0000000001091723
AUTHOR
Gaetano Caltabellotta
showing 6 related works from this author
Effect of a Heavy Rainstorm on the Surface Hydrodynamic Properties of a Sandy-Loam Soil
2022
Changes in surface-soil hydrodynamic properties associated with torrential natural rainstorms are largely unknown. This investigation aimed at verifying if the surface hydrodynamic properties of a sandy-loam soil varied due to the heavy rainfall event (130 mm in nearly three hours) that occurred in the summer of 2020 at Palermo (Italy) and also to establish if soil recovery processes occurred soon after the event. The soil of an orchard was sampled immediately before the rainstorm and a few days and 1.5 months later. The rainstorm determined a moderate decrease (by 1.8 times) of the saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks, and an increase of its relative variability. In the subsequent wee…
Testing soil water repellency in a Sicilian area two years after a fire
2019
The water drop penetration time (WDPT) technique was applied in 2018 to check persistence of soil water repellency (SWR) in a Sicilian mountain area affected by a wildfire on June 2016. A total of four sites, that were severely water repellent immediately after burning, were sampled. Depending on the site, wettable soil conditions, less SWR and maintenance of a noticeable SWR were detected two years later. At the site showing a near-constant SWR, WDPTs were particularly high in the top soil layer (0-0.03 m) and they appreciably decreased more in depth. Signs of decreasing SWR in drier soil conditions and in association with coarser soil particles were also detected at this site. High gradie…
Estimation of hydrodynamic properties of a sandy-loam soil by two analysis methods of single-ring infiltration data
2022
Abstract Beerkan infiltration runs could provide an incomplete description of infiltration with reference to either the near steady-state or the transient stages. In particular, the process could still be in the transient stage at the end of the run or some transient infiltration data might be loss. The Wu1 method and the BEST-steady algorithm can be applied to derive soil hydrodynamic parameters even under these circumstances. Therefore, a soil dataset could be developed using two different data analysis methods. The hypothesis that the Wu1 method and BEST-steady yield similar predictions of the soil parameters when they are applied to the same infiltration curve was tested in this investi…
Water transmission properties of a sandy-loam soil estimated with Beerkan runs differing by the infiltration time criterion
2021
Abstract The Beerkan method consists of a ponded infiltration experiment from a single ring inserted a small depth into the soil. Fixed, small volumes of water are repeatedly poured into the ring to maintain a quasi-zero head on the soil surface. According to the standard Beerkan infiltration run, a new water volume is poured on the infiltration surface when the previously applied volume has completely infiltrated and the soil surface is entirely exposed to air (ta criterion). However, water could also be applied when the soil exposition to air begins (to criterion) or half the soil surface is exposed to air (tm criterion). The effect of the infiltration time criterion on determination of t…
Manual packing and soil reuse effects on determination of saturated hydraulic conductivity of a loam soil
2022
Abstract Performing laboratory measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks, of sieved soil is important for many scientific purposes such as testing theories and methods to determine Ks. A given soil mass can be used only once or it can be reused after a previous use. Little is known on the dependence of the Ks measurements on both the applied packing method and the reuse of the same soil mass. This lack of knowledge makes comparisons among different investigations more or less uncertain. Four packing methods were tested on an initially dry loam soil by measuring Ks with the simplified falling head (SFH) technique. The four methods differed by the used compacting procedure (dropping…
Theoretical prediction of rainfall intensity for a small rainfall simulator
2022
In this contribution, a theoretical approach was developed for predicting rainfall intensity for a small rainfall simulator. The developed equation was tested for two different devices and different pressure head and water temperature values. The proposed relationship was found to have a good predictive ability of rainfall intensity. The proposed theoretical approach could be usable with other devices that operate on the same principles of the simulator considered in this investigation.