Improving agricultural water management is important for conserving water during dry seasons, using limited water resources in the most efficient way, and minimizing environmental risks (e.g., leaching, surface runoff). The understanding of water movement in different zones of agricultural production fields is crucial to developing an effective irrigation strategy. This work centered on optimizing field water management by characterizing the spatial patterns of soil hydraulic properties. Soil hydraulic conductivity was measured across different zones in a farmer’s field, and its spatial variability was investigated by using geostatistical techniques. Since direct measurement of hydraulic conductivity is time-consuming and arduous, pedo-transfer functions (PTFs) have been developed to estimate hydraulic conductivity indirectly through more easily measurable soil properties. Due to ignoring soil structural information and spatial covariance between soil variables, PTFs often perform unsatisfactorily when field-scale estimations of hydraulic conductivity are needed. The performance of PTFs in estimating hydraulic conductivity in the field was therefore critically evaluated. Due to the presence of structural macro-pores, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) showed high spatial heterogeneity, and this variability was not captured by texture-dominated PTF estimates. However, the general spatial pattern of near-saturated hydraulic conductivity can still be reasonably generated by PTF estimates. Therefore, the hydraulic conductivity maps based on PTF estimates should be evaluated carefully and handled with caution. Recognizing the significant contribution of macro-pores to saturated water flow, PTFs were further improved by including soil macro-porosity and were proven to perform much better in estimating Ks compared with established PTFs tested in this study. Additionally, the spatial relationship between hydraulic conductivity and its potential influencing factors were further quantified by the state-space approach. State-space models outperformed current PTFs and effectively described the spatial characteristics of hydraulic conductivity in the studied field. These findings provided a basis for modeling water/solute transport in the vadose zone, and sitespecific water management.

Die Durchströmungswäsche von Filterkuchen aus innenporösen Partikeln wird anhand von makro- und mesoporösen Kieselgelen untersucht. Die Filterkuchenbildung der KCl-haltigen Suspensionen erfolgt in einer Drucknutsche nach VDI-2762-2. Die Filterkuchen werden über einen perforierten Stempel mit entionisiertem Wasser durchströmt und der Wascherfolg über die Bilanzierung der K+-Ionen ermittelt. Die Porosität der Kieselgel-Filterkuchen beträgt 80 %, wobei sich 50 % der gesamten Mutterlauge in den Innenporen befindet. Dennoch zeigen sich mit 1 % Restbeladung ähnliche Waschergebnisse wie für unporöse Feststoffe (Quarz und Glas). Die Innenporen werden gereinigt, der in der Literatur postulierte ausgeprägte Diffusionsbereich in der Waschkurve wird nicht sichtbar. Berechnungen nach CARMAN-KOZENY, FICK und mittels dimensionsloser Kennzahlen verdeutlichen, dass Perfusion und Diffusion die Wäsche poröser Systeme beeinflussen. Die vorgestellten Modelle eignen sich auch für die Anwendung in der Praxis. / The displacement washing of filter cakes consisting of porous particles is investigated using macro- and mesoporous silica gels. The filter cakes of KCl-containing suspensions are formed in a pressure filter device according to VDI-2762-2. The filter cakes are flown through with deionized water via a perforated piston and the washing success is determined by balancing the K+ ions. The porosity of the silica gel filter cakes is 80 % and 50 % of the mother liquor is trapped in the inner pores. Nevertheless, with 1 % residual loading, washing results are similar to those for non-porous solids (quartz, glass). The inner pores are cleaned, the distinct diffusion region in the washing curve postulated in the literature is not visible. Calculations according to CARMAN-KOZENY, FICK and by means of dimensionless quantities illustrate that both perfusion and diffusion influence the washing of porous systems. The presented models are also suitable for practical applications.