Return to search

Effects of a Wetting Agent on the Infiltration Characteristics of a Ponderosa Pine Soil

From the Proceedings of the 1973 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 4-5, 1973, Tucson, Arizona / An infiltration- wetting agent study, using the wetting agent "WATER-IN", was conducted in the ponderosa pine forest type of east central Arizona. An application rate of 10 gallons of wetting agent per acre was used on bare mineral soil and on ponderosa pine litter. The infiltration rate was measured by a modified North Fork infiltrometer. It was found that "WATER-IN" significantly increased water runoff when applied to litter, but, when applied to bare mineral soil, "WATER-IN" caused a significant increase in water infiltration. The wetting agent did not significantly affect antecedent moisture, soil particle distribution, litter water holding capacity, or litter bulk density. It is presently hypothesized that the increase in water infiltration on treated bare mineral soil is due to a decrease in the average bulk density of the surface inch of soil. The increase in runoff when litter is treated is probably due to an interaction, either physical, chemical, or both, between the humus layer and "WATER-IN ", creating a hydrophobic condition where one did not exist before.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/300264
Date05 May 1973
CreatorsKaplan, Marc G., Zwolinski, Malcolm J.
ContributorsDepartment of Watershed Management, University of Arizona, Tucson
PublisherArizona-Nevada Academy of Science
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext, Proceedings
RightsCopyright ©, where appropriate, is held by the author.

Page generated in 0.0028 seconds