calculation can be much less straightforward, particularly when soil moisture is measured as a
tension.
4.3.2 Soil Moisture Measurement Considerations
Soil moisture measurements are important for a number of applications and for a number of
different reasons. Some applications include; land slide studies, erosion, water shed studies,
climate studies, predicting weather, flood warning, crop quality and yield optimization,
irrigation, and soil remediation to name a few.
Soil moisture values are particularly important for irrigation and the health of the crop. Equations
[4.1], [4.2] and [4.3] can help determine when to irrigate. The following are terms commonly
used in soil hydrology:
!
Soil Saturation, refers to the situation where all the soil pores are filled with water. This
occurs below the water table and in the unsaturated zone above the water table after a
heavy rain or irrigation event. After the rain event, the soil moisture (above the water
table) will decrease from saturation to field capacity.
!
Field Capacity (FC in equations below) refers to the amount of water left behind in soil
after gravity drains saturated soil.
!
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP in equations below) refers to the amount of water in soil
that is unavailable to the plant.
!
The Allowable Depletion (AD in the equations below) is calculated by equation [4.1].
The allowable depletion represents the amount of soil moisture that can be removed by
the crop from the soil before the crop begins to stress.
!
Lower soil moisture Limit (LL from [4.3]) is the soil moisture value below which the
crop will become stressed because it will have insufficient water. When the lower limit is
reached, it is time to irrigate.
!
The Maximum Allowable Depletion (MAD) is the fraction of the available water that is
100% available to the crop.
!
Available Water Capacity (AWC) is the amount of water in the soil that is available to
the plant.
The lower soil moisture limit is a very important value because dropping below this value will
affect the health of the crops. Equations 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 and the example show how to calculate
the lower soil moisture limit.
AD = (FC – PWP ) x MAD
[4.1]
AWC = FC – PWP
[4.2]
LL = FC – AD
[4.3]
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