ASAC 1101 : FUNDAMENTALS OF SOIL SCIENCE (2+1)

Level : [Link] (Ag), I semester

Dr. PEDDA GHOUSE PEERA S.K.

SOIL SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY
[Link] SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE,CUTM,
PARLAKHEMUNDI

Topic
Soil water-properties, classification
Soil water potential
Hysteresis
 Soil water: importance
o Extremely important for soil physical, chemical and biological
processes
o Weathering of minerals to decomposition of organic matter
o In the soil
o Water can flow up as well as down
o Plants may wilt and die in a soil whose profile contains a million kilograms
of water in a hectare
o A layer of sand or gravel in a soil profile may actually inhibit drainage,
rather than enhance it
Soil water: importance
o Soil–water interactions influences
Water loss by leaching
Surface runoff
ET
Air and water balance in soil pores
Rate of change in soil temperature
Rate and kind of metabolism of soil organisms, and
Capacity of soil to store and provide water for plant growth
Structure and properties of water
Two-dimensional representation of a
water molecule showing a large oxygen
atom and two much smaller hydrogen
atoms.
The H¬O¬H angle of 105° results in an
asymmetrical arrangement.
One side of the water molecule (that
with the two hydrogens) is
electropositive; the other is
electronegative. This accounts for the
polarity of water.
Structure and properties of water
1. Polarity
2. H-bonding
a) hydrogen atom of one
water molecule is
attracted to the oxygen
end of a neighboring
water molecule, thereby
forming a low-energy
bond between the two
molecule
b) accounts for the
polymerization of water
Structure and properties of water
1. Polarity
2. H-bonding
3. Hydration
a) Cations such as H+, Na+, K+, and Ca2+
become hydrated through their
attraction to the oxygen (negative)
end
b) Negatively charged clay surfaces
attract water, this time through the
hydrogen (positive) end of the
molecule
c) Dissolution of salts in water
Structure and properties of water
1. Polarity
2. H-bonding
3. Hydration
4. Cohesion vs. Adhesion
5. Surface tension
a) Evident at liquid–air interfaces
b) Results from the greater
attraction of water molecules
for each other (cohesion) than
for the air above
Capillary mechanism
1. Capillarity can be demonstrated by placing one end of a
fine (< 1 mm diameter), clean glass tube in water
2. The water rises in the tube; the smaller the tube bore,
the higher the water rises.
3. The water molecules are attracted to the sides of the
tube (adhesion) and start to spread out along the glass
in response to this attraction.
4. The cohesive forces hold the water molecules together
and create surface tension, causing a curved surface
(called a meniscus).
5. Lower pressure under the meniscus in the glass tube
(P2) allows the higher pressure (P1) on the free water
to push water up the tube. The process continues until
the water in the tube has risen high enough that its
h =0.15/r weight just balances the pressure differential across the
D.C: Ray R. Weil meniscus
Capillary mechanism in soil
1. The height of rise h doubles when the tube
inside radius is halved
2. The same relationship using glass tubes of
different bore size
3. The same principle also relates pore sizes in a
soil and height of capillary rise, but the rise of
water in a soil is rather jerky and irregular
because of the tortuous shape and variability in
size of the soil pores (as well as because of
pockets of trapped air)
4. The finer the soil texture, the greater the
proportion of small-sized pores and, hence, the
higher the ultimate rise of water above a free-
water table.
5. However, because of the much greater frictional
D.C: Ray R. Weil
forces in the smaller pores, the capillary rise is
much slower in the finer-textured soil than in
the sand
Capillary movement of soil water in both direction

Surface runoff collection basin Stream bank

P.C: Ray R. Weil
Soil water energy concepts
1. The retention and movement of water in soils, its uptake and
translocation in plants, and its loss to the atmosphere are all
energy-related phenomena
2. Kinetic energy is certainly an important factor in the rapid,
turbulent flow of water in a river, but the movement of water in
soil is so slow that the kinetic energy component is usually
negligible.
3. Potential energy is most important in determining the status
and movement of soil water.
4. Higher energy state lower energy state
Soil water energy concepts
The total energy state of soil water is defined
by its equivalent potential energy, as
determined by the various forces acting on the
water per unit quantity.

Forces acting on soil water (in the vadose zone) are:

1. Capillary forces
2. Adsorptive forces (adhesion of water to solid soil
surfaces): Capillary and adsorptive forces together
result in soil matric potential
3. Gravitational forces
4. Drag or shear forces (at soil surface-water interface)
3 models of water distribution
 Soil water potential
1. To quantify potential energy state of soil water, a reference
state is needed.
2. Reference state: potential energy of pure water, with no
external forces acting on it, at a reference pressure
(atmospheric), reference temperature, and reference
elevation.
3. Soil water potential is then determined as potential energy per
unit quantity of water, RELATIVE to the reference potential of
zero.
Soil water potential
 Soil water potential
Formal definition: Total soil water potential is defined as the amount of
work per unit quantity of pure water that must be done by external
forces to transfer reversibly and isothermally an infinitesimal amount of
water from the standard state to the soil at the point under
consideration.

Since water in soil has various forces acting upon it, potential energy
usually differs from point to point, and hence its potential energy is
variable as well.

REMEMBER: Potential = Force x Distance = mgl =ρwVgl (Nm)

Total Soil water potential

YT= Yg + Ym+ Yo + Yh +…………(N/m2)

Yg = gravitation potential
Ym = matric potential
Yo = osmotic potential
Yh = hydrostatic potential
Gravitation potential

The force of gravity acts on

soil water the same as it does
on any other body , the
attraction being toward the
Earth’s center. The
gravitational potential Yg of
soil water may be expressed
mathematically as:
Yg = gh
P.C: Ray R. Weil
 Pressure potential (Hydrostatic + Matric)
Includes:
(1) The positive hydrostatic pressure due to the weight of
overlying water in saturated soils and aquifers
(2) The negative pressure due to the attractive forces between
the water and the soil solids or the soil matrix
 Hydrostatic potential
(1) The hydrostatic pressures give rise to what is often
termed the hydrostatic potential Yh, a component
that is operational only for water in saturated zones
below the water table
(2) Anyone who has dived to the bottom of a
swimming pool has felt hydrostatic pressure on his
or her eardrums
Matric potential
(1) The attraction of water to solid surfaces gives rise
to the matric potential Ym
(2) Always negative because the water attracted by the
soil matrix has an energy state lower than that of
pure water
Pressure potential

 The top of the saturated zone is termed the water

table.
 Above the water table, the soil is unsaturated and its
water subject to the influence of matric potentials
 Water below the water table in saturated soil is
subject to hydrostatic potentials
 Osmotic potential
 The osmotic potential Yo is attributable to the presence of
both inorganic and organic substances dissolved in water.
 As water molecules cluster around solute ions or
molecules, the freedom of movement (and therefore the
potential energy) of the water is reduced.
 The greater the concentration of solutes, the more osmotic
potential is lowered. As always, water will tend to move to
where its energy level will be lower, in this case to the
zone of higher solute concentration.
 Soil water potential
Potential per unit mass (m) : m = potential/mass = gl (Nm/kg)= gl (joules/kg)
Potential per unit weight (h) : h = potential/weight = mgl / mg = l (m, head unit)= equivalent height of water
Potential per unit volume (y) : y = potential/volume = rwVgl / V = rwgl (N/m2, water pressure units)
= rwgl Pa(SI Unit)

Consequently, we do not need to compute the soil-water potential directly by

computing the amount of work needed, but measure the soil-water potential indirectly
from pressure or water height measurements !!!!
Expression of soil water potential
Water characteristic curves
Hysteresis
 The relationship between soil
water content and matric
potential of a soil upon being
dried and then rewetted
 Due to factors such as the
nonuniformity of soil pores,
entrapped air, and swelling
and shrinking
 As soils are wetted, some of
the smaller pores are
bypassed, leaving entrapped
air that prevents water
penetration.

Diagram courtesy of N Brady and Ray R. Weil