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Applied Sciences
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Soil Hydraulic Properties Characterization for Improving Water Availability
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Soil Hydraulic Properties Characterization for Improving Water Availability

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2024 | Viewed by 2007

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Massimo Iovino

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: soil physics; infiltration; soil hydraulic properties; vadose zone hydrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Vincenzo Alagna

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: soil hydrology; water repellency; soil physics
Dr. Dario Autovino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: modelling soil water flow and solute transport; soil hydraulic properties; infiltration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Knowledge of soil hydraulic properties is crucial for simulating hydrological processes at different spatial and temporal scales. Due to the ongoing threat of climate change, water availability is becoming seriously threatened in arid and semi-arid regions, and improved understanding of the vadose zone hydrology and its implications on numerous soil functions will become a challenging issue in the coming years in attempt to optimize water resources both in agricultural, forest, and urban environments.

In this Special Issue, we focus on experimental and theoretical challenges and state-of-the-art methods to characterize, measure, and model soil hydraulic properties. To fulfill the scope of Applied Sciences, studies should aim to demonstrate how soil hydraulic properties are affected by soil management and external inputs (fertilization, pollutants, low quality irrigation water, etc.) and how they affect the hydrological processes (runoff, erosion, groundwater recharge, etc.), with a specific focus on water availability in the scenario of climate change.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Field and laboratory infiltration measurements;
  • Plant water availability for precision agriculture;
  • Inverse methods for soil hydraulic characterization;
  • Development of PTFs for soil hydraulic characterization at different scales;
  • Use of geo-physical techniques for modeling soil structure and water flow;
  • Modeling of preferential flows;
  • Remote sensing application to soil hydraulic characterization;
  • Interaction between soil properties and ecosystems water use efficiency;
  • Effects of soil use and management on physical quality and hydraulic properties;
  • Interactions between water quality and vadose zone hydrology;
  • Use of organic amendments for soil restoration;
  • Effects of biogeochemical processes on soil hydraulic properties;
  • Influence of soil hydraulic properties on water saving in water-limited environments;
  • Urban soils and technosoils characterization for green infrastructures.

Prof. Dr. Massimo Iovino
Dr. Vincenzo Alagna
Dr. Dario Autovino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil hydraulic properties
  • inverse modeling
  • PTF
  • soil physical quality
  • plant water availability
  • water use efficiency
  • vadose zone hydrology
  • urban soils
  • water saving

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1991 KiB  
Article
Influence of Biochar Application Rate, Particle Size, and Pyrolysis Temperature on Hydrophysical Parameters of Sandy Soil
by Justína Vitková, Peter Šurda, Ľubomír Lichner and Roman Výleta
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 3472; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14083472 - 19 Apr 2024
Viewed by 247
Abstract
Sandy areas occupy a huge amount of land worldwide, but due to their characteristics, they are mostly low in fertility and low in organic matter. Sandy soils have coarse texture, high saturated hydraulic conductivity, low soil organic carbon, and poor aggregate stability and [...] Read more.
Sandy areas occupy a huge amount of land worldwide, but due to their characteristics, they are mostly low in fertility and low in organic matter. Sandy soils have coarse texture, high saturated hydraulic conductivity, low soil organic carbon, and poor aggregate stability and water retention capacity; therefore, it is necessary to add organic additives to them. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of particle size and application rate of biochar (BC) produced under different pyrolysis temperatures on the porosity P, available water content for plants AWC, saturated hydraulic conductivity Ks, and contact angle CA of sandy soil. The results show that an application of BC to sandy soil significantly increased AWC by 76–168%, CA by 252–489%, P by 6–11%, and significantly reduced Ks by 37–90%. Statistical analysis of the effect of three examined factors (BC application rate, particle size, and pyrolysis temperature) revealed that P, AWC, and Ks were affected by all three factors, while CA was affected only by BC application rate and particle size. The statistically significant interaction between the two factors was found for P (temperature × rate and size × rate), AWC (temperature × size), and Ks (size × rate). Statistically significant interaction among the three factors was not found for any hydrophysical parameter. The application of BC to amend sandy soils can be seen as a strategy to mitigate drought conditions and to reduce the amount of irrigation, saving water. Further investigations are needed with regard to the BC application under climate conditions with long hot and dry periods, which may promote soil water repellency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Hydraulic Properties Characterization for Improving Water Availability)
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16 pages, 2038 KiB  
Article
Hydraulic Characterization of Green Roof Substrates by Evaporation Experiments
by Dario Autovino, Vincenzo Alagna, Cristina Bondì and Massimo Iovino
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(4), 1617; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14041617 - 17 Feb 2024
Viewed by 497
Abstract
Green roofs can be a valid solution for stormwater management in urban environments. The objective of this study was to develop a laboratory procedure for the hydraulic characterization of artificial substrates, used in the realization of green roofs, based on transient evaporation and [...] Read more.
Green roofs can be a valid solution for stormwater management in urban environments. The objective of this study was to develop a laboratory procedure for the hydraulic characterization of artificial substrates, used in the realization of green roofs, based on transient evaporation and steady-state unit hydraulic gradient (UHG) experiments. The retention, θ(h), and hydraulic conductivity, K(h), curves of two commercial substrates Terra Mediterranea® (TMT) and AgriTERRAM® (ATV) and a specifically developed substrate made by mixing peat, compost and sandy loam soil (MIX) were investigated. The unimodal van Genuchten–Mualem (VGM) hydraulic functions obtained by the direct evaporation method with different choices of the fitting parameters were compared with UHG measurements of K(h) conducted close to saturation. A numerical inversion of the transient evaporation experiments performed by Hydrus-1D software was also conducted, assuming that the hydraulic properties could be expressed either by unimodal or bimodal VGM models. The results indicated that an appropriate a priori choice of the residual water content parameter improved the estimation of the water retention curve. Moreover, the water retention data estimated from the direct evaporation method were not statistically different from those obtained with the inverse Hydrus-1D. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity estimations obtained by the direct and inverse methods were highly correlated and the use of the bimodal VGM model improved the estimation of K(h) in the wet range. The numerical inversion of laboratory evaporation data with the hydraulic characteristics expressed by the bimodal VGM model proved to be a reliable and effective procedure for hydraulic characterization of artificial substrates, thus improving the reliability of simulated water fluxes in green roofs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Hydraulic Properties Characterization for Improving Water Availability)
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14 pages, 2730 KiB  
Article
A Simple Model for Estimating the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Soil
by Ziran Zhang and Maosheng Zhang
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 1254; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14031254 - 02 Feb 2024
Viewed by 678
Abstract
Describing the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil is very important in predicting water transport. Most current models have complex forms and generally need to be calibrated by the measured unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve. A simple model, by which it is possible to conveniently [...] Read more.
Describing the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil is very important in predicting water transport. Most current models have complex forms and generally need to be calibrated by the measured unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve. A simple model, by which it is possible to conveniently predict the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, is proposed in this study. The soil–water characteristic curve and hydraulic conductivity curve are separated into three parts. The soil–water characteristic curve is represented by Fredlund and Xing’s equation. A simple model composed of three lines is proposed for estimating the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil. The model parameters can be conveniently calibrated from the measured soil–water characteristic curve and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Finally, the proposed model is validated by the experimental data from different soils. The proposed model provides a simple approach to estimating the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil, which is more convenient for practical application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Hydraulic Properties Characterization for Improving Water Availability)
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