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Chapter 9: Problem 5

Explain the meaning of this statement: "The soil-water budget is an assessment of the hydrologic cycle at a specific site."

Short Answer

Expert verified
The soil-water budget is a tool for assessing how the global hydrologic cycle is functioning at a specific location. It measures the balances between the incoming water (precipitation) and outgoing water (evapotranspiration and runoff) in a particular area.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of Soil-Water Budget

The soil-water budget refers to how water, in various forms, interacts with the soil in a specific location. It includes understanding the balance between the water entering the system (precipitation and possibly irrigation) and the water leaving the system through different processes such as evaporation, transpiration (collectively called evapotranspiration) and runoff.
02

Definition of Hydrologic Cycle

The water or hydrological cycle is a global concept that explains the motion of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. The process involves evaporation from the land and sea surfaces, condensation forming clouds, precipitation as rain or snow, and water flow back to the sea or absorbed by plants or evaporated again.
03

Understanding the connection

The soil-water budget acts as an assessment of the hydrologic cycle at a specific site. This means it quantifies the incoming (precipitation) and outgoing (evapotranspiration and runoff) water at a particular location, indicating how the broader hydrologic cycle is functioning at that site. Variations in the elements of the soil-water budget can indicate changes or disruptions to the local hydrologic cycle.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

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