Evaluation of similar-media scaling and a one-parameter model for estimating the soil water characteristic

Two simple methods for estimating the soil water characteristic curve from saturated soil water content, or even just the soil bulk density, plus one other measured point on the curve (such as the water content at a matric potential of –33 kPa) were evaluated. A similar-media scaling approach and the one-parameter model of Gregson et al. were compared for eight diverse soils from within the USA. The scaling method also requires knowledge of one complete curve to serve as a reference. The one-parameter model was extended to include the residual water content, and the soils were divided into three textural groups for the analysis. Visual comparison of the calculated vs. measured soil water content for both methods showed less scatter in the relationship to the 1:1 line, concomitant with smaller calculated error terms, for the one-parameter model. These results demonstrate that the one-parameter model is better than similar-media scaling in estimating soil water content.