Soil & Water Res., 2023, 18(2):128-137 | DOI: 10.17221/132/2022-SWR

Measuring of infiltration rate in different types of soil in the Czech Republic using a rainfall simulatorOriginal Paper

David Kabelka1,3*, David Kincl1,2, Jan Vopravil1,2, Jiří Brychta4, Jan Bačovský2
1 Department of Pedology and Soil Conservation, Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Prague-Zbraslav, Czech Republic
2 Department of Landscape and Urban Planning, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
3 Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
4 Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

Knowledge of the issue of water movement in the soil is the basis for agricultural activity, but also for many other sectors. One of the basic indicators that is evaluated in soil science is the rate of water infiltration into the soil. The article specifically states how soil texture and soil moisture affect the rate of water infiltration. The results show that changes in water infiltration can be significant and certain trends can be traced. The rate of water infiltration into the soil is most affected by the sand fraction (soil particles 0.05–2 mm). The higher the percentage of these soil particles in the soil, the lower the changes in infiltration rate depending on the degree of saturation. The article further evaluates soil moisture in relation to texture. The results were obtained at several research locations within the period 2014–2021 in the territory of the Czech Republic. The above findings are primarily applicable to the region of Central Europe or can be used as comparative values for regions in the rest of the world.

Keywords: soil erodibility; soil moisture; soil texture; surface runoff; water infiltration rate

Received: September 21, 2022; Accepted: April 24, 2023; Prepublished online: May 11, 2023; Published: May 22, 2023  Show citation

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Kabelka D, Kincl D, Vopravil J, Brychta J, Bačovský J. Measuring of infiltration rate in different types of soil in the Czech Republic using a rainfall simulator. Soil & Water Res. 2023;18(2):128-137. doi: 10.17221/132/2022-SWR.
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