Water diffusion coefficients of horizontal soil columns from natural saline-alkaline wetlands in a semiarid area

Water diffusion coefficients of soils directly control the solute (such as nitrogen and phosphorous) movement in wetlands, which greatly influences the water quality of rivers. The processes of water diffusion in natural saline-alkaline wetland soils were simulated by using horizontal soil columns from the Erbaifangzi (EBFZ) wetland in the Xianghai National Natural Reserve of China in 2001. The results showed that the water diffusion coefficient was the lowest in the topsoil. It followed the order 0–10 cm < 10–20 cm < 20–60 cm. The water diffusion coefficients decreased exponentially with an increase in the distance but increased exponentially with increases in the volumetric soil water contents. The changing curve of the topsoil was steeper, and the water diffusion coefficients were closely linked with the soil properties such as the SOM and clay contents.