scholarly journals Testing the Effects of Experimental Snow Removal on Soil Moisture and Plant Responses in Montane Meadows

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
Diane Debinski ◽  
Matthew Germino ◽  
Dennis Demshar
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Snow Removal ◽  
Northern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Set Up

Regional models of global climate change for the northern Rocky Mountains predict warmer temperatures and western states have shown a recent trend towards increases in the fraction of precipitation falling as rain rather than snow. Thus, the amount of soil moisture available to plants during the growing season may already be varying significantly from historical conditions. In order to simulate drier summer soil conditions and test soil moisture and plant responses, we set up a pilot snow removal experiment in Grand Teton National Park, WY in 2008. Because most of the precipitation comes in the form of snow, and spring snowpack is about 50% water by volume, removing all snow present in early May can reduce the annual precipitation by approximately half. Snow was removed from three ~9x15 m experimental plots using a Thiokol in early May. These experimental sites were paired with adjacent control sites and the pairs were established along a hydrological gradient of meadow types representing hydric, mesic, and xeric sites. Dataloggers were installed in June and soil moisture was monitored at 5, 20, and 50 cm depths through August. Water potential was measured in Bromus and Carex during mid-July. Over the summer season, there were differences in soil water between the snow removal and control plots, as well as across the hydrological gradient. Decreases in soil water content and water potential of Carex showed strongest responses in the mesic site, whereas Bromus showed the strongest response in the hydric site. This is the first study to reveal that variability in spring snowpack can lead to measurable impacts on the vegetation community, even into mid-late summer when soil water is fairly scarce throughout the landscape. Furthermore, changes in snow depth are not likely to have equivalent impacts on the different community types within a region; the effects will vary predictably as a function of soil and plant community characteristics.

scholarly journals Testing the Effects of Simulated Climate Change Effects Using Open Sided Warming Chambers

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 147-153
Author(s):  
Jill Sherwood ◽  
Diane Debinski ◽  
Matthew Germino
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Physiological Data ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
Snow Removal ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Increased Temperature ◽  
Set Up

Regional models of global climate change for the northern Rocky Mountains predict warmer temperatures, and some of the main implications of these changes at a local level involve decreased snowpack, earlier snowmelt, and decreased soil moisture during the growing season. In order to mimic the anticipated effects of climate change, and test the responses from a soil microclimate and plant physiology perspective, open-sided warming chambers and snow removal treatments were applied to 2.44 X 2.44 m plots in a sagebrush steppe meadow within Grand Teton National Park, WY. Four treatments included: (1) control, (2) reduced snowpack, (3) increased temperature, and (4) reduced snowpack with increased temperature. Snow was removed using shovels in early May, and chambers were placed at the same time. The chambers were left on the plots through mid-October. Soil moisture and temperature were measured and recorded at 5 cm, and 25 cm depths using dataloggers set up at the time of snow removal and chamber placement. In addition, surface temperature was measured under each plot and within the study area. Plant physiological data on four plant species, including leaf temperature at dawn and mid-afternoon and water potential, were collected for all of the plots in July. Data are being analyzed to determine whether differences existed between the plots for soil moisture, soil and air temperature, and the plant physiological traits measured.

scholarly journals Root Response to Soil Water Status via Interaction of Crop Genotype and Environment

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 708
Author(s):  
Phanthasin Khanthavong ◽  
Shin Yabuta ◽  
Hidetoshi Asai ◽  
Md. Amzad Hossain ◽  
Isao Akagi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Root Distribution ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Shoot Biomass ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Crop Adaptation ◽  
Soil Moisture Status ◽  
Root Distributions

Flooding and drought are major causes of reductions in crop productivity. Root distribution indicates crop adaptation to water stress. Therefore, we aimed to identify crop roots response based on root distribution under various soil conditions. The root distribution of four crops—maize, millet, sorghum, and rice—was evaluated under continuous soil waterlogging (CSW), moderate soil moisture (MSM), and gradual soil drying (GSD) conditions. Roots extended largely to the shallow soil layer in CSW and grew longer to the deeper soil layer in GSD in maize and sorghum. GSD tended to promote the root and shoot biomass across soil moisture status regardless of the crop species. The change of specific root density in rice and millet was small compared with maize and sorghum between different soil moisture statuses. Crop response in shoot and root biomass to various soil moisture status was highest in maize and lowest in rice among the tested crops as per the regression coefficient. Thus, we describe different root distributions associated with crop plasticity, which signify root spread changes, depending on soil water conditions in different crop genotypes as well as root distributions that vary depending on crop adaptation from anaerobic to aerobic conditions.

scholarly journals Evaluation of DSSAT soil-water balance module under cropped and bare soil conditions

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogério Teixeira de Faria ◽  
Walter Truman Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Soil Water Balance ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Soil Water Flux

The performance of the soil water balance module (SWBM) in the models of DSSAT v3.5 was evaluated against soil moisture data measured in bare soil and dry bean plots, in Paraná, southern Brazil. Under bare soil, the SWBM showed a low performance to simulate soil moisture profiles due to inadequacies of the method used to calculate unsaturated soil water flux. Improved estimates were achieved by modifying the SWBM with the use of Darcy's equation to simulate soil water flux as a function of soil water potential gradient between consecutive soil layers. When used to simulate water balance for the bean crop, the modified SWBM improved soil moisture estimation but underpredicted crop yield. Root water uptake data indicated that assumptions on the original method limited plant water extraction for the soil in the study area. This was corrected by replacing empirical coefficients with measured values of soil hydraulic conductivity at different depths.

scholarly journals Soil water retention curves for the major soil types of the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Buitenwerf ◽  
Andrew Kulmatiski ◽  
Steven I. Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Carbon Cycling ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
National Park ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Soil Moisture Retention

Soil water potential is crucial to plant transpiration and thus to carbon cycling and biosphere–atmosphere interactions, yet it is difficult to measure in the field. Volumetric and gravimetric water contents are easy and cheap to measure in the field, but can be a poor proxy of plant-available water. Soil water content can be transformed to water potential using soil moisture retention curves. We provide empirically derived soil moisture retention curves for seven soil types in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Site-specific curves produced excellent estimates of soil water potential from soil water content values. Curves from soils derived from the same geological substrate were similar, potentially allowing for the use of one curve for basalt soils and another for granite soils. It is anticipated that this dataset will help hydrologists and ecophysiologists understand water dynamics, carbon cycling and biosphere–atmosphere interactions under current and changing climatic conditions in the region.

Water relations of Pinus radiata under plantation conditions

1964 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
RD Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Dry Period ◽  
Autumn Leaf ◽  
Leaf Water Deficit ◽  
Old Trees

Two groups of four 9-year-old trees of P. radiata were isolated "droughted" by lining trenches, and covering the soil surface, with plastic film. Two similar groups served as controls. Soils in the control plots dried out to above pF 4.2 during a 6 weeks' drought in late summer, and again in a shorter dry period in autumn. Leaf water deficit (L.W.D.) was correlated with soil moisture tension (S.M.T.) while there was available soil moisture, and rose during the drought to a maximum of 22.8. Autumn rain which wet the upper part of the soil profile reduced the L.W.D. to a mean value of 12. In the droughted plots, S.M.T. rose to above pF 4.2 in the first six weeks and remained high for the rest of the experimental period. During normal weather with occasional light falls of rain, L.W.D. was maintained at about 17-significantly higher than the corresponding values for the control plots. With the onset of dry weather, L.W.D. in the droughted plots rose further, but not significantly higher than in the controls. L.W.D. decreased when rain occurred, although less than in the control plots. P. radiata is able to maintain moderate turgidity in its needles, even under very dry soil conditions, as long as there is frequent precipitation sufficient to wet the foliage.

Root Growth, Water Uptake and Canopy Development in Eucalyptus viminalis Seedlings

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
JG Phillips ◽  
SJ Riha
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Loss ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Lower Section ◽  
Canopy Development ◽  
Eucalyptus Viminalis

A split-root experiment was conducted using Eucalyptus viminalis seedlings which were exposed to three watering regimes in order to investigate root growth and soil water extraction under conditions of a drying soil profile. Seedlings were grown in columns in which the soil was divided horizontally with a soft wax plate. Watering treatments were composed of (1) both upper and lower sections of the column well watered (W/W), (2) only the lower section well watered (D/W), and (3) water withheld completely from both upper and lower sections (D/D). Daily measurements included soil water potential (Ψs), column water loss and leaf elongation. Increase in above- and below-ground biomass was deter- mined from initial and final harvests after 25 days of treatment. Whole-column water loss and leaf extension were depressed as Ψs in the upper section of D/W and D/D decreased to -0.4 MPa over the first 8-10 days. However, water loss did not decrease significantly in the lower section of treatment D/W relative to the lower section of treatment W/W during this period. This indicated that water extraction by roots remaining in wet soil was not severely inhibited by the decrease in transpiration associated with the soil conditions in the upper profile. Root distribution at the end of the experiment indicated significant growth in the lower section of treatment D/W. There was evidence that hydraulic lifting of water between column sections may have occurred, as periodic increases in soil water potential of the unwatered upper section of D/W were observed.

scholarly journals Enhancing Soil Water Content for Increased Food Production in Semi-Arid Areas of Kenya Results From an On-Farm Trial in Mwala District, Kenya

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Karuma ◽  
Peter Mtakwa ◽  
Nyambilila Amuri ◽  
Charles K. Gachene ◽  
Patrick Gicheru
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Tillage Methods

Soil water conservation through tillage is one of the appropriate ways of addressing soil moisture deficit in rainfed agriculture. This study evaluated the effects of tillage practices on soil moisture conservation and crop yields in Mwala District, Eastern Kenya during the long rains (LR) and short rains (SR) of 2012/13. Six tillage systems: Disc plough (MB), Disc plough and harrowing (MBH), Ox-ploughing (OX), Subsoiling – ripping (SR), Hand hoe and Tied Ridges (HTR) and Hand hoe only (H) and, three cropping systems namely, sole maize, sole bean and maize - bean intercrop, were investigated in a split-plot design with four replicates. Data on soil water content was monitored at different weeks after planting and the crop yields at end of each growing season. A three-season average shows that soil water content and crop yields were higher in conventional tillage methods compared to the conservation tillage methods. Long term tillage experiments are thus required at different locations, under various environmental and soil conditions to validate the study findings.

Soybean Irrigation Initiation in Mississippi: Yield, Soil Moisture, and Economic Response

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
H. C. Pringle, III ◽  
L. L. Falconer ◽  
D. K. Fisher ◽  
L. J. Krutz
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Deficit ◽  
Mississippi Delta ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Soil Water Deficit ◽  
Soybean Yield

Abstract. Irrigated acreage is expanding and groundwater supplies are decreasing in the Mississippi Delta. Efficient irrigation scheduling of soybean [ (L.) Merr] will aid in conservation efforts to sustain groundwater resources. The objective of this study was to develop irrigation initiation recommendations for soybean grown on Mississippi Delta soils. Field studies were conducted on a deep silty clay (SiC) in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 and on a deep silty clay loam (SiCL) and deep silt loam (SiL) or loam (L) soil in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Irrigation was initiated multiple times during the growing season and soybean yield and net return were determined to evaluate the effectiveness of each initiation timing. Growth stage, soil water potential (SWP), and soil water deficit (SWD) were compared at these initiation timings to determine which parameter or combination of parameters consistently predicted the resulting greatest yields and net returns. Stress conditions that reduce yield can occur at any time from late vegetative stages to full seed on these deep soils. The wide range of trigger values found for SWP and SWD to increase yields in different years emphasizes the complexity of irrigation scheduling. Monitoring soil moisture by itself or use of a single trigger value is not sufficient to optimize irrigation scheduling to maximize soybean yield with the least amount of water every year on these soils. Monitoring one or more parameters (e.g., leaf water potential, canopy temperature, air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and wind) is needed in conjunction with soil moisture to directly or indirectly quantify the abiotic stresses on the plant to better define when a yield reducing stress is occurring. Keywords: Irrigation initiation, Irrigation scheduling, Soil water deficit, Soil water potential, Soybean, Water conservation.

scholarly journals Soil Moisture Sensor Test with Mississippi Delta Soils

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-370
Author(s):  
Ruixiu Sui ◽  
Horace C. Pringle ◽  
Edward M. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Measurement Accuracy ◽  
Mississippi Delta ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Gravimetric Method ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling

Abstract. One of the methods for irrigation scheduling is to use sensors to measure the soil moisture level in the plant root zone and apply water if there is a water shortage for the plants. The measurement accuracy and reliability of the soil moisture sensors are critical for sensor-based irrigation management. This study evaluated the measurement accuracy and repeatability of the EC-5 and 5TM soil volumetric water content (SVWC) sensors, the MPS-2 and 200SS soil water potential (SWP) sensors, and the 200TS soil temperature sensor. Six 183 cm × 183 cm × 71 cm wooden compartments were built inside a greenhouse, and each compartment was filled with one type of soil from the Mississippi Delta. A total of 66 sensors with 18 data loggers were installed in the soil compartments to measure SVWC, SWP, and soil temperature. Soil samples were periodically collected from the compartments to determine SVWC using the gravimetric method. SVWC measured by the sensors was compared with that determined by the gravimetric method. The SVWC readings from the sensors had a linear regression relationship with the gravimetric SVWC (r2 = 0.82). This relationship was used to calibrate the sensor readings. The SVWC and SWP sensors could detect the general trend of soil moisture changes. However, their measurements varied significantly among the sensors. To obtain accurate absolute soil moisture measurements, the sensors require individual and soil-specific calibration. The 5TM, MPS-2, and 200TS sensors performed well in soil temperature measurement tests. Individual temperature readings from these sensors were very close to the mean of all sensor readings. Keywords: Irrigation, Sensors, Soil types, Soil water content, Soil water potential.

Effect of Soil Water Potential Controlling on the Rice Growth

2012 ◽  
Vol 170-173 ◽  
pp. 2407-2413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Dao Cai Chi ◽  
En Bo Tai ◽  
Xu Dong Zhang ◽  
Tao Tao Chen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Eating Quality ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Maturity Stage ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Moisture Potential ◽  
Soil Moisture Potential

Pot experiments were conducted under different status of soil moisture potential during different stages of rice. The results show that soil moisture potential regulation and control is able to increase the rice yield at each growth stages after returning green, the suitable soil water potential criteria for middle-season rice in Liaoning province at different stages is 5~10kPa in tillering initial stage, 35kPa at most in tillering final stage, 5~10kPa in jointing and heading stages, not more than 20kPa in Milk maturity stage; re-watering post drought has a compensation effect to rice whose soil suction potential is controlled in 5~10kPa at tillering initial stage according to the results that its tillers number, output, final root dry biomass and leaf dry weight were significant exceeding contrast; The research on rice quality indicates that water stress in jointing stage increase protein content but reduce eating quality.

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