Vertical variations of soil hydraulic properties within two soil profiles and its relevance for soil water simulations

- Spatial variations of soil hydraulic properties were analyzed in two soil profiles.
- Observed variations were correlated to physical soil properties by state-space models.
- Soil water simulations with pedotransfer functions failed for structured soils.
- Simulations with hydropedological layers performed well.

SummaryNumerical simulations of soil water dynamics can be valuable tools for the assessment of different soil and land management practices. For accurate simulations, the soil hydraulic properties (SHP), i.e. the hydraulic conductivity and water retention function have to be properly known. They can be either estimated from physical soil properties by pedotransfer functions (PTF) or measured. In most studies, soil profiles are analyzed and sampled with respect to their pedogenic horizons. While considerable effort has been put on horizontal spatial SHP variations, vertical changes within soil profiles have not been analyzed in detail. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (i) the SHP measurement along vertical transects within two soil profiles, (ii) to evaluate their spatial variation and correlation with physical soil properties, and (iii) to assess the impact of the SHP determination method and its spatial discretization on simulated soil water balance components. Two soils, an agriculturally used silty-loam Chernozem and a forested sandy Cambisol were sampled in 0.05 m increments along vertical transects. The parameters of a dual porosity model were derived using the evaporation method and scaling was applied to derive representative mean SHP parameters and scaling factors as a measure of spatial variability. State-space models described spatial variations of the scaling factors by physical soil properties. Simulations with HYDRUS 1D delivered the soil water balance for different climatic conditions with the SHP being estimated from horizon-wise PTFs, or discretized either sample-wise, according to the pedogenic horizons, or as hydrologically relevant units (hydropedological approach). Considerable SHP variations were found for both soil profiles. In the Chernozem, variations of the hydraulic conductivity were largest within the ploughed Ap-horizon and could be attributed to variations in soil structure (macropores). In the subsoil, soil water retention showed a gradual decrease within each horizon. The observed water retention variations could be described by state-space models that comprised the contents of clay and total carbon, whereas variations of the hydraulic conductivity were described by clay content and total porosity. The hydraulic conductivity in the Cambisol was slightly undulating throughout the profile. Here, water retention was largest in the upper part of the profile and considerably decreased within the lower part of the Bhs-horizon. Simulated soil water balance components differed distinctly between the SHP discretizations. Compared to observed soil water contents, the simulations where the SHP were given by small-scale layers or hydropedological units performed best for both experimental sites. The different SHP discretizations mainly affected the estimated drainage losses and the simulated crop transpiration under medium to dry climatic conditions. The study confirmed the importance of an adequate spatial SHP discretization. The results indicate that SHP estimations by PTFs or the standard horizon-mean sampling strategy might fail to parameterize soil water simulations, especially in structured soils. The presented hydropedological approach showed a way to receive good simulation results by reducing the SHP observation density.