The principle of ‘maximum energy dissipation’: a novel thermodynamic perspective on rapid water flow in connected soil structures
- 12 May 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by The Royal Society in Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences
- Vol. 365 (1545), 1377-1386
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0308
Abstract
Preferential flow in biological soil structures is of key importance for infiltration and soil water flow at a range of scales. In the present study, we treat soil water flow as a dissipative process in an open non-equilibrium thermodynamic system, to better understand this key process. We define the chemical potential and Helmholtz free energy based on soil physical quantities, parametrize a physically based hydrological model based on field data and simulate the evolution of Helmholtz free energy in a cohesive soil with different populations of worm burrows for a range of rainfall scenarios. The simulations suggest that flow in connected worm burrows allows a more efficient redistribution of water within the soil, which implies a more efficient dissipation of free energy/higher production of entropy. There is additional evidence that the spatial pattern of worm burrow density at the hillslope scale is a major control of energy dissipation. The pattern typically found in the study is more efficient in dissipating energy/producing entropy than other patterns. This is because upslope run-off accumulates and infiltrates via the worm burrows into the dry soil in the lower part of the hillslope, which results in an overall more efficient dissipation of free energy.Keywords
This publication has 53 references indexed in Scilit:
- Optimality approaches to describe characteristic fluvial patterns on landscapesPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2010
- Trends in entropy production during ecosystem development in the Amazon BasinPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2010
- Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) affect plant seedling recruitment and microhabitat heterogeneityFunctional Ecology, 2006
- An infiltration model based on flow variability in macropores: development, sensitivity analysis and applicationsJournal of Hydrology, 2005
- Uncertainty of simulated catchment runoff response in the presence of threshold processes: Role of initial soil moisture and precipitationJournal of Hydrology, 2005
- Inferring flow types from dye patterns in macroporous soilsGeoderma, 2003
- Review and comparison of models for describing non-equilibrium and preferential flow and transport in the vadose zoneJournal of Hydrology, 2002
- Land-use impacts on storm-runoff generation: scenarios of land-use change and simulation of hydrological response in a meso-scale catchment in SW-GermanyJournal of Hydrology, 2002
- The Tarrawarra Data Set: Soil moisture patterns, soil characteristics, and hydrological flux measurementsWater Resources Research, 1998
- Two-dimensional simulation by turning bandsMathematical Geology, 1985