Drainage and evaporation from fallow soil at Rothamsted

Abstract

1. Study of the automatic records shows:(a) There is a seasonal change in the drainage response after rain which can be almost wholly ascribed to viscosity changes arising from seasonal changes of soil temperature (p. 77).(b) Evaporation occurring after a fall of rain has no measurable effect on the drainage response to that rain (pp. 78, 87).(c) The maximum drainage rates for the 20 in. gauge are much larger than those for the deeper gauges. The maxima change seasonally and are again primarily dependent on viscosity (p. 78).(d) There is no marked change in the field capacity of the gauge during the year. The air-filled pore space at field capacity may change by about 15% of its average value (p. 81).