Predicting Moisture in the Surface Foot of Soil
1956
Carlson, Charles A. | Reinhart, K. G. | Horton, J. S.
A method of predicting moisture content in the surface foot of soil has been developed by the U. S. Forest Service in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army. By this method, moisture can be predicted for a given soil from the wettest to the driest condition that naturally occurs. In the development of the method, soil wetting and drying relationships were determined from detailed soil moisture and concurrent weather records. Wetting in the surface foot was found to depend primarily on the amount of rainfall and the amount of space available for storing water. Drying varied with the moisture level of the soil; it followed a characteristic curve for each season. Information needed for prediction—in addition to the wetting and drying relationships—includes the field maximum moisture content, transition dates for the seasonal depletion curves, and the size of the smallest storm which affects soil moisture. Records and prediction relations are being obtained for 146 experimental sites throughout the United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.
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