EVAPORATION IN LAYERED SOILS UNDER DIFFERENT RATES OF CLAY AMENDMENT

This study was devoted to the analysis of the evaporation process unde r natural conditions on a bare layered soil, The first and third layer s are similar in all the plots. The intermediate layer differs from on e plot to another by the rate of the clay amendment, The cumulative ev aporation was estimated using the water balance method, Experimental r esults indicate that the amendment of 2% is the most efficient in prev enting evaporation losses when a long time scale is considered, Whatev er the non-zero rate of the amendment is, the evaporation curves coale sce in a single one when expressed in a dimensionless form. Differenti al calculus yields the optimal rate of the amendment for which cumulat ive evaporation is minimal at a fixed time.