A new and simple water retention model for root-permeated soils

C.W.W. Ng; J. J. Ni; A. K. Leung; Z. J. Wang

doi:10.1680/jgele.15.00187

A new and simple water retention model for root-permeated soils

C.W.W. Ng
, J. J. Ni
, A. K. Leung (Lead / Corresponding author)
, Z. J. Wang

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

111 Citations (Scopus)

1093 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Vegetation can affect soil hydrology not only through evapotranspiration but also through changes in soil water retention curve (SWRC). Models that are able to predict root-induced change in SWRC are limited. Such models often contain many empirical parameters that are not easy to be obtained and calibrated. This letter proposes a new and simple model with only one root parameter, namely root volume ratio Rv, needed for predicting the SWRC of a root-permeated soil. The new model considers void ratio change through volume reduction of air void of soil due to the presence of roots. The modified void ratio of a root-permeated soil is then fed into a void-ratio-dependent SWRC model to predict any resultant change in SWRC. The performance of this new model is validated against three case studies. Good agreement between measurements and predictions is obtained, with discrepancies of degree of saturation <13% for a given suction.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-6
Number of pages	6
Journal	Geotechnique Letters
Volume	6
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.15.00187
Publication status	Published - 10 Mar 2016

Keywords

Partial saturation
Suction
Vegetation

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Cite this

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abstract = "Vegetation can affect soil hydrology not only through evapotranspiration but also through changes in soil water retention curve (SWRC). Models that are able to predict root-induced change in SWRC are limited. Such models often contain many empirical parameters that are not easy to be obtained and calibrated. This letter proposes a new and simple model with only one root parameter, namely root volume ratio Rv, needed for predicting the SWRC of a root-permeated soil. The new model considers void ratio change through volume reduction of air void of soil due to the presence of roots. The modified void ratio of a root-permeated soil is then fed into a void-ratio-dependent SWRC model to predict any resultant change in SWRC. The performance of this new model is validated against three case studies. Good agreement between measurements and predictions is obtained, with discrepancies of degree of saturation <13\% for a given suction.",

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T1 - A new and simple water retention model for root-permeated soils

AU - Ng, C.W.W.

AU - Ni, J. J.

AU - Leung, A. K.

AU - Wang, Z. J.

PY - 2016/3/10

Y1 - 2016/3/10

N2 - Vegetation can affect soil hydrology not only through evapotranspiration but also through changes in soil water retention curve (SWRC). Models that are able to predict root-induced change in SWRC are limited. Such models often contain many empirical parameters that are not easy to be obtained and calibrated. This letter proposes a new and simple model with only one root parameter, namely root volume ratio Rv, needed for predicting the SWRC of a root-permeated soil. The new model considers void ratio change through volume reduction of air void of soil due to the presence of roots. The modified void ratio of a root-permeated soil is then fed into a void-ratio-dependent SWRC model to predict any resultant change in SWRC. The performance of this new model is validated against three case studies. Good agreement between measurements and predictions is obtained, with discrepancies of degree of saturation <13% for a given suction.

AB - Vegetation can affect soil hydrology not only through evapotranspiration but also through changes in soil water retention curve (SWRC). Models that are able to predict root-induced change in SWRC are limited. Such models often contain many empirical parameters that are not easy to be obtained and calibrated. This letter proposes a new and simple model with only one root parameter, namely root volume ratio Rv, needed for predicting the SWRC of a root-permeated soil. The new model considers void ratio change through volume reduction of air void of soil due to the presence of roots. The modified void ratio of a root-permeated soil is then fed into a void-ratio-dependent SWRC model to predict any resultant change in SWRC. The performance of this new model is validated against three case studies. Good agreement between measurements and predictions is obtained, with discrepancies of degree of saturation <13% for a given suction.

KW - Partial saturation

KW - Suction

KW - Vegetation

U2 - 10.1680/jgele.15.00187

DO - 10.1680/jgele.15.00187

M3 - Article

SN - 2045-2543

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SP - 1

EP - 6

JO - Geotechnique Letters

JF - Geotechnique Letters

IS - 1

ER -

A new and simple water retention model for root-permeated soils

Abstract

Keywords

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