View article

Preferential flow (PF) is a fundamentally important soil hydrologic process that controls a variety of soil physical, chemical, and biological functions. However, the lack of theory in this field and the existence of conceptual and technological bottlenecks continue to hinder the advancement of PF modeling and prediction. This paper explores three theoretical perspectives on the relationships between pedogenesis and flow regimes in field soils. First, we examine non-equilibrium thermodynamics as applied to open dissipative field soils with continuous energy inputs and mass exchanges with the surrounding environment. The dual-partitioning of pedogenesis (dissipating and organizing processes) is consistent with the theory of dissipative structure, which explains the genesis and evolution of soil architecture (structure+matrix) and organized heterogeneity found in various soils. Such organized heterogeneity leads to …