Soil survey interpretation: Estimating use-potentials of a clay soil under various moisture regimes

Current Dutch soil survey interpretation emphasizes assessment factors which independently define key aspects of soil behavior under actual conditions. For grassland these are: moisture-supply capacity, bearing capacity and drainage status. Practical questions focus on how actual limitations can be overcome. Computer simulation techniques, to be focused on the individual assessment factors, are needed to answer these questions. Soil survey and morphology data were used in this context to: (1) select experimental sites; (2) modify physical monitoring procedures; (3) derive simulation models for swelling soils with macropores; (4) develop simple field methods for characterizing basic physical soil properties and their regional variability, and (5) use soil maps for extrapolating the obtained interpretations.Future soil survey reports should ideally contain basic physical data and the possible ranges for the different assessment factors, expressed by simulation as a function of water management. basic data include hydraulic conductivity, moisture retention, bearing capacity and drainage rate. The latter two were characterized in this study by new field methods. Possible ranges differ for the different assessment factors. For example, an inadequate moisture supply capacity in the growing season can be completely compensated by raising the water table, by sprinkler irrigation or by a combination of both methods. The presented simulation offers a quantitative analysis. The inadequate bearing capacity and drainage status can be compensated for only partly by lower water-table levels in winter and spring.