Based on a detailed analysis of the process of water infiltration into the soil, an alternative is proposed to adjust the input parameters of the Green-Ampt-Mein-Larson (GAML) model to optimize infiltration estimates of some Brazilian soils. The adjustments consisted of the replacement of the parameters saturated hydraulic conductivity (K0) by stable infiltration rate (Tie) and soil moisture saturation (q s) by water content in the transmission zone (q w). Moreover, an equation was established to estimate the matric potencial at the wetting front (y f), based on the parameters of the water retention curve of Brooks and Corey. The performance of the set of proposed adjustments (GAML-t) was evaluated for the estimation of water infiltration in three soil types. The performance of GAML-t was compared with the original GAML and adjusted to five different situations. GAML-t performed best in the three soils under study.
hydrologic modeling; soil water matric potential; hydraulic conductivity
