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Abstract(s)
Estimates of soil water retention characteristics using pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are useful in many studies,
such as hydrological modelling and soil mapping. The determination of the parameters for these functions can
be obtained from direct laboratory and field measurements. However, these measurements are time
consuming which makes it costly to characterise an extensive area of a land. As an alternative, the existing
databases of measured soil hydraulic data may be used to obtained hydraulic parameters by fitting the water
retention functions or to develop PTFs from easily measured properties, such as texture, bulk density and soil
organic matter content. The objective of this study was to evaluate four published PTFs (Rawls – Brakensiek,
Vereecken, Mayr – Jarvis e Campbell) to estimate the parameters of soil water retention functions for
Portuguese soils. Two different soil data sets from North of Portugal (231 horizons), consisting of a full
description of soil properties and soil water retention characteristics, were used in this study. Soil water
retention function parameters were estimated for Campbell, Brooks – Corey, van Genuchten and Hutson – Cass
functions by fitting to soil water content‐pressure data, using an algorithm based on the simplex method and
by application of a PTF for each function. The PTFs were evaluated by comparison of predicted and measured
water contents at field capacity and permanent wilting point. The results showed a good performance of
Brooks – Corey function with parameters predicted by Rawls – Brakensiek PTF.
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Citation
Ribeiro, A.C. (2010). Evaluation of pedotransfer functions for predicting soil water retention in portuguese soils. In Azevedo, João; Feliciano, Manuel; Castro, José; Pinto, Maria Alice Book of abstracts of the IUFRO Landscape Ecology Working Group International Conference: Forest Landscapes and Global Change ‐ New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration. Bragança: IPB, IUFRO. ISBN 978-972-745-111-1