Stony Soils Research Articles

Phosphorus transport in subsurface flow from a stony soil under irrigated and non-irrigated lucerne

ABSTRACT The extent of phosphorus (P) loss from soils under deep rooting crops such as lucerne is currently unknown. This study used large lysimeters (2.0 by 1.5 m) to quantify the amounts and forms of P in drainage under lucerne from two sites, a non-irrigated dairy system and an irrigated dairy system that also received farm dairy effluent (FDE). Results showed despite greater P inputs to the irrigated compared to the non-irrigated site, there was no difference in total P concentrations in drainage. There were also no differences in the forms of P lost between sites, which were dominated by particulate P (48%–52%). More P was lost from the irrigated (0.262 kg ha−1) than the non-irrigated site (0.164 kg ha−1). The larger P loss was a result of irrigation producing more drainage (42%) than observed at the non-irrigated site. The amount and forms of P lost from lucerne were similar or lower than losses reported for similar soils under grass/legume-based pasture swards amended with P fertiliser and FDE. Because P leaching was regulated by drainage volume rather than P input, management of irrigation water to reduce drainage from the root zone will likely help minimise P leaching.

The role of stony soils in hillslope and catchment runoff formation

Abstract The role of stony soils in runoff response of mountain catchments is rarely studied. We have compared simulated response of stony soils with measured catchment runoff for events caused by rains of small and high intensities in the mountain catchment of the Jalovecký Creek, Slovakia. The soil water response was simulated for three sites with stoniness 10–65% using the Hydrus-2D single porosity model. Soil hydraulic parameters employed in the modelling, i. e. the saturated hydraulic conductivity and parameters of the soil water retention curves, were obtained by two approaches, namely by the Representative Elementary Volume approach (REVa) and by the inverse modelling with Hydrus-1D model (IMa). The soil water outflow hydrographs simulated by Hydrus-2D were compared to catchment runoff hydrographs by analysing their skewness and peak times. Measured catchment runoff hydrographs were similar to simulated soil water outflow hydrographs for about a half of rainfall events. Interestingly, most of them were caused by rainfalls with small intensity (below 2.5 mm/10 min). The REV approach to derive soil hydraulic parameters for soil water outflow modelling provided more realistic shapes of soil water outflow hydrographs and peak times than the IMa approach.

A convex distribution of vegetation along a stony soil slope due to subsurface flow in the semiarid Loess Plateau, northwest China

Soil water-vegetation interactions have been a research topic for decades. Landscape patterns can be shaped by soil water availability, and in reverse. The effects of subsurface flow on the soil water – vegetation interactions are relatively less studied than the surface flow, especially in the semiarid region. This work is focused on how the larch (Larix principis-rupprechtti) interacted with soil water, and how the convex pattern of the larch was formed along the stony soil slope in the semiarid Loess Plateau, northwest China. The soil water balance equation in Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was modified to include subsurface flow exchange between two adjacent hydrologic response units (HRUs). The slope was then delineated into adjacent HRUs to understand the hydrologic and ecological processes inside the slope. The modified SWAT model on the slope was calibrated and validated by the field data. The model was forced by a 55-year meteorological data series to investigate the larch-soil water interactions and the formation of the convex distribution pattern over long term. It is found that the subsurface flow has shaped the convex distribution of vegetation LAI along the slope. The subsurface flow occurs due to relatively high permeability of the stony soil, and it affects the heterogeneities of soil water availability through the soil water storage capacity. The concave spatial pattern of the soil water stress determines the vegetation growth along the slope in this semiarid region. These understandings provide new knowledge about the influences of hydrological processes on vegetation distribution patterns along a slope, which is useful in vegetation management under similar conditions.

Temporal and spatial evolution of soil surface roughness on stony plots

Soil surface roughness (SSR) is widely recognized as an important factor influencing water erosion processes. On semiarid hillslopes with stony soils, rock fragments accumulate as the result of preferential erosion of fine materials, often creating a rough, rocky surface. A series of rainfall events were simulated on a stony plot (2 × 6.1 m) at three slope gradients (5 %, 12 %, and 20 %) and rock cover was measured. Surface elevations were sampled by terrestrial LiDAR at high resolutions. Roughness indices, including random roughness (RR), fractal dimension, crossover length, and generalized fractal dimension, were calculated from LiDAR points directly. Results showed: 1) SSR displayed an increasing trend as the rainfall simulation proceeded for all three slope treatments; 2) the steeper slope developed greater surface roughness; and 3) both the increase of surficial exposed rocks and the formation of erosional features, e.g., rills and depressions, contributed to the spatiotemporal variations of SSR. Results also showed that the fractal dimension was not a good indicator of soil surface roughness, but rather was an index of the form of the surface. Crossover length was a measure of roughness at a scale of a few millimeters, while random roughness was a measure of elevation variations on the scale of the length of the transect measured, and thus encompassed larger morphological features including rills. We also established a new method for multifractal analysis that characterized the heterogeneity of soil surface roughness. These results improve our understanding of the evolution of semiarid stony hillslopes and the dynamic feedback mechanism between erosion, surface morphology and hydraulics.

The effects of DEM interpolation on quantifying soil surface roughness using terrestrial LiDAR

Soil surface roughness (SSR) is often calculated based on the Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) obtained by interpolating points from terrestrial LiDAR measurements. This study aimed to investigate the effects of DEM interpolation and interpolation methods on quantification of SSR. A series of rainfall at the intensity of 59 and 178 mm hr−1 were simulated on a 2 by 6.1 m stony soil plot under 12 % and 20 % slope treatments. LiDAR measurements were conducted after each rainfall simulation at six positions around the soil plot. DEMs gridded at 5 and 10 mm were generated from LiDAR points using Inverse Distance Weighting, Natural Neighbors and Universal Kriging methods implemented in ESRI ArcGIS 10.5. Random roughness index (RR) was calculated based on the LiDAR-interpolated DEMs and LiDAR points directly and then compared. Results showed: 1) average values of RR from the DEMs were under-predicted compared to those directly calculated from LiDAR points by 7%–20%, indicating smoothing of the modeled surface during the interpolation process; 2) RR from LiDAR points indicated that soil surface became rougher as rainfall was progressed; 3) DEM errors increased as the surfaces evolved to rougher states and when 10 mm resolution was used; 4) the temporal SSR variations using the DEMs were -0.27 and -0.19 mm at 20 % slope and 0.30 and 0.36 mm at 12 % slope for the resolution 10 and 5 mm, respectively, while they were 0.22 mm at 20 % slope and 0.65 mm at 12 % slope when LiDAR points were directly used, the differences are due to the resulting increased DEM errors as the surface became rougher that masked the true changes in soil surface roughness. This study shows that at plot scale, DEMs generated through interpolations from LiDAR points underestimate soil surface roughness and are ineffective at tracking changes in soil surface roughness over time, and that LiDAR point data must be used instead at present scale.

Evolution of rock cover, surface roughness, and flow velocity on stony soil under simulated rainfall

Erosion pavements occur commonly in many semiarid watersheds due to selective erosion. However, quantitative information regarding the dynamic feedback between soil erosion, surface morphology, and flow hydraulics as erosion pavement develops is limited. In order to quantify the spatiotemporal evolution of rock cover and surface roughness, and measure their effects on flow velocities as erosion pavement develops, a series of rainfall simulations were conducted on a 2 by 6.1 m soil plot under three slope treatments (5%, 12%, and 20%) with surface elevation and rock cover measurements. The total applied rainfall volume for each experimental replication ranging from 1,400 to 2,240 mm caused the development of erosion pavement. The results showed (1) rock cover increased from 15% to 90% as rainfall progressed, and the terminal rock cover was not slope gradient dependent; (2) random roughness was positively correlated with rock cover in the upper and middle plot sections, and increasing surface roughness and rock cover reduced the flow velocity following power functions; (3) surface roughness in the lower sections did not uniformly increase with increasing rock cover due to the formation of rills; (4) the terminal surface roughness values of full plots were 5.3 and 5.1 mm, 4.2 and 4.5 mm, and 2.9 and 3.2 mm for replications of 20%, 12%, and 5% slopes, respectively, indicating that steeper slopes produced greater surface roughness; (5) flow velocities measured at the end of experiments reached a relative constant value that was a function of unit flow rates alone for a given section; (6) hydraulic resistances were correlated with flow discharge, slope gradient, and rock cover, exhibiting no unique hydraulic coefficient for a given surface condition. These results improve our understanding of the evolution of semiarid hillslopes.

A Study of the Durability of Hardened Plough Point

The wear of plough points of different structures and materials in soils with different moistures, hardnesses, and levels of stoniness was studied. It was found that hardening of the cutting edge (the working face) by hard alloy plates based on tungsten carbide effectively reduces the wear on the length and width of plough points. In addition, the surfacing of the front surface of plough points effectively decreases the wear according to their mass and thickness. However, these hardening methods are only effective on sandy and loamy soils. These methods are not effective on a stony soil. After damage of the surfacing of the hard alloy plates, accelerated wear of plough points according to their mass, length, and width occur and their operation does not meet agrotechnical requirements.

Influence of salinization on seeds germination of the fodder semi-shrub of the eastern saltwort (Salsola orientalis S.G. Gmel.)

Eastern saltwort (Salsola orientalis S. G. Gmel.) belongs to the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae Vent.), the genus Salsola L., a semi-shrub with 25-70 cm high with fleshy leaves. It is distributed on saline sandy loam and stony soils from plains to low mountains. It is widely used to restore productivity of degraded natural pastures in arid regions of Russia and Central Asia countries. It is characterized by good palatability, nutritional value, exceptional resistance to salt stress, drought and other adverse environmental conditions. The objective of the study is to find out the effect of different salt concentrations on the germination of eastern saltwort seeds. The influence of various types of salinization on the germination of eastern saltwort seeds in concentrations was tested (0.2; 0.4; 0.6; 0.8; 1.0; 1.2; 1.4; 1.6; 1.8 and 2.0% to the absolutely dry mass of sand): chloride, sulphate, sulphate-chloride, chloride-sulphate, control – sand moistened with distilled water. With chloride salinization at concentrations of 0.2-0.4%, the germination energy and germination of eastern saltwort seeds decreased slightly, and at concentrations of 1.2-1.4%, germination stopped. Sulfate salinization was the least toxic. With all types of salinization, with an increase in the salt concentration, the sowing – germination period is delayed and the process of germination of eastern saltwort seeds is expanded. Although eastern saltwort is a true halophyte, its seeds germinate better on a nonsaline substrate.

Measuring the Strength of Root-Reinforced Soil on Steep Natural Slopes Using the Corkscrew Extraction Method

Roots can help to stabilise slopes against landslides and anchor trees against wind loading, but their mechanical contribution to the strength of soil is difficult to rapidly quantify under field conditions. A new field measurement method, quantifying the shear strength of rooted soil by measuring the resistance against extraction of soil cores using a large corkscrew device, was tested across three heterogeneous slopes (unforested, forested and clearfelled) in Scotland. The presence of roots significantly increased the measured shear strength in the surface layer of the Sitka spruce forested slope. Differences in strength between the three areas were however not significant. This could be attributed to the large variation in the soil component of the combined root–soil shear strength, which was strongly affected by variations in both soil density and gravel content. Measured strength on these natural slopes were much more variable compared to previously investigated sites. These results highlight the importance of investigating the variation in soil strength during root-reinforcement measurements, and furthermore demonstrate the need for a sufficiently large number of tests to address this variation. The corkscrew provides rapid estimation of root-reinforced soil shear strength on sites with difficult accessibility. Compared to the more conventional shear vane method, which yielded comparable soil strength results, the corkscrew proved more suitable in stony soil layers and has the additional benefit of simultaneously extracting small (rooted) soil samples that could be used for further root and soil analysis. It therefore proved a useful and effective field tool for use when a rapid estimation of root-reinforced soil shear strength is required.

The virtual element method strength reduction technique for the stability analysis of stony soil slopes

Based on the incremental method of elastic-plastic mechanics and bilinear projection operators, by combining the strength reduction method with the φ-ν inequality, this paper proposes a virtual element method strength reduction technique for slope stability analysis. The deformations of a homogeneous slope and heterogeneous slope are solved under different strength reduction factors, and the mesh dependency problem of the method is discussed. Numerical examples verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that due to the differences in the physical and mechanical properties of soil and rocks, stress becomes concentrated in the contact zone between soil and rocks, and thus, the plastic zone surrounds the rocks. Therefore, it is difficult to form regular connections in a plastic zone, such as a soil slope. This method can be used to analyse the stability of a stony soil slope and to study the effects of particle size, rock content, rock density, and rock spatial distribution on the mechanical behaviour of stony soil slopes.

Predicting soil water balance for irrigated and non-irrigated lucerne on stony, alluvial soils

•Efficient use of irrigation is essential for minimising environmental impacts of agriculture, particularly on stony soils which are vulnerable to nitrogen leaching. Models of soil water balance are essential tools for effective agricultural water management. Here we use the soil water flow model HYDRUS-1D to predict evaporation, total 1.5 m soil profile water content, and drainage at 1.5 m soil depth for irrigated and non-irrigated lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) on stony, alluvial soils in central South Island, New Zealand. Modelled estimates were compared against measurements of evaporation by eddy covariance, profile soil water content from soil moisture sensors, and drainage from lysimeters from 1 October 2016 to 1 July 2018 at each site. Cumulative evaporation and drainage were within 4% of measurements and short-term variations were well predicted for non-irrigated lucerne. Under irrigation, modelled cumulative evaporation and drainage overestimated measurements by 6 and 24% respectively. This overestimation must be viewed within the context of uncertainties related to the measurements, particularly given non-closure of the measured water balance related to spatial variability and inherent biases in the measurement methods. Model inputs and concept are likewise sources of uncertainty. Total water content predicted for the 1.5 m depth soil profile was 40–50% greater than the measured volume for both non-irrigated and irrigated lucerne, although short term variations were well predicted, suggesting that further research is needed on estimation of soil hydraulic parameters which represent water storage in these stony, alluvial soils. Our results highlight the value of well-measured sites, such as those of the current study, for evaluating the quality of soil hydrological predictions.

Application of geostatistical methods in the development of landscape-adaptive land use

The article describes the ways of using statistical methods in agricultural geography. The use of analysis of variance in determining the influence of geocomplexes of various ranks on the yield of plants and other parameters of farms is shown. It was found that yield variability, soil acidity, the proportion of pastures and fallow lands are less than 30% determined by the characteristics of the natural environment of geosystems and the variability of plant nutrients, stony and marshy soil, and the share of haymaking by 30-50%. Other elements of the structural organization of enterprises are more than half determined by the peculiarities of the territories of different levels. The process of determining a set of crops should be based on knowledge of the variability of their yields within the types of agricultural landscapes, and, if possible, at lower taxonomic levels. The degree of development of agricultural landscapes and the average size of the contour of the land is determined even when analyzing the conditions of the macroenvironment. The use of track analysis allows to identify the factors of direct impact on the crops which are divided into "active" and "potential". It has been established that all types of agricultural landscapes of the Upper Volga region can be divided into two groups according to the number of active and potential factors: geocomplexes with a homogeneous lithogenic basis and landscapes on two-membered sediments. The latter are distinguished by a large number of active factors and a wide range of affected crops. The design of crop rotations should take into account an individual set of factors affecting the production process. The methodology for assessing the productivity of agricultural landscapes can be based on the use of its integral indicators. The systems of measures that increase the degree of realization of the potential productivity of agricultural landscapes for cereal grass stands have been determined. They are combined into three groups: 1. Adaptive placement of grass stands depending on the granulometric composition and the geological structure of the soil. 2. Adaptive placement of grass stands and drainage irrigation amelioration. 3. Adaptive placement of grass stands, water melioration and land management activities. Identified areas of distribution of these groups of activities in the Upper Volga region.

Centipedes, millipedes, terrestrial isopods and their relationships to physical and chemical properties of forest soils

The quality of soil environment in forest ecosystems of mountain zones was characterised by skeleton content and particle size as well as soil moisture and chemistry and used for deepening the knowledge of ecological requirements of centipedes, millipedes and terrestrial isopods. Soil skeleton and size of the particles were significant environmental factors, with Lithobius austriacus, Lithobius erythrocephalus and Lithobius nodulipes preferring stony soils. The isopods Ligidium hypnorum and Hyloniscus riparius were closely bound to heavy soils with a high clay content, which was related to increased soil moisture and indication ofwaterlogged soils. Soil reaction (pH/KCl) was less associated with the occurrence of the studied invertebrates. The soils with higher skeleton content and a favourable moisture regime containing more Ca2+ and Mg2+ were more attractive to some centipedes (Strigamia acuminata, Lithobius microps) and isopods (Trachelipus ratzebargii, Oniscus asellus, Porcellio scaber).

Grapevine water relations and rooting depth in karstic soils.

Environmental sustainability of viticulture is negatively affected by prolonged droughts. In limestone dominated regions, there is limited knowledge on grapevine water status and on methods for accurate evaluation of actual water demand, necessary to appropriately manage irrigation. During a dry vintage, we monitored plant and soil water relations in old and young vines of Istrian Malvasia on Karst red soil. The vineyard with young vines was additionally subdivided into two areas, based on their soil type, 1) karst silty-clay loam, and 2) mixture of crushed rocks and karst silty-clay loam (stony soil). Seasonal changes in exploited water resources were estimated via analysis of oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of rainfall, deep soil water, and xylem sap. We hypothesized that plants are able to thrive during drought thanks to the water stored in deep soil layers, while they rely less on superficial soil horizons. Our results show that vines growing on karstic substrates have deep roots securing the use of stable water sources during summer, with consequent favourable plant water status. In fact, both young and mature vines approached the threshold of severe water stress, but never surpassed it, as midday leaf water potentials were >-1.3MPa in all study sites. Vines roots showed flexible water uptake, i.e. the ability to absorb water from deep or shallow soil horizons during drought and after late-summer thunderstorms, which was particularly evident in vines growing on the stony soil. In fact, precipitations of 20mm were enough for plant water status recovery, due to fast infiltration. On the other hand, at least 50mm of rainfall were necessary to induce water status recovery in more compact soil (karst silty-clay loam). Our findings provide new knowledge on the rooting depth and water needs of vines growing on shallow soils overlying fractured limestone bedrock.

Spatial heterogeneity of gall formation in relation to chemotype distribution in Thymus vulgaris

The utilization of host plants by herbivorous insects depends on plant traits and physical environment. The purpose of the present work is to test the hypothesis that spatial variation in the presence of galls of the specialist fly Janetiellathymicola in natural populations of its host plant Thymus vulgaris differ in relation to spatial variation in chemotype presence. We quantified gall infection rates in 59 populations that differ in chemotype presence across a sharp ecological gradient in the South of France. We also quantified spatial aggregation of galls and plants and made a 3-year study of infection, biomass and plant survival in three populations. The proportion of galled plants was significantly higher in populations with non-phenolic chemotypes on deeper soils in sites with cold winter temperatures than in populations of phenolic chemotypes on stony soils in sites with mild winters. In a population with two non-phenolic chemotypes, galls were significantly more present on plants of the chemotype with the highest proportion of galls in the multi-population survey. In a 3-year study, galled plants had a significantly greater probability of being infected by a subsequent generation than non-galled plants. This probability declined with distance. Galls absorbed a significant proportion of vegetative biomass on a shoot, but their presence was unrelated to survival. Host plant chemistry, habitat characteristics and dispersal limitation conjointly affect this host–parasite interaction.

Estimation of macropore flow characteristics in stony soils of a small mountain catchment

The rapid movement of water in a complex system of preferential pathways in soils is a common natural phenomenon. However, quantification of the properties of this phenomenon is not easy and such results are not often found in the literature. The paper presents results of quantification of the number of macropores, their relative volume and the ratio of water infiltrating through the macropores for five study sites with stony soils located in a mountain catchment of northern Slovakia. These characteristics were calculated from the saturated and unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivities under the assumptions of the Poiseuille’s law. Saturated hydraulic conductivities were estimated by single ring infiltrometer measurements in the field and by falling head method in the laboratory. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities were estimated by tension infiltration measurements in the field (using a minidisc infiltrometer, Decagon Devices). The largest amount of macropores (defined as the pores with radius larger than 1.5 mm) in the entire soil profile (7–5276 per 1 m2) was found at forest sites overgrown by spruce with high to extremely high stoniness. The number of macropores decreased with depth of the soil profile at all study sites. The contribution of macropore flow to water infiltration varied from approximately 63% to almost 100%. Although macropores can conduct a large proportion of water, their relative volume is small (0.001–0.9%). The relative volume of all macropores (active and non-active) estimated from the soil porosity and the water retention function was in the range 2–23%.

A new species of perennial Bromus (Bromeae, Poaceae) from the Iberian Peninsula.

During a survey of the genus Bromus for the ongoing Flora Iberica, B.picoeuropeanussp. nov., a new orophilous species of perennial Bromus from Picos de Europa National Park, was found, and it is described and illustrated here. This new species belongs to the Bromuserectus complex and differs from the other perennial species of this group occurring in the Iberian Peninsula in its well-developed rhizome, the small innovation leaves and all peduncles and branches shorter than the spikelets. B.picoeuropeanus grows on calcareous stony soils associated with dry places. We provide a description and illustrations of the new species and an identification key for the most related European perennial species belonging to the complex.

A taxonomic revision of Notothlaspi (Brassicaceae), a specialist alpine genus from New Zealand

The New Zealand endemic alpine genus Notothlaspi comprises three species from the South Island mountains. Notothlaspi australe and the newly described N. viretum occur on rock bluffs and outcrops and their associated stony soils. Notothlaspi australe occurs in Nelson, Marlborough and north Westland, northern South Island, and N. viretum is endemic to the highest peaks of Red Hills, Marlborough, where it occurs on ultramafic soils. Notothlaspi viretum is segregated from the sympatric N. australe by its numerous, closely placed rosettes that form compact cushions and the leaves are linear to linear-narrowly lanceolate. These two species are distinguished from the scree-specialist, rosette forming, monocarpic N. rosulatum by their perennial growth habit, forming cushions with branched stems, narrower leaves, axillary and solitary flowers, and smaller silicles. Notothlaspi rosulatum is known from Nelson, Westland, Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago. Notothlaspi rosulatum var. hursthousei and N. notabilis are treated as synonyms of N. rosulatum, and N. australe var. stellatum is placed as a synonym of N. australe. All names are typified and a key is provided.

Nomenclatural notes on Iris haussknechtii (Iridaceae)

The nomenclatural notes, discussed in the present communication, are based on the revision of Iris Linnaeus (1753: 38) names described from Turkey, considering this genus in its wide sense (e.g., Dykes 1924, Mathew 1989, Güner 2012). Iris haussknechtii Bornm. ex Baker (1892: 4) is a species endemic to Turkey referred to I. ser. Spuriae (Diels 1930: 502) Lawrence (1953: 361) of I. sect. Limniris Tausch (1823: without pagination), treated at the generic level under the name Chamaeiris Medikus (1790: 417) (Crespo 2011, Crespo et al. 2015). It is a rhizomatous, perennial herbaceous, compact plant, with two terminal pale yellow or yellow and white flowers on single stem, the perianth segments with only yellow veins, and the narrow, rather tough leaves slightly shorter than flowers. According to some authors (Dykes 1912, 1924, Peckham 1939, Mathew 1984), it is a close relative to I. sintenisii Janka (1877: 244), except for the colour of the flowers, the shape of the outer perianth segments, the fact that the spathe valves are not sharply keeled (Dykes 1924), and the reported chromosome number: 2n = 18 in I. haussknechtii (Özkan et al. 2001, as “I. kerneriana”) vs 2n = 16 in I. sintenisii (Popova & Ceschmedjiev 1975). Based on herbarium specimens examination (deposited at E, K, and P; acronym according to Thiers 2019), we conclude that I. haussknechtii is distributed in the following northern Turkey provinces: Canakkale, Balikesir, Bolu, Kastamonu, Cankiri, Ankara, Corum, Sinop, Amasya, Tokat, Erzincan, as well as in Eskisehir, Afyonkarahisar, Kirikkale, Kirsehir, and Sivas (A. Güner, pers. comm.). This plant usually occurs in open sites, on stony soil amongst woodland, in dry meadows, scrubland, and on steep stony slopes at elevations ranging from 1150 to 2350 m (Mathew 1984). At the best of our knowledge, the name I. haussknechtii has not yet been typified. After the examination of all the original material and protologue, we designated the lectotype for this name.

Effect of Stoniness on the Hydraulic Properties of a Soil from an Evaporation Experiment Using the Wind and Inverse Estimation Methods

Stony soils are distributed all over the world. The study of their characteristics has gained importance lately due to their increasing use as agricultural soils. The effect that rock fragments exert on the soil hydraulic properties is difficult to measure in situ, and is usually derived from the fine earth properties. However, the corrections used so far do not seem accurate for all types of stony soils. Our objective was to assess the adequacy of estimating the hydraulic properties of a stony soil from the fine earth ones by correcting the latter by the volume occupied by rock fragments. To do that, we first assessed the validity of different approaches for estimating the hydraulic properties of a stone-free and a stony (40% rock fragments) cylinder prepared with samples from the same silt loam soil. The functions relating to the soil hydraulic properties (θ-h, K-h-θ) were estimated by the Wind method and by inverse estimation, using data from an evaporation experiment where the soil water content and pressure head were measured at different soil depths over time. Results from the evaporation experiment were compared to those obtained by applying the equation that corrects fine earth properties by the rock fragments volume. Wind and the Inverse Estimation methods were successfully applied to estimate soil water content and hydraulic conductivity from the stony soil experiment, except for some uncertainties caused by the limited range of suction in which the experiment was conducted. The application of an equation for adjusting the soil water content at different pressure heads (allowing for defining the soil water retention curve, SWRC), and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) directly from the stone content was not satisfactory. K values obtained from the measured data were higher than those inferred by the correcting equation in the wet range, but decreased much faster with a decreasing pressure head. The use of this equation did therefore not take into account the effect that the creation of lacunar pores by the presence of rock fragments likely exerts on water flow processes. The use of such correction needs therefore to be revised and new approaches are needed for estimating the hydraulic conductivity in stony soils. In relation to SWRC, a new equation to calculate the water content of a stony soil accounting for the influence of possible lacunar pores is proposed.