Definition

1. Noun:
   • The maximum amount of water that a particular soil can hold: In soil science and agriculture, "field capacity" refers to the amount of water content remaining in a soil after it has been saturated and allowed to drain freely for a period, typically one to three days. It represents the upper limit of water available to plants, held against the force of gravity by capillary forces in the soil pores.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The sandy soil has a lower field capacity than the clay soil.
  • Irrigation should be scheduled when soil moisture drops below the field capacity.
  • Understanding the field capacity of your land is crucial for efficient water management.

Advanced Usage

• "To reach field capacity": describes the state of a soil when it has drained to its maximum water-holding potential after saturation.
  • After the heavy rains, the soil took two days to reach field capacity.
• "Field capacity value": refers to the specific measurement or percentage of water content at field capacity.
  • The laboratory report listed the field capacity value as 25% by volume.

Variants and Related Words

• Soil moisture content (n): A general term for the amount of water present in soil, which can be measured at various states including field capacity.
• Permanent wilting point (n): The soil moisture content at which plants can no longer extract water and wilt permanently; this and field capacity define the available water capacity for plants.
• Available water capacity (AWC) (n): The amount of water a soil can store that is available for plant use, calculated as the difference between field capacity and the permanent wilting point.

Synonyms

• Soil water retention capacity: Emphasizes the soil's ability to retain water.
• Drained upper limit: A term sometimes used in agronomy with a similar meaning to field capacity.

Related Phrases

• "At field capacity": A phrase describing soil that is holding its maximum amount of plant-available water.
  • The fields are at field capacity, so no additional watering is needed this week.
• "Below field capacity": Describes soil that has lost some water to evaporation or plant uptake and can accept more irrigation.
  • We will irrigate when the sensor shows the soil is below field capacity.

Related Concepts

• Saturation: The condition where all soil pores are filled with water, which occurs before drainage to field capacity.
• Capillary water: The water held in the small pores of the soil after gravitational water has drained away; this is the water measured at field capacity.

Noun

1. the maximum amount of water that a particular soil can hold