Modelling of infiltration rates in soils derived from contrasting parent materials using Horton’s model

Modeling the differences in water infiltration across various soils is important in agriculture and environmental sustainability. However, the dependence of infiltration parameters on soil type and condition necessitates routine evaluation of infiltration models in soils. Consequently, a field study was conducted in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, to evaluate the performance of Horton’s infiltration model on soils formed from Coastal Plain Sands, Sandstone (loamy sand texture), and clayey Alluvial soils. Infiltration runs were conducted in the field using the double ring infiltrometer method. The Coastal Plain Sands and Sandstone had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower initial (io), final (if) infiltration rates as well as Horton’s model decay constant (β) compared to Alluvial soils. The variability in modeled infiltration rates was significantly explained by the measured infiltration, with R2 greater than 98% in all parent materials. Horton’s model accurately predicted infiltration rates for soils of all three parent materials, with the best fits observed in Alluvial clay (RMSE = 0.001), which was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) better than those for Sandstone (RMSE = 0.026) and Coastal Plain Sands (RMSE = 0.027). Horton’s model was very effective in modeling infiltration rates for soils derived from Alluvial Clay, Coastal Plain Sands, and Sandstone.