Effects of Shallow Groundwater Table on Soil Matric Potential and Hydraulic Characteristics

Groundwater recharge significantly affects soil moisture redistribution through capillary rise. In this study,the soil matric potential at depths of 5, 10, 20 and 30 cm above the groundwater tables of 10, 30 and 60 cm were measured for 5 d. Soil hydraulic properties were analyzed by using the Philips and de Vries model. Results showed that evaporation mainly influenced the matric potential of the shallow layer at the 5 cm depth regardless of the saturation of the layer. Groundwater recharge mainly affected soil moisture at the depth of 20 cm or more. A constant matric potential layer existed between the evaporation front and capillary rise front where moisture content did not change.The isothermal-liquid hydraulic conductivity(KLh) and the thermal-vapor hydraulic conductivity(Kv T) were the dominant hydraulic conductivities in the liquid and vapor phases. At the groundwater table depths of 10, 30 and 60 cm,the mean peak values of KLh were 2.32×10-7, 1.63×10-7 and 0.29×10-7 m/s, respectively, whereas the mean peak values of K-v T were 2.7×107, 2.4×10-7 and 1.8 ×10-7m/s, respectively.