WRE 451

Hydrology, Irrigation and Flood Management

L4/T1 (Civil Engineering Department)

Badal Mahalder, PhD

Assistant Professor, WRE, BUET

Lecture 4: Plant-Soil-Water Relationship

Date: April 07, 2021
 Plant-Soil Water Relationship
• Movement of water occurs in response to differences in the potential energy of
water (from an area of relatively high-water potential to an area of relatively low
water potential).
• Although water uptake by plants is under physiological control, it is often described
as a purely physical process, as a consequence of gradients in water potential in the
soil - plant - atmosphere continuum (SPAC).
• The SPAC is the pathway for water moving from soil through plants to the
atmosphere.
• The SPAC constitutes a physically integrated, dynamic system in which various flow
processes (e.g., solar energy interception, plant transpiration, water movement
through plant system, and water movement from soil to plant root hair) occur
simultaneously and independently, like links in a chain.
 Plant-Soil Water Relationship

• About 99% of all the water that enters the roots leaves the plant’s leaves via the
stomata.
• On a dry, warm, sunny day, a leaf can evaporate 100% of its water weight in just an
hour.
• Water movement is due to differences in potential between soil, root, stem, leaf,
and atmosphere.
• Under normal conditions, the water potential in soil is higher than that in root saps
or fluids.
Plant-Soil Water Relationship

• Typical moist soil might have a water

potential of about -0.3 to -1.0 bar,

• root tissue about -4.0 bar,

• stem about -7.0 bar,

• leaf about -10.0 to -12.0 bar, and

• typical dry atmosphere about -400 to

-600 bar.

1 atm = 1.01325 bar

 Plant-Soil-Water Relationship

• Irrigation water management at any level requires a thorough understanding of

the relations between soil and water.
• These relations are governed by intermolecular forces and tensions, which give
rise to the “capillary phenomenon.”
• These forces in unsaturated soils are influenced by soil texture and structure.
• It is on the basis of the soil texture and structure that water retention capacity or
water holding capacity of the soil varies.
Plant-Soil-Water Relationship

• Soil zone or root zone: depth at which

the root can be penetrated.

• This zone is important since the plants

uptakes water from here.

• Part of water from precipitation or

irrigation is being absorbed in this
zone and the rest moves downward
due to gravity, which is known as
gravity water.
 Plant-Soil-Water Relationship
Soil-Water Content
Water content of a soil specimen is defined as the amount of water that is lost from the
soil upon drying at 105oC, expressed either as the weight of water per unit of dry soil,
or as the volume of water per unit volume of soil in bulk.

Factors Affecting Soil Water

The amount of water that is retained in unit volume of soil depends on various factors:
• Size and distribution of soil particles (texture)
• Pore space and their orientation
• Organic matter content
• Soil structure
• Soil temperature
• Compaction/over-burden pressure
 Soil physical properties influencing irrigation
The most important soil properties influencing irrigation:
• Soil texture
• Soil structure
• Infiltration capacity of soil
• Water holding capacity of soil
• Depth to water table
• Capillary conductivity
• Soil profile conditions
 Soil Properties
The primary components of soil:

(a) Minerals
(b) Water
(c) Air
(d) Organic matter

Sand particle: 2 – 0.05 mm

Silt particle: 0.05 – 0.002 mm
Clay particle: < 0.002 mm
 Soil Texture

• Soils are generally called gravel, sand, silt

or clay, depending on their predominant
size of particles within the soil.
• Natural Soil is mixture of two or more of
these constituents.
• Organic materials are partly or fully
decomposed in natural soil.

Marshall’s triangular co-ordinate for soil textural class (USDA

classification)
 Soil Texture
• Texture can be determined from grain-size distribution using
textural classification chart.
• The geometry of voids created in the soil matrix is dependent on
the textural classification of soil. The soil texture, therefore,
influences considerably the other phases (water and air) contained
in the spaces of soil matrix.
• Sandy soils are loose and non-cohesive and have a low water
holding capacity. Such soils form relatively simple capillary systems,
which ensure good drainage and aeration.
• The clay particles are usually aggregated together into complex
granules. Because of their platelike shape, clay particles have a
much greater surface area than cubes or spheres of similar volume.
Their extensive surface enables clay particles to hold more water
and minerals than sandy soils.
 Soil Structure
• The arrangement of individual soil particles is called soil structure.
• Sand-sized aggregates are more favorable for plant growth than very small and very
large ones.
• Large pores induce aeration and infiltration, medium-sized pores facilitate capillary
conductivity, and small pores induce greater water holding capacity.
• Rounded edges of the aggregates result in better pore distribution than angular ones.
Compact soil restricts aeration and root spread.
• For optimum crop growth, soil structure should be such that the infiltration capacity is
large, the percolation capacity is medium and aeration is sufficient (not excessive).
Definitions
 Problem
A cylinder was carefully pushed into the soil without disturbing the soil. The cross-sectional area of
the cylinder was 40 cm2. The length of the column of soil within the cylinder was 30 cm. The weight of
the soil within the cylinder was 1.65 kg when it was dried. The weight of the soil before drying was 2.0
kg. Determine the following:

1. Bulk density of soil

2. Percent moisture in weight basis
3. Percent moisture in volume basis
 Soil Water Measurement
• Good on-farm irrigation water management is the routine monitoring and
measurement of soil water.
• It helps to avoid economic losses due to:
• effect of under-irrigation and over-irrigation on crop yield and quality,
• waste of water and energy, and
• leaching of nutrients and agro-chemicals into surface and groundwater.
• Techniques for measuring the soil moisture can be grouped into the following two
categories:
(a) Direct measurement
(b) Indirect measurement
 Direct measurement
• Gravimetric or thermo-gravimetric procedure is the only one technique.
• Gravimetric technique requires the removal of soil from the field and conveyed to a
laboratory for weighing, and removal of soil moisture by heating in an oven.
Advantages of Gravimetric Method
• The direct and most reliable method
• Requires simple equipment, and the equipment are not so expensive, thus affordable
by various categories of users
• Requires less expertise, and thus usable by farmers
• With the use of core sampler (known internal diameter and height), both bulk density
and moisture percentage (in volume basis) can be determined with one set of sample
• No radiation hazard
 Direct measurement

Disadvantages of Gravimetric Method

• Compaction during core sampling may cause error in bulk density and volumetric
moisture content, if the edge of the core is not sharpened.
• For loose, upper-layer soil (especially after plowing and at the initial stage of the crop),
core sampling is problematic and estimation of bulk density may be erroneous.
• Destructive sampling is required, thus not possible of second time sampling at the
same place.
• When the crop covers the field and root system develops, sampling hampers the crop.
• Time consuming and labor intensive
• Difficult in stony or rocky soil
 Indirect measurement
The indirect measurement category includes:
1. Radiological method – Neutron scattering, gamma attenuation technique (e.g.,
using neutron moisture meter)
2. Electromagnetic method – Time domain reflectometry (TDR), TDR FM, Diviner
3. Tensiometry method – using tensiometer
4. Psychrometer method
 Indirect measurement
Radiological method
In this method two approaches are used: (a) Neutron scattering, and (b) Gamma
attenuation
Principle
• The neutron source emits (yields) a huge neutron per second. The hydrogen in
soilwater thermalizes (slow down) the fast neutrons and the slow neutron comes
back near the source, which is detected (counted) by a detector placed above the
source.
• There is a direct relationship between the number of slow neutron coming back
and the amount of hydrogen present in soil.
• An electronic processor converts this information into amount of water.
Schematic of placement of neutron moisture meter on the
top of access tube and radius of sphere (measurement) at
different settings of the probe
 Indirect measurement
Electromagnetic Method
Electromagnetic methods are based on measurements of electrical properties of soil,
which are closely related to soil-water.
• Dielectric constant of the soil water medium and then estimates soil-water content.
o This category includes time domain reflectometry (TDR), frequency domain
reflectometry, soil capacitance measurement, TDR FM, etc.
o TDR is accurate and automatable method for the determination of water
content and electrical conductivity of porous media.
• Another approach is resistivity method. Gypsum blocks are within this category.
 Indirect measurement
• A TDR sensor/probe is inserted
into the soil and a step-voltage
pulse is launched from a TDR
instrument through a coaxial cable
to the sensor.
• The sensor serves as a wave guide
and the soil as the dielectric
TDR configurations (a) balanced parallel two-wire sensors (left), medium.
(b) unbalanced threewire sensor (right) • A part of the voltage pulse is
reflected back when it enters the
sensor from the coaxial cable.
• Another part reaches the end of
the sensor and is then reflected
back to the source.
Indirect measurement
 Indirect measurement
Tensiometry Method

• This method measures the potential or

energy of soil water.
• Soil-water is brought into equilibrium with
water in a porous sensing element, usually
ceramic, which is connected to a manometer
or suction gauge, and the actual free energy
or potential is read directly in appropriate
energy units.
 Indirect measurement
When the water-filled (atmospheric pressure) porous ceramic cup of the tensiometer
comes into contact with the dry soil (negative pressure), the water from the cup comes
out until equilibrium is reached. The resulting rise in mercury in the tube (in case of
mercury tensiometer) or the deflection of the gauge (in case of gauge tensiometer)
indicates the soil-water tension.

Limitations of Tensiometer
(a) It covers only a limited range of soil moisture scale, (0 – 0.8 bar).
(b) If the pores in the tensiometer are very small, the range can be extended slightly, but
the response time for fluctuations in soil potential becomes excessive. If the sensor is
large with relatively coarse pores, it can temporarily alter the soil environment by
excess flow of water from the device into the soil.
(c) Tensiometer readings reflect only the soil moisture tension (which is surrounding the
porous cup), but not the amount of water held in the soil.
 Indirect measurement
Psychrometer Method

• This approach measures the vapor pressure of the water in equilibrium with the soil
and hence measures the total soil-water potential.
• The technique has been used mainly in the laboratory under rigorous controlled
conditions, but is now showing up in the field.
• In its simplest form, the extension of a strip of Cellophane in a gauge container
embedded in the soil is read remotely by the change of resistance in a frictionless
potentiometer linked to the system. More precise thermocouple psychrometers are
now being used widely.
• This technique is one of the main tools of the plant physiologist in measuring water
stress in plants.
 Soil moisture tension

• In unsaturated soils, water is held in the soil matrix under negative pressure due
to attraction of the soil matrix for water
• Instead of referring to this negative pressure the water is said to be subjected to a
tension exerted by the soil matrix
• The tension with which the water is held in unsaturated soil is termed as soil-
moisture tension or soil-moisture suction. It is usually expressed in atm, bars, or
kPa.

Other pressure units like cm of water or cm or mm of mercury are also often used.
Soil moisture tension
 Soil moisture stress

• The osmotic pressure developed by the soil solution (soil-water-salt content)

retards the uptake of water by plants.
• Plant growth is a function of the soil moisture stress which is the sum of the soil
moisture tension and osmotic pressure of soil solution.
• For successful crop production in soils having appreciable salts, the osmotic
pressure of the soil solution must be maintained as low as possible by controlled
leaching and the soil moisture tension is the root zone is maintained in a range that
will provide adequate moisture to the crop.
 Soil moisture characteristics
• Moisture extraction curves, also called moisture characteristics curves, which are
plots of moisture content versus moisture tension, show the amount of moisture
a given soil holds at various tensions.
• Knowledge of the amount of water held by the soil at various tensions is required
in order to understand the amount of water that is available to plants, the water
that can be taken up by the soil.
• Normally “Field capacity” ranges from 1/10 to 1/3 atm and “Permanent Wilting
Point” ranges from 10 to 20 atm.
Soil moisture characteristics
Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies
 Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies
Saturation Capacity

• Saturation capacity is the percentage water content

of a soil fully saturated with water and all its pores
completely filled with water under restricted
drainage.
• It is also termed as maximum water holding
capacity.
• Complete saturation occurs in surface soil
immediately after heavy irrigation and rain.
• The soil water is in free state and the tension at this
stage is zero.
 Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies
Field Capacity

• The soil is at field capacity when all the gravitational

water has been drained and a vertical movement of
water due to gravity is negligible.
• Water removal for most of the soils will require at
least 7 kPa (7 cbars) tension.
• Field capacity consists of two parts: i) Capillary water:
water attached to soil particle due to surface tension,
and ii) Hygroscopic water: water can’t be removed
through capillary and not available to plants.
• Soil water tension at field capacity ranges from 0.1
atm to 0.33 atm.
 Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies
Permanent Wilting Point (PWP)

• It refers to the soil moisture content at which plants do

not get enough water to meet the transpiration demand
and remain wilted unless water is added to the soil.
• It is the moisture content of the soil when plants
growing on that soil starts to show signs of wilting due
to moisture stress.
• Permanent wilting point is considered as the lowest
limit of available water range.
• Soil water tension at PWP ranges from 7 to 32 atm
depending on several factors.
 Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies
Oven Dry Soil

• Oven dry soil is used to describe the soil water status when a soil sample is
dried at 105oC in a hot air oven until the sample loses no more water i.e. for
24 hours.
• The equilibrium tension of soil water at this stage is 10,000 atm.
• Al estimations of soil water content are based on the oven dry weight of the
soil and the soil at this stage is considered to contain zero amount of water.
Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies
Plant-Soil-Water Relationship: Terminologies