Processes of Soil Infiltration and Water Retention and Strategies to Increase Their Capacity

Water is one of the most important natural resources for agricultural development and livestock activities since these economic activities are highly dependent on the natural resource for their development. The adoption of strategies that optimize water infiltration and retention processes, in agricultural systems, directly influence agricultural yield and productive and, consequently, the systems sustainability. In this sense, this review aims to discuss some important aspects to understand how water infiltration and retention occurs in the soil and which agricultural administrations should be adopted to optimize these processes. The main processes that interfere in direct and indirect water infiltration, and retention in the soil, are related to texture, structure, porosity, organic matter content, clay type, retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity, precipitation, humidity, temperatures, microstructure, compaction and surface roughness. To improve these processes, management that promote the addition of organic matter to the soil, conservation techniques of soil preparation, crop rotation with the production of straw and irrigation control and drainage processes are extremely important. All managements that improve soil physical conditions are recommended to optimize the processes of infiltration, retention, and availability of water to the plants, recharge of the aquifers and maintenance of the fountains, in sufficient quantity and quality to ensure that the crops develop satisfactorily under various climatic conditions. Systems in which only one tool is used to improve soil infiltration usually work for a short time, such as the soil tillage system and all of its variables, requiring the use of more than one activity with it, for example: crop rotation, manure spread, mulch, to provide better conditions for the soil water infiltration and retention.