What would be the way to characterize the shallow hardpan lying at soil profile at about 1m depth?

Question

I want to determine the characters and their spatial variability of a shallow impermeable hardpan( such as bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, permeability).How can I collect the samples, from a 10 acre area to perform this research?

Answer 1

You will need to take soil samples on a grid and at various depths. The density of the grid and number of sample depths will depend upon how much resolution you require in your final characterization.

Density is found by weighing a sample of known volume and then calculating the density.

Permeability can be found using a permeameter shown in link 1 below. Hydraulic conductivity is similar to and perhaps synonymous with permeability.

Another important factor you may wish to consider is water retention, which can be measured using a tensiometer, see link 2