Simulating infiltration in soils containing macropores still provides unsatisfactory results, as existing models seem not to capture all relevant processes. Recent studies of macropore flow initiation in natural soils containing earthworm channels revealed a distinct flow rate variability in the macropores depending on the initiation process. When macropore flow was initiated at the soil surfac...

A spatial analysis of variance uses the spatial dependence among the observations to modify the usual interference procedures associated with a statistical linear model. When spatial correlation is present, the usual tests for presence of treatment effects may no longer be valid, and erroneous conclusions may result from assuming that the usual F ratios are F distributed. This is demonstrated u...

This paper presents a new automatic framework for extracting and characterizing the dynamic shape of the 3D wetting front and its propagation, based in a sequence of tomographic images acquired as water (moisture) infiltrates in unsaturated soils. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the shape of the 3D wetting front and its propagation and progress over time has not been previously produced ...

Infiltration phenomenon, has a direct impact on rainwater harvesting in fields under irrigation. In order to solve this problem (reduced infiltration and increased runoff), a few strategies can be suggested. Taking long-term decision for increasing the efficiency of irrigation should be strongly suggested. At the same time, ways in which customized irrigation is optimized must be studied. An ol...

Within the scope of the interdisciplinary NASRI research project (Natural and Artificial Systems for Recharge and Infiltration) dealing with river bank filtration processes at Berlin water works, a semi-technical column experiment has been ongoing since January 2003 to simulate river bank filtration. Here a 30 m long group of 6 soil columns is operated by surface water sampled from lake Tegel (...

Reforestation of riparian zones is increasingly practiced in many regions for purposes of biodiversity conservation, bank stabilisation, and improvement in water quality. This is in spite of the actual benefits of reforestation for recovering underlying soil properties and function remaining poorly understood. Here we compare remnant riparian rainforest, pasture and reforestation plantings aged...

Microbial diversity of septic tank effluent (STE) and the biomat that is formed as a result of STE infiltration on soil were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Results indicate that microbial communities are different within control soil, STE, and the biomat and that microbes found in STE are not found in the biomat. The development of a stable soil biomat appears to provide the ...

Soil cultivation is commonly used to manage organic matter (OM) accumulation in golf course putting greens. Our objectives were to determine: (i) if hollow-tine cultivation is more effective than solidtine cultivation at managing OM and water infiltration, (ii) if venting methods are effective at managing OM and water infiltration, and (iii) if venting alters or interacts with effects of earlyo...