Evaluation of infiltration measurements under olive trees in Córdoba

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted at the Alameda del Obispo Experiment Station of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, Córdoba, Spain, to compare the field-saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K fs) measured by four different techniques: constant-head well permeameter (CP), falling-head lined borehole permeameter (FP), twin-rings (TR) and disk infiltrometer (DI). For each technique, measurements under and outside the olive-canopy were compared in order to detect differences in K fs. All techniques gave higher K fs values under the canopy, but significantly higher only for FP and TR. Outside the canopy K fs values obtained with CP and TR were significantly higher than those obtained with the FP and the DI methods, but the FP and the DI as well as the CP and the TR K fs values were statistically the same. Under the canopy, K fs values obtained with the TR method were significantly higher than those obtained with the other three techniques. Estimates of K fs, however, are most comparable for DI and FP.