Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Deriving pedo-transfer functions for estimating soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and its mapping in GIS in some semi-arid soils

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Arabian Journal of Geosciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The soil saturated hydraulic conductivity is an important parameter for designing and managing irrigation systems. Accurate prediction of soil saturated hydraulic conductivity by deriving PTFs (pedo-transfer functions) from easily to measure soil properties is of fundamental importance. The aims of this research were to derive some regression models including MLR (multiple linear regression)- and GMDH (group method of data handling)-based PTFs for estimating soil saturated hydraulic conductivity in a semi-arid region. A double-ring method at 84 studied sites was employed to measure water infiltration data. The soil saturated hydraulic conductivity data were calculated through optimizing the parameters of Green and Ampt infiltration model on measured infiltration data. Additionally, easily to measure soil properties including soil clay, silt, sand, soil moisture contents, saturation percent, soil calcium carbonate equivalent, gravel contents, and soil organic carbon data were determined for all sites. The results of the present study indicated that the GMDH-based PTFs performed better (ME =  − 0.0149 cm min−1, R2 = 0.614, E = 0.729, and RMSE = 0.0447 cm min−1) than the MLR-based PTFs (ME =  − 0.0122 cm min−1, R2 = 0.361, E = 0.595, and RMSE = 0.0532 cm min−1). This result can be a useful guide for predicting soil saturated hydraulic conductivity for implementing a suitable irrigation system under semi-arid conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aimrun W, Amin MSM (2009) Pedo-transfer function for saturated hydraulic conductivity of lowland paddy soils. Paddy Water Environ 7:217–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baver LD (1938) Soil permeability in relation to non-capillary porosity. Soil Sci Soc Am Proceedings 3:52–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cambardella CA, Moorman TB, Nocak JM, Parkin TB, Karlen DL, Turco RF, Konopka AE (1994) Field-scale variability of soil properties in central Iowa soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 58:1501–1511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell GS, Shiozawa S (1994) Prediction of hydraulic properties of soils using particle-size distribution and bulk density data. In: van Genuchten MTh et al (eds) Proceedings of the international workshop on indirect methods for estimating the hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils. University of California, Riverside, pp 317–328

  • Cosby BJ, Homberger GM, Clapp RB, Ginn TR (1984) A statistical exploration of the relationships of soil moisture characteristics to the physical properties of soils. Water Resour Res 20:682–690

  • Cressie N (1993) Statistics for spatial data. John Wiley and Sons, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Eldeiry AA, Garcia LA (2010) Comparison of regression kriging and cokriging techniques to estimate soil salinity using Landsat images. J Irrig Drain Eng 136:355–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farlow SJ (1984) Self-organizing methods in modeling: GMDH type algorithms. CRC Press 54, p 368

  • Gee GW, Bauder JW (1986) Particle size analysis. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis: part 1 Agronomy Handbook No 9. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, pp 383–411

    Google Scholar 

  • Green WH, Ampt CA (1911) Studies on soil physics, I. Flow of air and water through soils. J Agric Sci 4:1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghorbani-Dashtaki S, Homaee M, Loiskand W (2016) Towards using pedotransfer functions for estimating infiltration parameters. Hydrol Sci J 61(8):1477–1488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho R (2006) Handbook of univariate and multivariate data analysis and interpretation with SPSS. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Julia MF, Monreal TE, Sanchez del Corral Jimeneza A, Garcıa Melendez E (2004) Constructing a saturated hydraulic conductivity map of Spain using pedotransfer functions and spatial prediction. Geoderma 123:257–277

  • Klopp H, Arriaga F, Daigh A, Bleam W (2020) Analysis of pedotransfer functions to predict the effects of salinity and sodicity on saturated hydraulic conductivity of soils. Geoderma 362:114078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y (2010) Can the spatial prediction of soil organic matter contents at various sampling scales be improved by using regression kriging with auxiliary information? Geoderma 159:63–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minasny B, McBratney AB (2000) Evaluation and development of hydraulic conductivity pedotransfer functions for Australian soil. Aust J Soil Res 38:905–926

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minasny B, McBratney AB (2002) The Neuro-m method for fitting neural network parametric pedo-transfer functions. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:352–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzaee S, Zolfaghari AA, Gorji M, Dyck M, Ghorbani Dashtaki S (2014) Evaluation of infiltration models with different numbers of fitting parameters in different soil texture classes. Arch Agron Soil Sci 60(5):681–693

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzaee S, Ghorbani-Dashtaki S, Mohammadi J, Asadi H, Asadzadeh F (2016) Spatial variability of soil organic matter using remote sensing data. CATENA 145:118–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzaee S, Ghorbani-Dashtaki S, Mohammadi J, Asadzadeh F, Kerry R (2017) Modeling WEPP erodibility parameters in calcareous soils in northwest Iran. Ecol Indicators 74:302–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirzaee S, Ghorbani-Dashtaki S, Kerry R (2020) Comparison of a spatial, spatial and hybrid methods for predicting inter-rill and rill soil sensitivity to erosion at the field scale. CATENA 188:104439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morbidelli R, Saltalippi C, Flammini A, Cifrodelli M, Corradini C, Govindaraju RS (2015) Infiltration on sloping surfaces: laboratory experimental evidence and implications for infiltration modeling. J Hydrol 523:79–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nash JE, Sutcliffe JV (1970) River flow forecasting through conceptual models part I-A discussion of principles. J Hydrol 10(3):282–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson RE (1982) Carbonate and gypsum. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2, second ed. Agron Monogr 9:181–197. ASA, Madison, WI, pp 181–197

  • Nelson DW, Sommers LP (1986) Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In: Page AL (ed) Methods of Soil Analysis: Part 2: Agronomy Handbook No 9. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, pp 539–579

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostovari Y, Ghorbani-Dashtaki S, Bahrami HA, Naderi M, Dematte JAM, Kerry R (2016a) Modification of the USLE K factor for soil erodibility assessment on calcareous soils in Iran. Geomorphology 273:385–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostovari Y, Ghorbani-Dashtaki S, Bahrami HA, Naderi M, Dematte JAM (2016b) Soil loss prediction by an integrated system using RUSLE, GIS and remote sensing in semi-arid region. Geoderma Reg 11:28–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pachepsky Y, Rawls W, Gimenez D, Watt J (1998) Use of soil penetration resistance and group method of data handling to improve soil water retention estimates. Soil Tillage Res 49(1):117–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pachepsky YA, Rawls W (1999) Accuracy and reliability of pedotransfer functions as affected by grouping soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 63(6):1748–1757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parchami-Araghi F, Mirlatifi M, Ghorbani Dashtaki Sh, Mahdian MH (2013) Point estimation of soil water infiltration process using Artificial Neural Networks for some calcareous soils. J Hydrol 481:35–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piccini C, Marchetti A, Francaviglia R (2014) Estimation of soil organic matter by geostatistical methods: use of auxiliary information in agriculture and environmental assessment. Ecol Indic 36:301–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahmati M (2017) Reliable and accurate point-based prediction of cumulative infiltration using soil readily available characteristics: a comparison between GMDH, ANN, and MLR. J Hydrol 551:81–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saxton KE, Rawls WJ, Romberger JS, Papendick RI (1986) Estimating generalized soil water characteristics from texture. Soil Sci Soc Am J 50:1031–1036

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USDA (2010) Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 11th edn. USDA National Resources Conservation Service, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Vereecken H, Maes J, Feyen J (1990) Estimating unsaturated hydraulic conductivity from easily measured soil properties. Soil Sci 149:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster R, Oliver M (2001) Geostatistics for environmental scientists statistics in practice. Wiley, Chichester, p 271

  • Wilding LP (1985) Spatial variability its documentation, accommodation and implication to soil survey. In: Nielsen DR, Bouma J (eds) Soil Spatial Variability. Pudoc, Wagenigen the Netherlands, p 166194

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu C, Xu X, Liu M, Liu W, Yang J, Luo W, Zhang R, Kiely G (2017) Enhancing pedotransfer functions (PTFs) using soil spectral reflectance data for estimating saturated hydraulic conductivity in southwestern China. CATENA 158:350–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zekai S (2009) Spatial modeling principles in earth sciences, 2nd edn. Springer, AG Switzerland, p 358

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management, Zanjan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, AREEO, Zanjan, Iran

    Mohammad Tahmoures & Banafsheh Afrasiabi

  2. Department of Natural Resource and Environmental Engineering, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Mohammad Tahmoures, Sayed Fakhreddin Afzali, Samira Mesri, Mohammad Akbari & Banafsheh Afrasiabi

  3. Department of Soil Science, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

    Sayed Fakhreddin Afzali

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

    Samira Mesri

  5. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Yasuj University, Yasuj, Iran

    Mohammad Akbari

Authors
  1. Mohammad Tahmoures
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sayed Fakhreddin Afzali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Samira Mesri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mohammad Akbari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Banafsheh Afrasiabi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization, M.T. and M.A.; methodology, M.T, and M. A.; software, S.M. and M.A; validation, M.T., M.A. and B.A.; formal analysis, M.T., M.A. and S. M; investigation, M.T., M.A and B.A.; resources, M.T. and M.A.; data curation, M.T. and M.A.; writing—original draft preparation, M.T. and M.A.; writing—review & editing, S.A. and B. A; visualization, B.A, and S.M.; supervision, S.M.; project administration, M.T. and M.A

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Akbari.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Amjad Kallel

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tahmoures, M., Afzali, S.F., Mesri, S. et al. Deriving pedo-transfer functions for estimating soil saturated hydraulic conductivity and its mapping in GIS in some semi-arid soils. Arab J Geosci 15, 1497 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10767-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10767-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation