| Abstract: | Temporal and spatial variability of hydrological parameters of single soil aggregates The hydrological parameters determined for a single soil profile are usually not assumed to be variable and are often taken to represent a larger area and longer period of time, without consideration of spatial and temporal changes in the environment like cultivation or weather. Naturally structured and homogenized, subsequently restructuring aggregates from a “Stagno-haplic Luvisol” (FAO, 1991) with different possibilities of swelling were analysed with regard to the characteristics of the water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity. The experiments verified that the pattern of the water retention curve with respect to single aggregates was not constant but depended on the aggregate's initial intensity and frequency of desiccation. Additionally, effects on the hydraulic conductivity were determined. The measured values varied with the amount of swelling and shrinking, to which the aggregates were exposed. Thus, the calculation of hydraulic conductivity according to the model of Van Genuchten (1987) is doubtful. Therefore, the quantification of ecological characteristics from such parameters has to be questioned. The main cause for the described effects can be seen in the induced and only partly reversible structuring process, i.g. aggregate compaction due to shrinkage and rearrangement of particles inside the aggregate during repeated swelling and shrinkage. Additionally, physico-chemical hydrophobicity was supposed to have a major influence under certain circumstances. |
