Study on Soil Water Infiltration Process and Model Applicability of Check Dams

Abstract

As the primary ecological construction measure on the Loess Plateau, check dams play an essential role in developing agricultural production, improving people’s production and life, and replenishing groundwater. Soil water infiltration is the most important way to replenish groundwater in the dam land. In order to investigate the water infiltration process of check dams, an empirical model suitable for the simulation of the dam land infiltration process was selected. The soil water infiltration process of the check dam was studied by a field test and a model simulation. The results showed that there were few macropores in the dam, and the water mainly moved downwards in the form of matrix flow. Moreover, the stable infiltration rate of the dam site was low, and its infiltration process could be divided into three stages: rapid infiltration, fluctuating infiltration, and stable infiltration. In addition, the infiltration rate of a non-silted dense layer was 2.4~5 times that of a silted dense layer. The Horton model had a good fitting effect on the water infiltration process of the check dam and thus was suitable for the simulation and prediction of the water infiltration process of the dam. The results can provide a theoretical basis for efficient soil water utilization and infiltration simulation of check dam land.