| dc.description.abstract | The potential maximum retention, S, of the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method (SCS, 1956) was derived for a large set of published infiltration data ranging from Plainfield sand to Yololight clay using the relations between Ψ (negative pressure) and Θ (moisture content) and between K (hydraulic conductivity) and Θ. The physical significance of S is explained using the diffusion term of the linearized Fokker-Planck equation for infiltration, which relates S to the storage and transmission properties of the soil. The derived S-values exhibit a strong looped relationship with the initial moisture content, analogous to that for curve numbers for three antecedent moisture conditions. The variation of S in vertical infiltration is also explained and discussed. | en |
