Soil physical characteristics of peat soils

Drainage and intensive use of fens lead to alterations in the physical characteristics of peat soils. This was demonstrated using parameters of water balance (available water capacity) and the evaluated unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Deriving the distribution of the pore size from the water retention curve was flawed because of shrinkage due to drainage, especially at high soil water potentials. These errors became greater as the peat was less influenced by soil‐genetic processes. The water retention curves (desorption) evaluated in the field and the laboratory satisfactorily corresponded. However, the wetting‐ and drainage‐curves obtained in the field differed up to 30 vol.‐% water content at same soil water potentials. These differences were largely due to a wetting inhibition.