| Abstract: | The saturated and unsaturated flow properties of a field soil under two tillage treatments were obtained with ponded rings and disc permeameters of dissimilar radii. No difference was observed between tillage treatments but the flow properties displayed a distinct macropore-matrix dichotomy, with K changing by an order of magnitude as ψ0 went from just - 30 mm to zero. Accurate prediction of time to incipient ponding was achieved using both numerical and analytical models calibrated with field hydraulic properties that were characteristic of the soil matrix. However, extension of the numerical model to the prediction of the wetting front development under non-ponded conditions was less accurate due to localized preferred wetting It is hypothesized that at this site, localized concentration of rainfall and hence, preferred wetting, May, occur by interception and stemflow associated with lines of standing stubble present in the original seeding slots. |
