Porosity

Physical quantity for the ratio of void volume to total volume of a substance. For soil structure, see .

The water that is vital for plants seeps into the soil after precipitation (rain, hail, sleet, snow) (as far as the soil conditions allow). A small proportion also comes from surface precipitation formed by condensation (dew, frost), which is absorbed directly by the dew roots located just below the surface. The non-solid soil substance consists of pores of different sizes that are filled with air and/or water. The pores can make up 30 to 60% of the total volume. The porosity - the ratio of the void volume to the total volume - depends on the pore volume. In dry soil, all pores are filled with air.

Wasserspeicherungs-Vermögen - Graphik mit Bodenstruktur und Begriffen

Adhesive water

The infiltrating water first displaces the air in the fine pores until finally, in moist soil, air only remains in the coarse pores. Adhesive or capillary water is water held against gravity that sticks to pores smaller than 10 µm (10 thousandths of a millimetre) due to the surface tension of the water (meniscus = concave water surface). The amount of adhesive water that the soil can hold with its pores against the force of gravity is referred to as...

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Porosity

Water storage capacity

Adhesive water

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