Pedotransfer Functions for Estimating Soil Volumetric Moisture Content Based on Soil Fractal Dimension

آب و خاک

Article 16, Volume 27, Issue 3, July 2013, Pages 630-641   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jsw.v0i0.26090

Abstract

Estimation of soil moisture content at different soil suctions is preferred to its determination due to required cost and time. The aim of the present work was to explore the relationship between soil texture fractal dimension and soil volumetric water content. A dataset of 195 soil samples from UNSODA database was selected. A pedotransfer developed by Sepaskhah & Tafteh (2013) was used to estimate soil fractal dimension. Exponential functions better describe the fractal-water content relationship than linear functions. A set of exponential pedotransfer functions using texture fractal dimension or additionally soil bulk density is proposed for predicting water content at several suctions across soil water retention curve. These pedotransfer functions, generally, function well or better than the most recent pedotransfer functions proposed by Ghanbarian-Millan (2010).

Keywords

Fractal Dimension; Soil texture; Pedotransfer functions; Water content estimation; Exponential relationship; UNSODA