Soil physics is the study of soil's physical properties and processes. It is applied to management and prediction under natural and managed ecosystems. Soil physics deals with the dynamics of physical soil components and their phases as solid, liquids, and gases. It draws on the principles of physics, physical chemistry, engineering, and meteorology. Soil physics applies these principles to address practical problems of agriculture, ecology, and engineering. Soil physics deals with the physical properties of the soil, with an emphasis on the state and transport of matter (especially water) and energy in the soil. Soil physicists view soil as a porous medium through which water, solute, gas, and heat move. Traditionally, soil physicists have emphasized theoretical studies using mathematical models and laboratory investigations using small samples (often 0.05–0.3 m in diameter and height, and often consisting of ground-sieved soil materials instead of intact soils). In terms of time scale, classical soil physics research has typically been in the order of minutes or hours to days, with few studies lasting months or years. The dominating role of soil-physical processes in controlling and optimizing biodegradation of pollutants during soil remediation should be investigated and highlighted. With this emerging role of soil physics in environmental engineering combined with the rapid developments in process understanding and non-destructive measurement equipments, we are on the brink of an exciting new era in soil physics. Keeping in view importance of soil physics, this course has been designed with following aims and objectives: Description and objectives: This course is designed to give the post doctorate students an insight about water flow equations and their applications, thermodynamic potentials and chemical potential of soil water, use of models for artificial drainage, factors influencing drainage, heat flow equations: application and calculations, pollutant transport in soil environment: Analytic solutions of the CDE model. Similarly, Mobile-immobile water flow model for solute transport, behavior assessment model for pesticide and hormones transport, application of soil physics for remediation of hazardous wastes, spatial variability analysis of soil properties and significance, analysis of frequency distribution, techniques for characterizing variability, irrigation water scheduling; Water balance; Old and modern concepts of irrigation, irrigation and water use efficiency, calculation of evapo-transpiration by various methods will be described in detail. Learning outcomes of course: After learning this course students will be able to know water flow equations and their applications in crop production. Thermodynamic potentials and chemical potentials of soil water, use of models for development of artificial drainage will be studied.

Description and objectives

This course is designed to give the post doctorate students an insight about water flow equations and their applications, thermodynamic potentials and chemical potential of soil water, use of models for artificial drainage, factors influencing drainage, heat flow equations: application and calculations, pollutant transport in soil environment: Analytic solutions of the CDE model. Similarly, Mobile-immobile water flow model for solute transport, behavior assessment model for pesticide and hormones transport, application of soil physics for remediation of hazardous wastes, spatial variability analysis of soil properties and significance, analysis of frequency distribution, techniques for characterizing variability, irrigation water scheduling; Water balance; Old and modern concepts of irrigation, irrigation and water use efficiency, calculation of evapo-transpiration by various methods will be described in detail.

Learning outcomes of course

After learning this course students will be able to know water flow equations and their applications in crop production. Thermodynamic potentials and chemical potentials of soil water, use of models for development of artificial drainage will be studied.

Course Outline

1. Water flow equations and their applications
2. Thermodynamic potentials and chemical potential of soil water
3. Use of models for artificial drainage
   1. Factors influencing drainage 
4. Heat flow equations: Application and calculations
5. Application of gas flow equations
6. Pollutant transport in soil environment: Analytic solutions of the CDE model
7. Mobile-immobile water flow model for solute transport
8. Behavior assessment model for pesticide and hormones transport
9. Application of soil physics for remediation of hazardous wastes
10. Spatial variability analysis of soil properties and significance
11. Analysis of frequency distribution
12. Techniques for characterizing variability
13. Irrigation water scheduling; Water balance; Old and modern concepts of irrigation
14. Irrigation and water use efficiency
15. Calculation of evapo-transpiration by various methods

Books Recommended

1. Bhatti, A.U. 2005. Spatial Variability and its Management in Agriculture. Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan.
2. Hillel, D. 1998. Environmental Soil Physics. Academic Press Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.
3. Hillel, D. 2004. Introduction to Environmental Soil Physics. Elsevier Academic Press. San Diego, CA, USA.
4. Hillel, D. 2008. Soil in the Environment: Crucible of Terrestrial Life. Elsevier Inc., Burlington, MA, USA.
5. Jury, W.A. and R. Horton. 2004. Soil Physics. 5th Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NY, USA.
6. Marshall, T.J., J.W. Holmes and C.W. Rose. 1996. Soil Physics. 3rd Ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.