scholarly journals Near-surface soil moisture assimilation for quantifying effective soil hydraulic properties using genetic algorithm: 1. Conceptual modeling

2008 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amor V. M. Ines ◽  
Binayak P. Mohanty
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Conceptual Modeling ◽  
Surface Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Soil Hydraulic

Influence of Acacia Trees on Near‐Surface Soil Hydraulic Properties in Arid Tunisia

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1805-1812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten De Boever ◽  
Donald Gabriels ◽  
Mohamed Ouessar ◽  
Wim Cornelis
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Soil Hydraulic

Root effects on soil water and hydraulic properties

Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Horst Gerke ◽  
Rolf Kuchenbuch
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Soil Hydraulic ◽  
Root Effects

AbstractPlants can affect soil moisture and the soil hydraulic properties both directly by root water uptake and indirectly by modifying the soil structure. Furthermore, water in plant roots is mostly neglected when studying soil hydraulic properties. In this contribution, we analyze effects of the moisture content inside roots as compared to bulk soil moisture contents and speculate on implications of non-capillary-bound root water for determination of soil moisture and calibration of soil hydraulic properties.In a field crop of maize (Zea mays) of 75 cm row spacing, we sampled the total soil volumes of 0.7 m × 0.4 m and 0.3 m deep plots at the time of tasseling. For each of the 84 soil cubes of 10 cm edge length, root mass and length as well as moisture content and soil bulk density were determined. Roots were separated in 3 size classes for which a mean root porosity of 0.82 was obtained from the relation between root dry mass density and root bulk density using pycnometers. The spatially distributed fractions of root water contents were compared with those of the water in capillary pores of the soil matrix.Water inside roots was mostly below 2–5% of total soil water content; however, locally near the plant rows it was up to 20%. The results suggest that soil moisture in roots should be separately considered. Upon drying, the relation between the soil and root water may change towards water remaining in roots. Relations depend especially on soil water retention properties, growth stages, and root distributions. Gravimetric soil water content measurement could be misleading and TDR probes providing an integrated signal are difficult to interpret. Root effects should be more intensively studied for improved field soil water balance calculations.

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