field capacity
- noun
- Specialized
:
capacidad de campo
- When soil water reaches field capacity, such as during a rainy season, nonsucculent desert leaves use water somewhat more efficiently than plants of more mesic habitats because P max tends to be so high in desert leaves.
Examples
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Understanding field capacity helps gardeners manage irrigation effectively to promote healthy plant growth.
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A soil-moisture storage at field capacity was assumed to be 150 mm, and a linear soil-moisture-depletion curve was used.
Academic text (1992) -
A low shrink-swell potential implies a volume change of less than three percent in an unconfined clod of soil as the moisture content increases from air-dry to field capacity (Coffee et al., 1980).
Academic text (1998) -
At field capacity, the soil retains the most water available for plants after excess moisture has drained away.
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After a heavy rain, the farmer checked the field capacity to ensure the soil was ready for planting.
Synonyms
333
2.2
The maximum amount something can hold or store
How Wet
Surface Forms
Morphology
The words 'field' (plot of land/soil) and 'capacity' (maximum amount) together strongly suggest something like the amount a field or soil can hold—so a B1 learner would likely infer it refers to how much water the soil can contain. However, the exact technical nuance (water retained after excess drainage and reduced downward movement) is specialised and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
Field capacity comes from farmers watching a field after rain: the soil soaks up water until it reaches the amount it can hold, the capacity, and extra water drains away. So, field capacity means the 'maximum amount of water' the soil can hold after excess has drained away.