Pacific Southwest

Title: Water repellent soils: a state-of-the-art

Author: DeBano, Leonard F.

Date: 1981

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-46. Berkeley, Calif.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exp. Stn. 21 p

Station ID: GTR-PSW-046

Description: Water repellency in soils was first described by Schreiner and Shorey (1910), who found that some soils in California could not be wetted and thereby were not suitable for agriculture. Waxy organic substances were responsible for the water repellency. Other studies in the early 1900's on the fairy ring phenomenon suggested that water repellency could be caused by fungi. These fairy rings created unsightly, circular shaped areas in otherwise healthy turf and lawn. Bayliss (1911) reported on such water repellency and referred to earlier work in 1875 by Gilbert and Laws at Rothamsted which described the same phenomenon. Later, Shantz and Piemeisel (1917) confirmed that soil dryness was associated with fairy rings on grasslands in eastern Colorado.

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Citation

DeBano, Leonard F.  1981.  Water repellent soils: a state-of-the-art.   Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-46. Berkeley, Calif.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exp. Stn. 21 p .