Journal
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
Volume 570, Issue -, Pages 106-117Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.12.044
Keywords
Saturated hydraulic conductivity; Local measurements; Spatial variability; Plot-scale estimate
Funding
- Austrian Science Funds (FWF) as part of the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems [DK W1219-N22]
- Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PRIN 2015)
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Spatially representative estimates of saturated hydraulic conductivity, K-s are needed for simulating catchment scale surface runoff and infiltration. Classical methods for measuring K-s are time-consuming so sampling campaigns need to be designed economically. Important insights can be obtained by experiments directed to understand the controls of K-s in an agricultural setting and identify the minimum number of samples required for estimating representative plot scale K-s. In this study, a total of 131 double-ring infiltrometer measurements were made on 12 plots in a small Austrian catchment. A statistical analysis of K, across the catchment suggests K-s to be only slightly influenced by physical and topographical soil characteristics while land use is the main control. The highest values of K-s were observed in arable fields, with a median of about 3 times and a coefficient of variation (CV) of about 75% of those in grassland areas. An uncertainty analysis aimed at determining the minimum number of K-s measurements necessary for estimating the geometric mean of K-s over a given area with a specified accuracy suggests that, beyond a specific and plot-size dependent number of measurements, the benefit of any extra measurement is small. The confidence interval of the geometric mean of K-s decreases with the number of measurements and increases with the size of the plot sampled. Applications of these findings for designing field campaigns are discussed.
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