The soil moisture characteristic (SMC) forms an important input to mathematical models of water and solute transport in the unsaturated-soil zone. Owing to their simplicity and ease of use, texture-based regression models are commonly used to estimate the SMC from basic soil properties. In this study, the performances of six such regression models were evaluated on three soils. Moisture characteristics generated by the regression models were statistically compared with the characteristics developed independently from laboratory and in-situ retention data of the soil profiles. Results of the statistical performance evaluation, while providing useful information on the errors involved in estimating the SMC, also highlighted the importance of the nature of the data set underlying the regression models. Among the models evaluated, the one possessing an underlying data set of in-situ measurements was found to be the best estimator of the in-situ SMC for all the soils. Considerable errors arose when a textural model based on laboratory data was used to estimate the field retention characteristics of unsaturated soils.

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dc.contributor.authorNandagiri, L.
dc.contributor.authorPrasad, R.
dc.date.accessioned2026-02-05T11:00:34Z
dc.date.issuedRelative performances of textural models in estimating soil moisture characteristic
dc.description.abstract1997
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering - ASCE, 1997, 123, 3, pp. 211-214
dc.identifier.issn7339437
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(1997)123:3(211)
dc.identifier.urihttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/28054
dc.publisherASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers
dc.subjectFlow of water
dc.subjectMathematical models
dc.subjectMoisture
dc.subjectRegression analysis
dc.subjectTransport properties
dc.subjectMoisture retention
dc.subjectSoil moisture characteristic
dc.subjectSolute transport
dc.subjectTexture based models
dc.subjectSoils
dc.subjectmodel evaluation
dc.subjectregression model
dc.subjectsoil moisture
dc.subjectsoil water transport
dc.subjectsolute transport
dc.subjectvadose zone
dc.titleThe soil moisture characteristic (SMC) forms an important input to mathematical models of water and solute transport in the unsaturated-soil zone. Owing to their simplicity and ease of use, texture-based regression models are commonly used to estimate the SMC from basic soil properties. In this study, the performances of six such regression models were evaluated on three soils. Moisture characteristics generated by the regression models were statistically compared with the characteristics developed independently from laboratory and in-situ retention data of the soil profiles. Results of the statistical performance evaluation, while providing useful information on the errors involved in estimating the SMC, also highlighted the importance of the nature of the data set underlying the regression models. Among the models evaluated, the one possessing an underlying data set of in-situ measurements was found to be the best estimator of the in-situ SMC for all the soils. Considerable errors arose when a textural model based on laboratory data was used to estimate the field retention characteristics of unsaturated soils.

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