Main Objectives

• Comprehend the characteristics and properties of water in soils.
• Understand and capable of explaining terms and concepts used in describing soil water.

Key terms and Concepts

• Cohesion and Adhesion
• Surface tension
• Capillarity
• Gravimetric water content, volumetric water content
• Soil water potential (gravitational, matric, and osmotic)
• Darcy’s Law and saturated flow
• Infiltration & percolation
• Maximum retentive capacity, field capacity, wilting point

Why is water important for soil systems?

1. Properties of water

Molecular polarity and hydrogen bonding

Cohesion: the attraction of water molecules between each other primarily due to hydrogen bonding.

Adhesion (also called adsorption): the attraction of water molecules for solid surfaces.