125 - 145
 Clay ……………………… 100 – 125
Sample Problem
 A soil with 0.6 m of loamy sand over 0.6 m

of silt loam has how many mm of AWC if all
1.2 m is at field capacity?
from table – ls = 100mm/m and sil = 205mm/m.
 (0.6mm x 100mm/m) + (0.6mm x 205mm/m)

= 60mm + 123mm
= 183mm of AWC in 1.2m of soil
Sample Problem:
Gravimetric determination of soil water
 Wt. of cylinder + oven dry soil = 240g
 wt. cylinder at field capacity =350g
 wt cylinder at wilt point = 300
 Wt cylinder on June 1 = 320
 volume cylinder = 200 cc
 Plot the moisture content variation for the
soil
 Or Wet------------FC----------field June 1--------------air dry

350 320 300
Solution:
Gravimetric determination of soil water
 Or Wet------------FC----------field June 1--------------air dry
350 320 300
 Bulk Density (BD) = 240/200 = 1.2 g/cc

 % water by wt. at FC = ((350-240)÷240)x100 = 45.8%
 % water by vol at FC = ((350-240) ÷200) x100 = 55%
 and %water by wt. X BD = % water by Vol
 Or 45.8 X 1.2 = 55%
 % water by vol at WP = ((300-240) ÷200) x100 = 30%

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Soil water movement

Source: Dept of Agriculture Bulletin 462, 1960

Be prepared for exam

A horizon - Air Dry

 Water front does

2. The two forces that allow water to move

4. Sandy soils contain larger pores than clay

Soil moisture Actual ET

ET > Precip = Soil moisture utilization

Pw = (weight of wet soil – weight of oven dry soil) X 100

 Rooting depth a) type of plants, b) growing stage

 A soil with 0.6 m of loamy sand over 0.6 m

 (0.6mm x 100mm/m) + (0.6mm x 205mm/m)

 Or Wet------------FC----------field June 1--------------air dry

 Bulk Density (BD) = 240/200 = 1.2 g/cc

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