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Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) - University of Port Harcourt
ISSN: 1119-8362
Vol. 22, No. 2, 2018, pp. 173-178
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Bioline Code: ja18031
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2018, pp. 173-178
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Estimation of Soil Water Retention Curve Using Fractal Dimension
MAHALLATI, SEYEDEH ZANA; PAZIRA, EBRAHIM; ABBASI, FARIBORZ & BABAZADEH, HOSSEIN
Abstract
The soil water retention curve (SWRC) is a fundamental hydraulic property majorly used to study
flow transport in soils and calculate plant-available water. Since, direct measurement of SWRC is time-consuming and
expensive, different models have been developed to estimate SWRC. In this study, a fractal-based model was developed
to predict SWRC. A wide range of soil textures (130 soil samples) was used to determine the fractal dimension of
SWRC (DSWRC). Moreover, the SWRC pedotransfer functions were established based on easily available soil properties
such as particle size distribution and bulk density by applying multiple linear regression analysis. The measured DSWRC
for 110 soil samples was considered for function parameterization and the remaining was used for model validation. The
results illustrated that the DSWRC linearly correlates with clay and silt contents and soil bulk density (r2 = 0.909). The
SWRC can, therefore, be easily and concisely estimated by the proposed fractal-based functions.
Keywords
Fractal model; Pedotransfer functions; Regression analysis; Soil water retention curve
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© Copyright 2018 - Seyedeh et al.
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