Typical parameter values of van Genuchten models for different soil texture classes (from Leij, Alves, and van Genuchten, 1996)

Soil Texture
Saturated Water Content
Residual Water Content
Empirical Constant alpha (cm-1)
Empirical Constant n
Saturated Conductivity 
(cm hr-1)
Sand 0.43 0.045 0.145 2.68 29.7
Loamy sand 0.41 0.057 0.124 2.28 14.6
Sandy loam 0.41 0.065 0.075 1.89 4.42
Loam 0.43 0.078 0.036 1.56 1.04
Silt 0.46 0.034 0.016 1.37 0.25
Silt loam 0.45 0.067 0.020 1.41 0.45
Sandy clay loam 0.39 0.100 0.059 1.48 1.31
Clay loam 0.41 0.095 0.019 1.31 0.26
Silty clay loam 0.43 0.089 0.010 1.23 0.07
Sandy clay 0.38 0.100 0.027 1.23 0.12
Silty clay 0.36 0.070 0.005 1.09 0.02
Clay 0.38 0.068 0.008 1.09 0.20