Under such conditions as in Hungary, situated in
the deepest part of the hydrogeologically practically
closed Carpathian Basin – it is an important fact that
soil is the largest potential natural water reservoir.
Thus, a great part of the atmospheric precipitation can
be stored in the 0–100 cm layer of the soil and this water
storage may reduce hydrological stresses (Várallyay
2005). This potential water storage capacity, however,
cannot always be used efficiently, because of 1) limited
infiltration due to freezing, compaction or other factors