Quantifying preferential flow in soils: A review of different techniques |
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| Authors: | Suzanne E Allaire Stphanie Roulier Allan J Cessna |
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| Institution: | aHorticultural Research Center, Pavillon Envirotron, Université Laval, 1980 Hochelaga Blvd, Quebec City, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6;bETH, Zürich, Soil Protection Group, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland;cAgriculture and Agri Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Center, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 0X2 |
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| Abstract: | Preferential flow (PF) in soil has both environmental and human health implications since it favours contaminant transport to groundwater without interaction with the chemically and biologically reactive upper layer of soil. PF is, however, difficult to measure and quantify. This paper reviews laboratory and field techniques, such as breakthrough curves, dye tracing, and scanning techniques, for evaluating PF in soil at different scales. Advanced technologies, such as scanning techniques, have increased our capability to quantify transport processes within the soil with minimal soil disturbance. Important issues with respect to quantifying PF concern large-scale studies, frozen soil conditions, tracing techniques for particles and gases, a lack of simple mathematical tools for interpreting field data, and the lack of a systematic approach for comparing PF data resulting from different measurement techniques. Also, more research is required to quantify the relative importance of the various PF processes that occur in soil rather than the integrated result of all PF processes in soils. |
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| Keywords: | Macropore flow Finger flow Lysimeters Dye tracing Image analysis Soil heterogeneity |
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