Modelling of soil moisture conditions in spatially variable fields is treated using stochastic methods. Spatial variability of moisture content in a vegetation covered field is partly caused by field variability in soil physical parameters. In the present study a physically based model is coupled with a statistical description of retention properties and saturated hydraulic conductivity respectively to simulate moisture conditions in heterogeneous soils.
Results are compared with measurements obtained from two 0.5 ha field sites.
Simulations based on the variation in retention properties are shown to account for much of the observed variation in soil moisture conditions with some deficiencies evident close to the soil surface. Variations in saturated hydraulic conductivity alone give an incomplete description of observed variability in soil moisture conditions.
