A simplified dynamic method for field capacity estimation and its parameter analysis

This paper presents a simplified dynamic method based on the definition of field capacity. Two soil hydraulic characteristics models, the Brooks-Corey (BC) model and the van Genuchten (vG) model, and four soil data groups were used in this study. The relative drainage rate, which is a unique parameter and independent of the soil type in the simplified dynamic method, was analyzed using the pressure-based method with a matric potential of −1/3 bar and the flux-based method with a drainage flux of 0.005 cm/d. As a result, the relative drainage rate of the simplified dynamic method was determined to be 3% per day. This was verified by the similar field capacity results estimated with the three methods for most soils suitable for cultivating plants. In addition, the drainage time calculated with the simplified dynamic method was two to three days, which agrees with the classical definition of field capacity. We recommend the simplified dynamic method with a relative drainage rate of 3% per day due to its simple application and clearly physically-based concept.