markfukt

Markfukt refers to the amount of water contained in the soil and the soil’s ability to hold water. It is a key component of soil water status and is important for plant growth, irrigation planning, and hydrological processes. Markfukt can be described qualitatively as wet, moist, or dry, or quantitatively as volumetric water content or matric potential. In agriculture and forestry, it is often considered as the portion of water available to plant roots, which depends on soil texture, structure, and depth.

Measurement methods include gravimetric methods (weighing soil samples before and after drying) and in situ techniques such as tensiometers, neutron probes, time-domain reflectometry (TDR), and capacitance sensors. Results are typically expressed as percent water by volume (volumetric water content) or in units of suction (kPa) when using tensiometers. Calibration is typically needed for each soil type due to spatial variability.

Markfukt is influenced by precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, soil depth, texture (sand, silt, clay), organic matter content, and rooting depth. It is closely related to concepts such as field capacity (the amount of water the soil holds after drainage) and the wilting point (the point at which water is unavailable to plants). The difference between field capacity and wilting point is the available water capacity of the soil.

Applications include irrigation scheduling, drought monitoring, crop modelling, groundwater and flood risk assessment, and resource management. Data on markfukt are used by farmers, researchers, and public agencies to forecast yields, manage water resources, and assess environmental conditions.