Title
Exploration of Pedotransfer Function Predictions on Soil Moisture Retention in Dry Creek Experimental Watershed Soils
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
April 2010
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Molly Gribb
Abstract
Necessary to sustain life, our planet’s most valuable resource is water. Hydrologic process models are used to predict water movement through subsurface soils. Hydraulic properties of the soil, such as the soil moisture retention curve, are input into these models used to predict subsurface flows. The soil moisture retention curve describes the soil’s capacity to hold water as pore water pressure changes. Because this curve is difficult to measure experimentally, soil particle size data is often used to predict the water retention curves using pedotransfer functions. In this study, several pedotransfer functions were investigated for use with soils from the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed near Boise, Idaho. The performance of the pedotransfer functions was determined by comparing predictions with the results of laboratory and in situ measurements of soil water retention behavior for a number of sampling locations along a transect in the watershed.