Applications Of Soil Physics

Applications of Soil Physics deals with the applications of soil physics and covers topics ranging from infiltration and surface runoff to groundwater drainage, evaporation from bare-surface soils, and uptake of soil moisture by plants. Water balance and energy balance in the field are also discussed, along with tillage and soil structure management. The development and extension of Penman's evaporation formula is also described. This book is comprised of 14 chapters and begins with a systematic description of the field-water cycle and its management, with emphasis on infiltration and runoff; redistribution and drainage; evaporation and transpiration; and irrigation and tillage. Subsequent chapters focus on transpiration from plant canopies; freezing phenomena in soils; scaling and similitude of soil-water phenomena; spatial variability of soil physical properties; and movement of solutes during infiltration into homogeneous soil. Concepts of soil-water availability to plants are considered, together with principles of irrigation management and the advantages and limitations of drip irrigation. This monograph is intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of the environmental, engineering, and agronomic sciences.

The importance to preserve soil and water have is increasingly recognized. Agricultural practices and ecological trends both affect and are affected by soil physical properties. The more frequency of natural disasters, as landslides and thunderstorms addresses the importance to integrate soil characteristics in predictive models. Soil physics research has grown considerably specially in the use of innovative sensors, soil databases, and modeling techniques have been introduced into soil water relationship and environmental monitoring. Those advances are thoroughly dispersed in articles and conference proceedings In this volume, the authors will bring together the effectiveness of many new field and lab sensors and examine the current state-of-the-art in modeling and data analysis. It also includes innovative approaches and case studies in tropical soils. Future directions in soil physics research are given by key researchers in this discipline.

An abridged, student-oriented edition of Hillel's earlier published Environmental Soil Physics, Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics is a more succinct elucidation of the physical principles and processes governing the behavior of soil and the vital role it plays in both natural and managed ecosystems. The textbook is self-contained and self-explanatory, with numerous illustrations and sample problems. Based on sound fundamental theory, the textbook leads to a practical consideration of soil as a living system in nature and illustrates the influences of human activity upon soil structure and function. Students, as well as other readers, will better understand the importance of soils and the pivotal possition they occupy with respect to careful and knowledgeable conservation. Written in an engaging and clear style, posing and resolving issues relevant to the terrestrial environment Explores the gamut of the interactions among the phases in the soil and the dynamic interconnection of the soil with the subterranean and atmospheric domains Reveals the salient ideas, approaches, and methods of environmental soil physics Includes numerous illustrative exercises, which are explicitly solved Designed to serve for classroom and laboratory instruction, for self-study, and for reference Oriented toward practical problems in ecology, field-scale hydrology, agronomy, and civil engineering Differs from earlier texts in its wider scope and holistic environmental conception

Numerical models have become much more efficient, making their application to problems increasingly widespread. User-friendly interfaces make the setup of a model much easier and more intuitive while increased computer speed can solve difficult problems in a matter of minutes. Co-authored by the software’s creator, Dr. Jirka Šimůnek, Soil Physics with HYDRUS: Modeling and Applications demonstrates one- and two-dimensional simulations and computer animations of numerical models using the HYDRUS software. Classroom-tested at the University of Georgia by Dr. David Radcliffe, this volume includes numerous examples and homework problems. It provides students with access to the HYDRUS-1D program as well as the Rosetta Module, which contains large volumes of information on the hydraulic properties of soils. The authors use HYDRUS-1D for problems that demonstrate infiltration, evaporation, and percolation of water through soils of different textures and layered soils. They also use it to show heat flow and solute transport in these systems, including the effect of physical and chemical nonequilibrium conditions. The book includes examples of two-dimensional flow in fields, hillslopes, boreholes, and capillary fringes using HYDRUS (2D/3D). It demonstrates the use of two other software packages, RETC and STANMOD, that complement the HYDRUS series. Hands-on use of the windows-based codes has proven extremely effective when learning the principles of water and solute movement, even for users with very little direct knowledge of soil physics and related disciplines and with limited mathematical expertise. Suitable for teaching an undergraduate or lower level graduate course in soil physics or vadose zone hydrology, the text can also be used for self-study on how to use the HYDRUS models. With the information in this book, you can run models for different scenarios and with different parameters, and thus gain a better understanding of the physics of water flow and contaminant transport.

Environmental Soil Physics is a completely updated and modified edition of the Daniel Hillels previous, successful books, Introduction to Soil Physics and Fundamentals of Soil Physics. Hillel is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, one of the true leaders in the field of environmental sciences. The new version includes a chapter and problems on computational techniques, addresses current environmental concerns and trends. Updates and expands the scope of Hillel's prior works, Fundamentals of Soil Physics (1980)and Applications of Soil Physics (1980) Explores the wide range of interactions among the phases in the soil and the dynamic interconnections of the soil with the subterranean and atmospheric domains Draws attention to historical and contemporary issues concerning the human management of soil and water resources Directs readers toward solution of practical problems in terrestrial ecology, field-scale hydrology, agronomy, and civil engineering Incorporates contributions by leading scientists in the areas of spatial variability, soil remediation, and the inclusion of land-surface processes in global climate models

This textbook is designed for use in university courses on the subject and as a reference book for practitioners and students. The work describes the physical properties of soils and how these properties affect agriculture and the environment. It is unique in its inclusion of pedology, taxonomy and pedotransfer functions.

Now in its third edition, this textbook gives a comprehensive account of soil physics with emphasis on field applications for students and research workers engaged in water resources studies, soil sciences, and plant sciences. The authors have added chapters on soil erosion, conservation, and the role of soil in affecting water quality to this new edition. The book gives an account of how water influences the structure and strength of soil; how plants absorb water from soils; how water from rain and irrigation enters the soil and flows through it to contribute to stream flow and flow in artificial drains; how soluble salts and chemical pollutants are transported; how soils are eroded by water and wind; and how the evaporation rate from the land surface is influenced by soil water supply, the nature of the plant cover and the evaporative power of the atmosphere. This book will be useful to students and research workers in environmental sciences, hydrology, agriculture, soil science, and civil engineering.