Influences of water chemical property on infiltration into mixed soil consisting of feldspathic sandstone and aeolian sandy soil

Abstract

Abstract Water infiltration into the soil profile are related to the condition of the soil texture, soil bulk density, and water intensity, it is also affected by the physicochemical properties of the water. In this study, we tested the effect of two different chemical properties of water (groundwater for irrigation and naturally accumulated water) on water infiltration in seven different mixed soil consisting of different ratios of feldspathic sandstone and aeolian sandy soil (1:0, 5:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 0:1) through laboratory soil column testing. Our results show that when the textures of the mixed soils are silty loam and sandy loam (ratios of feldspathic sandstone to aeolian sandy soil 1:0, 5:1, 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2), the infiltration time of the naturally accumulated water is significantly longer than the infiltration time of the groundwater for irrigation. When the mixed soil texture is loamy sand and sand (the ratio of feldspathic sandstone to sandy soil is 1:5 and 0:1), there was no significant difference in the infiltration time of the naturally accumulated water and of the groundwater for irrigation. Using water with the same chemical properties, the infiltration time in different ratios of mixed soil decreases from 1:0, 5:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, to 0:1. Using the same feldspathic sandstone to aeolian sandy soil ratio, the cumulative infiltration using naturally accumulated water is greater than that using groundwater for irrigation, and the difference in cumulative infiltration is greatest when the ratio of feldspathic sandstone to sandy soil is 2:1. The relationship between the cumulative infiltration and elapsed time is consistent with the Logarithmic model. The changes in wetting front migration distance are consistent with the changes in the cumulative infiltration. The infiltration characteristics of water in the mixed soil are affected by a combination of water chemical property and soil texture.