Estimation of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity from Soil Morphological and Genetic Information

Abstract

Abstract Saturated hydraulic conductivity, K sat , was measured below the water table by the piezometer method for subsurface horizons of several Indiana soils. Lowest K sat rates were in compact glacial till, paleosols formed in till and fragipan horizons formed in loess. Camblc and argillic horizons had intermediate rates. Highest rates were in B3 horizons formed in water‐reworked glacial till materials. For prediction purposes, data were grouped by soil texture and standard soil structure classes in one classification and by texture, origin of parent material, and kind of genetic horizon in another classification. The second grouping resulted in more homogeneous classes, but some of these classes spanned more than one order of magnitude. The proposed method for determining K sat and using the results to estimate it for other horizons can be used by field soil scientists to obtain better estimates for many soils.