Field Capacity and Available Water Capacity

The soil serves as a leaky reservoir, which holds water that may be withdrawn by plants. For many agronomic applications, it is of value to quantify the amount of water held in this reservoir that can be used by plants or that affects the extent to which deep percolation may occur. The amount of water retained by the reservoir at the upper or "full" end is referred to as field capacity; the amount of water retained at the lower or "dry" end is the permanent wilting point. The available water capacity is the difference between these two limits and is defined as the quantity of water held by a soil at the upper or "full" end that is available for plant use. The field capacity concept has widespread use and is commonly used by agronomists, extension specialists, soil scientists and conservationists, agricultural engineers, and others to refer to the water content of a recently irrigated soil.

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