Soil sorptivity (S) and unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity (K) determinations are of fundamental importance to understand the soil water infiltration process. These properties were determined from disk permeameter (r = 0,125 m) experiments, performed at the depths of 0.20 m and 0.40 m of a clayey soil classified as a Rhodic Kandiudalf, in Piracicaba SP, Brazil (22°44' S, 43°33' W, 580 m above sea level). At the depth of 0.20 m, the average soil bulk density was 1500 kg m-3 and at the depth of 0.40 m, 1540 kg m-3. K was determined using the Wooding equation, whereas the sorptivity S was determined from the linear portion of the curve of cumulative infiltration (I) versus square root of time (t½). As expected, the values for the depth of 0.40 m were smaller than those for the depth of 0.20 m, because the soil properties (structure and texture) at the greater depth were quite different than those at 0.20 m, presenting large hardened soil aggregates intermediated by smaller softer ones, a common feature in textural horizons.
hydraulic conductivity; sorptivity; disk permeameter