soil moisture: was Re: [NatureNS] First Lep of Season, Frog Pond, Jollimore

Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:18:19 -0300
From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
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P.L. Chalmers wrote:

> HI there,
>   There is no snow in the upland woods, and in many areas the soil 
> seemed surprisingly dry, considering the amount of rain (rather than 
> snow) that we had here in the Halifax area this winter.

Hi Patricia & All,                Apr 7, 2008
    Remember that soil moisture at a given time and depth is a function 
of drainage, water holding capacity, precipitation and evapotranspiration.

    In a well drained profile, moisture content of soil near the surface 
will exceed water holding capacity for only a short time (<24 hours) 
after heavy precipitation because any excess is rapidly carried away by 
internal drainage (as opposed to surface runoff). So the top several cm 
of a fairly coarse bare sand, in a well drained profile, that e.g. has a 
water holding capacity of 12 %, will appear quite dry within a day of 
rain if there has been some sun and a drying wind.

Yt, DW, Kentville

>


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