Soil physics

Soil physics studies the physical properties of soil and the movement of water, heat, air, and dissolved substances through it.

Soil water retention curve: A relationship between soil water content and the energy required to extract or retain that water. It describes how pore sizes and soil properties determine water availability.
Soil texture: The relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay-sized mineral particles in soil. Particle sizes shape pore-size distributions and water retention.
Infiltration: The entry of water from the land surface into soil. Its rate determines how rainfall and irrigation enter the soil profile.
Soil science: The study of soil as a natural body, including its formation, properties, and functions. Soil physics is one branch within this broader discipline.
Preferential flow: Rapid water movement through a limited set of connected pathways in soil. It can bypass the uniform-flow assumptions used in many predictions.
Darcy's law: A law relating fluid flow through porous material to hydraulic gradient and conductivity. It quantifies water flow through soil under a hydraulic gradient.
Soil structure: The arrangement of soil particles into aggregates and the spaces between them. Aggregation creates pathways that alter infiltration, aeration, and strength.
Evapotranspiration: The combined transfer of water to the atmosphere by evaporation and plant transpiration. Soil water supply constrains this major loss from managed land.
Hydrology: The science of water's occurrence, movement, and distribution on Earth. Soil processes form a key part of terrestrial water movement.
Soil heterogeneity: The spatial variation of soil properties within a soil body or landscape. Small-scale variation makes field-scale transport difficult to predict.

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