ABSTRACT The processes of water flow and water storage in the soil are directly associated with its hydraulic properties, which may vary significantly in space. Therefore, this study aimed to perform a spatial analysis of saturated hydraulic conductivity and the parameters of the soil water retention curve in the Donato basin, located in the municipality of Pejuçara, in the northwest region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with geographic coordinates between 28º 25’ 34” S and 53º 40’ 30” W, and 28º 24’ 50” S and 53º 41’ 30” W, 590 m of altitude. Undisturbed soil samples (total of 55) were collected from August to November of 2012. The results have demonstrated larger variability for hydraulic conductivity and for the parameter α of the retention curve, and allowed identifying that the high spatial heterogeneity of the studied variables could be associated with factors such as climate, land use and land cover, sampling errors, sampling grid density and also the level of soil compaction.

ABSTRACT The processes of water flow and water storage in the soil are directly associated with its hydraulic properties, which may vary significantly in space. Therefore, this study aimed to perform a spatial analysis of saturated hydraulic conductivity and the parameters of the soil water retention curve in the Donato basin, located in the municipality of Pejuçara, in the northwest region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with geographic coordinates between 28º 25’ 34” S and 53º 40’ 30” W, and 28º 24’ 50” S and 53º 41’ 30” W, 590 m of altitude. Undisturbed soil samples (total of 55) were collected from August to November of 2012. The results have demonstrated larger variability for hydraulic conductivity and for the parameter α of the retention curve, and allowed identifying that the high spatial heterogeneity of the studied variables could be associated with factors such as climate, land use and land cover, sampling errors, sampling grid density and also the level of soil compaction.

ABSTRACT Geostatistical simulation has been the most promising and used technique for the analysis of uncertainties of soil physical and hydraulic properties, with high spatial heterogeneity. This study carried out a stochastic analysis of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and soil water retention curve parameters in the Donato stream basin, located in the municipality of Pejuçara, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with geographic coordinates between 28º 25’ 34” S and 53º 40’ 30” W, and 28º 24’ 50” S and 53º 41’ 30” W, 590 m of altitude. Soil samples were collected during the period from August to November of 2012. Sequential Gaussian simulation technique was used to generate 100 random fields of each variable. The results showed great uncertainties for Ksat and the parameter α of the soil water retention curve. The uncertainties between the percentiles 5 and 95% for Ksat indicated values from 24 to 44 cm d-1, and for the parameter α, the uncertainties could be estimated from 0.622 to 1.122 cm-1.

ABSTRACT Geostatistical simulation has been the most promising and used technique for the analysis of uncertainties of soil physical and hydraulic properties, with high spatial heterogeneity. This study carried out a stochastic analysis of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) and soil water retention curve parameters in the Donato stream basin, located in the municipality of Pejuçara, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with geographic coordinates between 28º 25’ 34” S and 53º 40’ 30” W, and 28º 24’ 50” S and 53º 41’ 30” W, 590 m of altitude. Soil samples were collected during the period from August to November of 2012. Sequential Gaussian simulation technique was used to generate 100 random fields of each variable. The results showed great uncertainties for Ksat and the parameter α of the soil water retention curve. The uncertainties between the percentiles 5 and 95% for Ksat indicated values from 24 to 44 cm d-1, and for the parameter α, the uncertainties could be estimated from 0.622 to 1.122 cm-1.