SES-609

Infiltration: process and moisture distribution

Basic terminology:
1. Infiltration:
The entry of water into the soil is known as infiltration. So, surface of soil plays an
important role how much water infiltrates into soil. Infiltration determines how much of
the total amount of water applied as precipitation or irrigation on the soil surface goes into
the soil storage and how much of it flows away as surface runoff.
2. Infiltration rate (i):
The speed/rate at which water enters into the soil. Or the volume of water entering into soil
surface per unit area per unit time. Its units will be units of speed m/sec, mm/hr, cm/hr
3. Infiltration capacity/infiltrability:
The maximum rate at which water enters into soil surface.
4. Cumulative infiltration (I):
The depth of water infiltrated into soil is called cumulative infiltration. Its units are m, cm,
mm.
Factors affecting infiltration rate:
There are several factors, both natural and anthropogenic, that can affect the rate of
infiltration of water into the soil.
1. Profile characteristics (Soil texture, structure, layering of soil, amendments,
microorganisms, initial soil moisture content)
2. Water properties (sediments, presence of salts, temperature)
3. Rain characteristics (rain intensity)
4. Land characteristics
Profile characteristics:
1. Texture:
Coarse textured soils have higher infiltration rate than fine textured soils. Dominance of
macropores in coarse textured soil is responsible for higher infiltration rate. Macropores are
water transmission pores and micropores are water retaining pores.
It should not always be higher in sandy soil than clayey soils because of following reasons.
Reasons:
1.1 Formation of crust:
In coarse textured soils aggregates are weak, particularly in case of heavy rainfall there will be
more kinetic energy of raindrops and it will disperse soil particles and finer soil particles clog
soil pores. In such situation the coarse textured soil will behave like fine textured soil.
Formation of crust decrease IR at later stages.

1.2 Type of minerals:

If fine textured soil is dominated by expanding type of clay like montmorillonite then after
wetting soil will expand and size of pores reduced and it will further decrease IR. On
drying, cracks will produce which increase IR.
2. Soil structure:
Well aggregated soils have more IR than compact soils. Subsurface compaction reduces
IR. Crust formation reduces infiltration rate.
3. Layering of soils:
Layering may be due to different textures. If the impeding layer is predominantly clayey,
the lower hydraulic conductivity associated with clay slows down the flow of water. On
the other hand, a sandy layer can increase the flow due to the higher hydraulic conductivity
of soil.
4. Amendments/fertilizers:
In sodic soils, due to dispersion of soil particles the IR is low. In sodic fields you can see
standing water along with suspended particles. You can see muddy water. If we add
gypsum then it will take place of sodium and flocculate soil particles and form soil
aggregates and IR increases. If we add ammonium sulfate as fertilizer it will increase IR
than urea.
5. Microorganisms and other living organisms:
Soil has billions of microorganisms. They breakdown organic compounds to get food and
release gums and other byproducts which increase aggregate stability and IR. Sometimes
gums block pores and reduce IR. Earthworms make burrows into soils and drastically
increase IR. Sometimes it is not desirable for soil scientist because it will cause preferential
flow of water although they make soil fertile and porous.
6. Initial soil moisture contents:
Infiltration of water is rapid when the soil is dry, but it rapidly decreases with time as soil
becomes increasingly wet (matric potential increases), until it reaches a steady state or a
nearly constant rate. That is why even high precipitation sometimes does not cause a
surface runoff instantly because the precipitation rate is smaller than the infiltration rate of
 soil. As soil becomes wetter, the infiltration rate into the soil decreases, and the rate of
precipitation can become greater than the infiltration rate of soil, causing surface runoff.
7. Season of the year:
If there will be rainy season then more vegetation and vegetation protects soil surface from
crusting and increase IR. In summer season IR high and in winter season IR is low.
Water properties:
1. Sediments
If apply canal water then after some time sediments settle down and clog soil pores and
reduce IR.
2. Presence of salts
If salts present then will increase viscosity. Higher viscosity then lower will e movement
of water.
3. Temperature of water
Higher temperature will result in low viscosity of water and in-turn more IR.
Rain characteristics:
If the raindrop size and mass is more it will fall with higher K.E. cause dispersion and
reduction in IR. If rainfall intensity is less than IR than the no stagnant water on soil surface.
If rainfall intensity is higher than IR then there will be stagnation on soil surface. There
will be more runoff. Rain will increase vegetation and earthworm population which will
further affect IR.
Land characteristics:
Steepness of slope:
If flat surface then more IR and if sloppy surface then more runoff than IR.
In sloppy surface less residence time of water then there will be less IR.
Roughness of surface:
If there is freshly cultivated soil and suddenly rain fall then there will be more IR because
of more porosity.
Tillage:
Generally, immediately after the tillage, soil porosity is high, soil water content is low, and
infiltration rate is high. However, as soil settles down, the infiltration rate generally
decreases. Intensive tillage can cause loss of soil structure, loss of organic matter, and
breakdown of soil aggregates, resulting in reductions in water infiltration into the soil. On
 the other hand, no-tillage can increase the organic matter content of soil, improve soil
aggregation, and increase infiltration into the soil.
Process of infiltration and moisture distribution:
The process of infiltration can be classified as flux controlled or profile controlled.
1. Flux controlled : As long as the precipitation or irrigation rate is below the infiltration rate
of soil, all the water infiltrates into the soil. In this situation, the supply rate (or application
rate) of water determines the infiltration rate, and the process of infiltration is known as
flux controlled.
2. Profile controlled:
On the other hand, when the rate of application of water is higher than the infiltration rate
of soil, the water transmission or hydraulic properties of the soil profile control the
infiltration into the soil. The process of infiltration in this case is known as profile
controlled.

Fig 1: Infiltration zones as liquid water front moves ahead in the soil.
Zones of infiltration process:
1. Saturated zone:
The pore space in this zone is filled with water or saturated. Depending on the length of
time elapsed from the initial application of the water, this zone will generally extend only
to a depth of a few millimeters.
2. Transition zone:
 This zone is characterized by a rapid decrease in water content with depth and will extend
approximately a few centimeters.
3. Transmission zone: This zone is characterized by a small change in water content with
depth. In general, the transmission zone is a lengthening unsaturated zone with uniform
water content. The hydraulic gradient in this zone is primarily driven by gravitational
forces.
4. Wetting zone: In this zone, the water content sharply decreases with depth from the
water content of the transmission zone to near the initial water content of the soil.
5. Wetting front: This zone is characterized by a steep hydraulic gradient and forms a
sharp boundary between the wet and dry soil. The hydraulic gradient is characterized
primarily by metric potentials.
Measurement of infiltration:
The infiltration rate of soil can be measured using a double-ring infiltrometer, single-ring
infiltrometer, tension infiltrometer, and rainfall simulator. The double- and single-ring
infiltrometers can be used to measure the one dimensional or three-dimensional infiltration
rate of soil, respectively.
• 1. Double ring infiltrometer:
Use of a double-ring infiltrometer is a cheap and reliable method for determining the
infiltration rate of soil under positive head by creating ponding of water on the soil surface.
Both cylinders are inserted into the soil to about 10-12 cm depth, and water is filled in both
cylinders up to a given height. The height of water is maintained in the inner cylinder,
while the outer cylinder is not allowed to drain completely to ensure one-dimensional flow
from the inner cylinder.
Tension infiltrometer: The tension infiltrometer can be used to obtain the infiltration rate
of soil under positive, zero, and negative head. Tension infiltrometer tests can be conducted
using disks of various diameters at both positive and negative potential. Tests are usually
started at the lowest potential. Before the start of a test, the test site is made perfectly flat
by removing debris and aboveground plant material or gravel. Sometimes a thin (1 cm)
layer of sand is spread to ensure good contact between soil and the bottom of the disk.
Rainfall simulators: Rainfall simulation experiments can be performed to determine the
infiltration rate of soil. An experimental area is selected and water is applied via overhead
sprinklers. The entire area is usually covered with plastic to reduce evaporation. The
surface runoff generated is directed toward and collected at the outlet. The amount of water
infiltrated into the soil is calculated by subtracting the amount of water applied via
sprinklers from the amount of runoff collected at the outlet.
Some of the advantages of rainfall simulation experiments are that it measures infiltration
into a much larger area or volume, and therefore, values are more representative.
Experiments can be conducted under a variety of precipitation rates to represent local
conditions. These experiments are particularly valuable for areas with slopes where direct
measurement of infiltration excess is made, while additional estimates on soil erosion are
also obtained in the runoff collected. These experiments are also conducted in laboratory
settings, where different types of soils, different compaction rates, aggregation, and soil
covers can be evaluated side by side for different slopes, slope lengths, and fixed or variable
rainfall intensities. However, more time, energy, money, and skill are required to perform
these tests reliably.
Infiltration models:
Philip equation: Philip (1957) derived the infiltration equation using Darcy’s law and
making some mathematical approximations regarding the distribution of water behind the
wetting front. For horizontal infiltration, Philip (1957) used the Richards (1931) equation
without taking into account K(θ) and suggested that the first two terms of his series solution
for vertical infiltration could be used for simulating infiltration. He proposed a concise
infiltration model as follows:

Philips model for horizontal infiltration:

i = St ½
i = ½ St ½

Where, S is the sorpitivity (cm/min1/2) A is a constant (cm/min)

Sorptivity can be estimated as follows:

Where,
θi is the initial soil water content (cm3 /cm3 ) ,θs is the saturated soil water content (cm3
/cm3 ) L is the thickness of uniformly wetted region (cm).
Example 1.1:
A horizontal infiltration was performed in a sandy loam soil with a saturated hydraulic
conductivity of 0.05 cm/min. The antecedent soil water content was constant at 0.12 cm3
/cm3 and saturated water content was 0.45 cm3 /cm3. The wetting front moved to a distance
of 12 cm in 15 min; calculate the values of sorptivity (S) and steady-state infiltration (A).
Also, calculate horizontal and vertical infiltrations for 30, 100, 500, and 5000 min.
The sorpitivity (S) can be estimated as: