[en] The soil water retention curve (SWRC) is a key soil property required for predicting basic hydrological processes. The SWRC is often obtained in the laboratory with non-harmonized methods. Moreover, procedures associated with each method are not standardized. This can induce a lack of reproducibility between laboratories using different methods and procedures or using the same methods with different procedures. The goal of this study was to estimate the inter- and intralaboratory variability of the measurement of the wet part (from 10 to 300 hPa) of the SWRC. An interlaboratory comparison was carried out between 14 laboratories, using artificially constructed, porous reference samples that were transferred between laboratories according to a statistical design. The retention measurements were modelled by a series of linear mixed models using a Bayesian approach. This allowed the detection of sample-to-sample variability, interlaboratory variability, intralaboratory variability and the effects of sample changes between measurements. The greatest portion of the differences in the measurement of SWRCs was due to interlaboratory variability. The intralaboratory variability was highly variable depending on the laboratory. Some laboratories successfully reproduced the same SWRC on the same sample, while others did not. The mean intralaboratory variability over all laboratories was smaller than the mean interlaboratory variability. A possible explanation for these results is that all laboratories used slightly different methods and procedures. We believe that this result may be of great importance regarding the quality of SWRC databases built by pooling SWRCs obtained in different laboratories. The quality of pedotransfer functions or maps that might be derived is probably hampered by this inter- and intralaboratory variability. The way forward is that measurement procedures of the SWRC need to be harmonized and standardized.
Disciplines :
Agriculture & agronomy
Author, co-author :
Guillaume, Benjamin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Echanges Eau - Sol - Plantes
Aroui Boukbida, H.
Bakker, G.
Bieganowski, A.
Brostaux, Yves ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Modélisation et développement
Auroy, M., Poyet, S., Le Bescop, P., Torrenti, J.-M., Charpentier, T., Moskura, M., and Bourbon, X.: Impact of carbonation on unsaturated water transport properties of cement-based materials, Cement Concrete Res., 74, 44-58, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2015.04.002, 2015.
Bittelli, M. and Flury, M.: Errors in Water Retention Curves Determined with Pressure Plates, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 73, 1453-1460, https://doi.org/10.2136/SSSAJ2008.0082, 2009.
Buchter, B., Berli, M., and Weisskopf, P.: Interlaboratory comparison of soil physical parameters, Agroscope Sci., 11, 1-21, https: //ira.agroscope.ch/en-US/Page/Publikation/Index/34807 (last access: 15 April 2023), 2015.
Carpenter, B., Gelman, A., Hoffman, M. D., Lee, D., Goodrich, B., Betancourt, M., Brubaker, M., Guo, J., Li, P., and Riddell, A.: Stan: A probabilistic programming language, J. Stat. Softw., 76, 1-32, https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v076.i01, 2017.
Cresswell, H. P., Green, T. W., and McKenzie, N. J.: The Adequacy of Pressure Plate Apparatus for Determining Soil Water Retention, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 72, 41-49, https://doi.org/10.2136/SSSAJ2006.0182, 2008.
Dane, J. H. and Hopmans, J. W.: 3.3.2 Laboratory, in: Methods of Soil Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 675-720, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.4.c25, 2002.
de Jong van Lier, Q., Pinheiro, E. A. R., and Inforsato, L.: Hydrostatic equilibrium between soil samples and pressure plates used in soil water retention determination: Consequences of a questionable assumption, Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo, 43, https://doi.org/10.1590/18069657RBCS20190014, 2019.
Diamantopoulos, E. and Durner, W.: Dynamic Nonequilibrium of Water Flow in Porous Media: A Review, Vadose Zone J., 11, vzj2011.0197, https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2011.0197, 2012.
Gee, G. W., Campbell, M. D., Campbell, G. S., and Campbell, J. H.: Rapid Measurement of Low Soil Water Potentials Using a Water Activity Meter, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 56, 1068-1070, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1992.03615995005600040010x, 1992.
Gee, G. W., Ward, A. L., Zhang, Z. F., Campbell, G. S., and Mathison, J.: The Influence of Hydraulic Nonequilibrium on Pressure Plate Data, Vadose Zone J., 1, 172-178, https://doi.org/10.2113/1.1.172, 2002.
Ghanbarian, B., Taslimitehrani, V., Dong, G., and Pachepsky, Y. A.: Sample dimensions effect on prediction of soil water retention curve and saturated hydraulic conductivity, J. Hydrol., 528, 127-137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.06.024, 2015.
Gubiani, P. I., Reichert, J. M., Campbell, C., Reinert, D. J., and Gelain, N. S.: Assessing Errors and Accuracy in Dew-Point Potentiometer and Pressure Plate Extractor Meaurements, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 77, 19-24, https://doi.org/10.2136/SSSAJ2012.0024, 2013.
Guillaume, B., Aroui Boukbida, H., Bakker, G., Bieganowski, A., Brostaux, Y., Cornelis, W., Durner, W., Hartmann, C., Iversen, B. V., Javaux, M., Ingwersen, J., Lamorski, K., Lamparter, A., Makó, A., Mingot Soriano, A. M., Messing, I., Nemes, A., Pomes-Bordedebat, A., van der Ploeg, M., Weber, T. K. D., Weihermüller, L., Wellens, J., and Degré, A.: Reproducibility of the wet part of the soil water retention curve: a European interlaboratory comparison [code, data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7943957, 2023.
Hopmans, J. W., Ŝimunek, J., Romano, N., and Durner, W.: 3.6.2. Inverse Methods, in: Methods of Soil Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 963-1008, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser5.4.c40, 2002.
Houst, Y. F.: Diffusion de gaz, carbonatation et retrait de la pâte de ciment durcie, PhD. thesis, EPFL, Lausanne, https://doi.org/10.5075/epfl-thesis-1108, 1993.
Hunt, A. G., Ewing, R. P., and Horton, R.: What's Wrong with Soil Physics?, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 77, 1877-1887, https://doi.org/10.2136/SSSAJ2013.01.0020, 2013.
Klute, A.: Water Retention: Laboratory Methods, Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Methods, 635-662, https://doi.org/10.2136/SSSABOOKSER5.1.2ED.C26, 1986.
Madsen, H. B., JENSEN, C. R., and BOYSEN, T.: A comparison of the thermocouple psychrometer and the pressure plate methods for determination of soil water characteristic curves, J. Soil Sci., 37, 357-362, https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1365-2389.1986.TB00368.X, 1986.
Mosquera, G. M., Franklin, M., Jan, F., Rolando, C., Lutz, B., David, W., and Patricio, C.: A field, laboratory, and literature review evaluation of the water retention curve of volcanic ash soils: How well do standard laboratory methods reflect field conditions?, Hydrol. Proc., 35, e14011, https://doi.org/10.1002/HYP.14011, 2021.
Nemes, A., Schaap, M. G., Leij, F. J., and Wösten, J. H. M.: Description of the unsaturated soil hydraulic database UNSODA version 2.0, J. Hydrol., 251, 151-162, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00465-6, 2001.
Peters, A. and Durner, W.: Simplified evaporation method for determining soil hydraulic properties, J. Hydrol., 356, 147-162, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JHYDROL.2008.04.016, 2008.
Reynolds, W. and Topp, G. C.: Soil Water Desorption and Imbibition: Tension and Pressure Techniques, in: Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis, 1017-1034, publisher: CRC Press, 1993.
Richards, L. A. and Ogata, G.: Psychrometric Measurements of Soil Samples Equilibrated on Pressure Membranes, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 25, 456-459, https://doi.org/10.2136/SSSAJ1961.03615995002500060012X, 1961.
Ross, P. J., Williams, J., and Bristow, K. L.: Equation for Extending Water-Retention Curves to Dryness, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 55, 923-927, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1991.03615995005500040004x, 1991.
Schelle, H., Heise, L., Jänicke, K., and Durner, W.: Water retention characteristics of soils over the whole moisture range: a comparison of laboratory methods, Europ. J. Soil Sci., 64, 814-821, https://doi.org/10.1111/EJSS.12108, 2013.
Silva, M. L. d. N., Libardi, P. L., and Gimenes, F. H. S.: Soil Water Retention Curve as Affected by Sample Height, Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, 42, https://doi.org/10.1590/18069657RBCS20180058, 2018.
Solone, R., Bittelli, M., Tomei, F., and Morari, F.: Errors in water retention curves determined with pressure plates: Effects on the soil water balance, J. Hydrol., 470, 65-74, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JHYDROL.2012.08.017, 2012.
Tóth, B., Weynants, M., Nemes, A., Makó, A., Bilas, G., and Tóth, G.: New generation of hydraulic pedotransfer functions for Europe, Europ. J. Soil Sci., 66, 226-238, https://doi.org/10.1111/EJSS.12192, 2015.
Tóth, B.,Weynants, M., Pásztor, L., and Hengl, T.: 3D soil hydraulic database of Europe at 250m resolution, Hydrol. Proc., 31, 2662-2666, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11203, 2017.
Van Looy, K., Bouma, J., Herbst, M., Koestel, J., Minasny, B., Mishra, U., Montzka, C., Nemes, A., Pachepsky, Y. A., Padarian, J., Schaap, M. G., Tóth, B., Verhoef, A., Vanderborght, J., van der Ploeg, M. J., Weihermüller, L., Zacharias, S., Zhang, Y., and Vereecken, H.: Pedotransfer Functions in Earth System Science: Challenges and Perspectives, Rev. Geophys., 55, 1199-1256, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017RG000581, 2017.
Vereecken, H., Weynants, M., Javaux, M., Pachepsky, Y., Schaap, M. G., and van Genuchten, M.: Using Pedotransfer Functions to Estimate the van Genuchten-Mualem Soil Hydraulic Properties: A Review, Vadose Zone J., 9, 795-820, https://doi.org/10.2136/VZJ2010.0045, 2010.
Weynants, M., Montanarella, L., Tóth, G., Arnoldussen, A., Anaya Romero, M., Bilas, G., Børresen, T., Cornelis, W., Daroussin, J., Gonçalves, M. D. C., Haugen, L.-E., Hennings, V., Houskova, B., Iovino, M., Javaux, M., Keay, C. A., Kätterer, T., Kværnø, S., Laktinova, T., Lamorski, K., Lilly, A., Makó, A., Matula, S., Morari, F., Nemes, A., Patyka, N. V., Romano, N., Schindler, U., Shein, E., Sawínski, C., Strauss, P., Tóth, B., and Woesten, H.: European HYdropedological Data Inventory (EUHYDI), https://doi.org/10.2788/5936, 2013.
Wösten, J. H. M., Lilly, A., Nemes, A., and Le Bas, C.: Development and use of a database of hydraulic properties of European soils, Geoderma, 90, 169-185, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(98)00132-3, 1999.
Zeitoun, R., Vandergeest, M., Vasava, H. B., Machado, P. V. F., Jordan, S., Parkin, G., Wagner-Riddle, C., and Biswas, A.: In-Situ Estimation of Soil Water Retention Curve in Silt Loam and Loamy Sand Soils at Different Soil Depths, Sensors, 21, 447, https://doi.org/10.3390/s21020447, 2021.
Ŝavija, B. and Lukovíc, M.: Carbonation of cement paste: Understanding, challenges, and opportunities, Construct. Build. Mat., 117, 285-301, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.04.138, 2016.