Introduction

A soil pedotransfer function (ptf) is a statistical or mathematical model that estimates key properties of a specified soil from some measured properties of that soil. The soil properties that are estimated can include, for example, total available water or wilting point. The measured soil properties include attributes such as the soil type, texture or other readily-measured properties. Three important criteria in developing a ptf are minimising prediction error, generating estimates that are physically plausible, and deriving estimates that have some measure of uncertainty, for example prediction intervals.

Detailed description 

The new S-map hydrological ptf (2024) estimates the soil water content (in units of water volume per unit volume of soil, or cm3/cm3) for pre-defined tensions (0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 100, and 1500 kPa). The relationship between the different soil water contents at different tensions is termed the soil water retention curve, with water content in the soil decreasing as the tension increases.

The predictions by the new S-map hydrological ptf are based on the range of available information within S-map for the soil, including soil order, rock class, functional horizon characteristics and depth as well as the estimated texture (percentage of sand, silt, and clay). The ptf estimates the soil water content in such a way that derived quantities can also be estimated for the total soil porosity, bulk density, total available water (TAW), macroporosity, wilting point, and field capacity that are all consistent with the estimated water retention curve. The modelling is done for each individual soil horizon within a sibling (termed horizon TAW), which are then added up to provide the profile available water (PAW), with PAW to 60cm used by tools such as OverseerFM. The ptf also yields the uncertainty of the soil water content and derived properties (e.g. total available water), by specifying the 95% confidence interval of the predictions. This is the range of values that one can be certain contains the true mean of the soil property with a 0.95 probability.

In addition, the ptf is constructed so that the estimated soil properties are physically plausible; that is, the properties conform to constraints that we would expect in practice. For example, the estimated volumetric soil water content is constrained to be in the range 0–100 %, as are derived physical properties such as the total available water. The soil water content estimates are also constrained to reduce as the tension increases. Moreover, derived quantities such as the total available water (calculated from the soil water content at 10 kPa minus the soil water content at 1500 kPa) are also constrained to 0–100 %. The different pore-size groups such as macroporosity and total available water also all need to sum to be equal to the total porosity of the soil horizon.

The modelling approach described in McNeill et al. (2018) has now been updated. A GAM beta response model has been developed as described by McNeill et al. (2024). The updated model is based on just under 6,000 samples (on 796 sites) held in the National Soils Data Repository (NSDR) compared to 4641 (on 684 sites) in the 2020 model. Notable improvements in the new ptf include better results for some soil orders (especially Granular and Pumice soils) and more reliable predictions when the model is extrapolated to all of New Zealand. Default values for the Organic horizons have been replaced by a new simple prediction model.

Limitations

The uncertainty of the volumetric soil water content and derived properties depends on the number of samples available in each of the different explanatory factors. Estimates for Brown soils, for instance, are consistently accurate because of the large number of samples available, while predictions for soils derived from Limestone or Granular soils are less accurate since they involve relatively few samples. More field data have been collected for Pumice soils that reinforce the laboratory measurements. 

Summary

The larger number of samples and sites, combined with better representativeness of different soil types and better modelling methods, mean that predictions of the soil water retention and derived quantities (e.g. available water) are a more robust estimate  for the wide range of New Zealand soils. These improved estimates are important for helping New Zealanders achieve environmental and economic outcomes from their land. In particular, more accurate soil moisture information will lead to better knowledge of irrigation demand and nutrient losses. The new S-map estimates of the key soil moisture properties including PAW (also known as water holding capacity) were released in April 2024. More details about the differences with the 2020 water retention model are provided in a recorded webinar.