Agrophysical assessment of black shrinking soils of Tunisia

Abstract

A new approach for assessment of soil physical conditions is based on forecasts of the soil water and air regimes. This approach uses the water retention curve and unsaturated conductivity of each soil layer to calculate soil regimes and estimate the possibilities of occurrence of periods of water and air deficit under standard boundary conditions. This approach has the advantages that it assesses these regimes, which govern crop yield, and considers properties of whole soil profiles. These advantages are manifested in the assessment of black shrinking soils.