Infiltration parameters from surface irrigation advance and run-off data

Abstract

A computer model was developed to employ runoff data in the calculation of the infiltration parameters of the modified Kostiakov equation. The model (IPARM) uses a simple volume balance approach to estimate the parameters from commonly collected field data. Several data sets have been used to verify the procedure. Infiltration parameters were calculated using both advance and runoff data combined and advance data alone. Simulations of each example using SIRMOD were compared to the measured data to identify the possible benefits of the procedure. The inclusion of runoff did not compromise the ability to reproduce the advance curve however the simulations are more capable of reproducing the measured runoff rates and volumes and therefore offer better estimations of the total volume applied to the soil (in one case a reduction in error of the total infiltration from 22% to 1%). This procedure will be of most benefit where the infiltration parameters are expected to represent soil hydraulic characteristics for times greater than the completion of the advance phase. Further analysis has shown that the infiltration parameters are more sensitive to runoff than the advance highlighting the requirement for accurate field measurement and a weighting factor between the advance and runoff errors.