Gamma-ray beam attenuation as an auxiliary technique for the evaluation of the soil water retention curve

The soil water retention curve is fundamental for the hydraulic characterization of a soil and has many applications in agricultural research as well as in practical agriculture. A new procedure for soil moisture and soil bulk density evaluation inside closed pressure chambers through gamma-ray beam attenuation is presented. The proposed procedure presents several advantages in relation to the traditional process: avoids the need of continuous sample manipulation; minimizes the problem of hysteresis; allows a more precise evaluation of soil moisture by taking into account changes of soil bulk density due to swelling or shrinking on addition or removal of water; allows frequent evaluation of soil moisture without the need of opening the pressure chamber; allows a more precise judgement of equilibrium; reduces drastically the time of the determination of the retention curve and allows easy automation of data acquisition by a computer.