scholarly journals Changes to soil water content and biomass yield under combined maize and maize-weed vegetation with different fertilization treatments in loam soil

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Lehoczky ◽  
Mariann Kamuti ◽  
Nikolett Mazsu ◽  
Renáta Sándor

AbstractEspecially during early developmental stages, competition with weeds can reduce crop growth and have a serious effect on productivity. Here, the effects of interactions between soil water content (SWC), nutrient availability, and competition from weeds on early stage crop growth were investigated, to better understand this problem. Field experiments were conducted in 2013 and 2014 using long-term study plots on loam soil in Hungary. Plots of maize (Zea maysL.) and a weed-maize combination were exposed to five fertilization treatments. SWC was observed along the 0–80 cm depth soil profile and harvested aboveground biomass (HAB) was measured.Significant differences were found between SWC in maize and maize-weed plots. In all treatments, measured SWC was most variable in soil depths of up to 50 cm, and at the 8–10 leaves (BBCH19) growth stage of the crop. The greatest depletion of SWC was detected within PK treatments across the entire soil profile and under both vegetation types, with depletion also considerable under NPK and NP treatments. Biomass growth was significantly influenced by weeds in treated plots between the BBCH 13 and 19 phenological stages, but water availability did not hamper growth rates in non-fertilized conditions. These findings suggest that, at early stages of crop growth, SWC model simulations need to include better characterisation of depth- and structure-dependent soil water uptake by vegetation.

RBRH ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Hagenau ◽  
Vander Kaufmann ◽  
Heinz Borg

ABSTRACT TDR-probes are widely used to monitor water content changes in a soil profile (ΔW). Frequently, probes are placed at just three depths. This raises the question how well such a setup can trace the true ΔW. To answer it we used a 2 m deep high precision weighing lysimeter in which TDR-probes are installed horizontally at 20, 60 and 120 cm depth (one per depth). ΔW-data collected by weighing the lysimeter vessel were taken as the true values to which ΔW-data determined with the TDR-probes were compared. We obtained the following results: There is a time delay in the response of the TDR-probes to precipitation, evaporation, transpiration or drainage, because a wetting or drying front must first reach them. Also, the TDR-data are more or less point measurements which are then extrapolated to a larger soil volume. This frequently leads to errors. For these reasons TDR-probes at just three depths cannot provide reliable data on short term (e.g. daily) changes in soil water content due to the above processes. For longer periods (e.g. a week) the data are better, but still not accurate enough for serious scientific studies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 602 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Vance ◽  
R. W. Bell ◽  
C. Johansen ◽  
M. E. Haque ◽  
A. M. Musa ◽  
...  

The time of sowing chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in the High Barind Tract of north-west Bangladesh is critical to crop success. To ensure adequate emergence and subsequent crop growth, chickpea relies on residual soil moisture stored in the profile after rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivated in the preceding rainy season. With the development of mechanised, one-pass minimum tillage sowing, the time between rice harvest and chickpea sowing is decreased, and temperature constraints that limit biomass and/or pod formation and filling may be avoided. Minimum tillage may also limit evaporation from the soil surface compared with traditional, full cultivation procedures. The objective of this study was to identify the optimum sowing time to achieve adequate crop establishment and limit exposure of the chickpea crop to terminal drought and heat stress later in the growing season. Over three experimental seasons, chickpea sowing dates were spread from 22 November to 22 December. Soil water content, crop growth and temperature were monitored to determine the optimum sowing time. Over all seasons and sowing dates, the volumetric soil water content in the seedbed under minimum tillage remained within 17–34%, a range non-limiting for chickpea establishment in glasshouse and field experiments. Late planting (after 10 December) exposed seedlings to low temperatures (<15°C), which limited biomass formation and extended the vegetative growth phase into periods with high maximum temperatures (>35°C), resulting in unfilled pods and depressed grain yield. The preferred sowing time was determined to be 30 November to 10 December to reduce the risk of high temperatures and low soil water content during chickpea reproductive growth causing terminal heat and drought stress, respectively. Mechanised sowing in one operation allows farmers to optimise their time of sowing to match seed requirements for soil water at emergence and may assist farmers to avoid temperature stresses (both low and high) that constrain chickpea vegetative and reproductive growth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 860-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Li ◽  
Jian-feng Zhang ◽  
Si-yuan Xiong ◽  
Rui-xi Zhang

Abstract Assessing the spatial variability of soil water content is important for precision agriculture. To measure the spatial variability of the soil water content and to determine the optimal number of sampling sites for predicting the mean soil water content at different stages of the irrigation cycle, field experiments were carried out in a potato field in northwestern China. The soil water content was measured in 2016 and 2017 at depths of 0–20 and 20–40 cm at 116 georeferenced locations. The average coefficient of variation of the soil water content was 20.79% before irrigation and was 16.44% after irrigation at a depth of 0–20 cm. The spatial structure of the soil water content at a depth of 20–40 cm was similar throughout the irrigation cycle, but at a depth of 0–20 cm a relatively greater portion of the variation in the soil water content was spatially structured before irrigation than after irrigation. The autocorrelation of soil water contents was influenced by irrigation only in the surface soil layer. To accurately predict mean soil moisture content, 40 and 20 random sampling sites should be chosen with errors of 5% and 10%, respectively.


2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (No, 7) ◽  
pp. 296-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Behrens ◽  
K. Gregor ◽  
W. Diepenbrock

Remote sensing can provide visual indications of crop growth during production season. In past, spectral optical estimations were well performed in the ability to be correlated with crop and soil properties but were not consistent within the whole production season. To better quantify vegetation properties gathered via remote sensing, models of soil reflectance under changing moisture conditions are needed. Signatures of reflected radiation were acquired for several Mid German agricultural soils in laboratory and field experiments. Results were evaluated at near-infrared spectral region at the wavelength of 850 nm. The selected soils represented different soil colors and brightness values reflecting a broad range of soil properties. At the wavelength of 850 nm soil reflectance ranged between 10% (black peat) and 74% (white quartz sand). The reflectance of topsoils varied from 21% to 32%. An interrelation was found between soil brightness rating values and spectral optical reflectance values in form of a linear regression. Increases of soil water content from 0% to 25% decreased signatures of soil reflectance at 850 nm of two different soil types about 40%. The interrelation of soil reflectance and soil moisture revealed a non-linear exponential function. Using knowledge of the individual signature of soil reflectance as well as the soil water content at the measurement, soil reflectance could be predicted. As a result, a clear separation is established between soil reflectance and reflectance of the vegetation cover if the vegetation index is known.


2012 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 105-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basem Aljoumani ◽  
Jose A. Sànchez-Espigares ◽  
Nuria Cañameras ◽  
Ramon Josa ◽  
Joaquim Monserrat

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Cai ◽  
SA Prathapar ◽  
HG Beecher

A modelling study was conducted to evaluate water and salt movement within a transitional red-brown earth with saline B horizon soil when such waters are used for ponding in summer. The model was calibrated using previously published experimental data. The calibrated model was used to evaluate the effect of depth to watertable, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and ponding water salinity on infiltration, water and salt movement within the soil profile, and recharge. The study showed that when initial soil water content and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) are low, infiltrating water will be stored within the soil profile even in the absence of a shallow watertable. Once the soil water content is high, however, recharge will be significant in winter, even if there is no net infiltration at the soil surface. Infiltration rates depend more on Ks than the depth to watertable if it is at, or below, 1.5 m from the soil surface. When Ks is high, recharge under ponding will be higher than that under winter fallow. Subsequent ponding in summer and fallow in winter tend to leach salts from the soil profile, the leaching rate dependent on Ks. During winter fallow, due to net evaporation, salts tend to move upwards and concentrate near the soil surface. In the presence of shallow watertables, leached salts tend to concentrate at, or near, the watertable.


2017 ◽  
pp. 1.9-1.19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afua Mante ◽  
Ramanathan Sri Ranjan

The HYDRUS (2D/3D) modeling tool was used to simulate water flow through subsurface-drained sandy loam soil under potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivation in Southern Manitoba. The model was used to simulate water flow through a 2-D model domain of dimensions, 15 m width × 2.5 m depth. The model was calibrated and validated with field data measured during the growing season of year 2011 at the Hespler Farms, Winkler, Manitoba. Field measurements, including soil water content and watertable depth, for two test plots under subsurface free drainage were used for the calibration and validation. Weather data were also obtained to estimate reference crop evapotranspiration, which was used as input data in the model. Based on the reference crop evapotranspiration, and crop coefficient of the potato crop, the actual crop evapotranspiration was estimated and compared to the simulated actual crop evapotranspiration results. The results showed that the model was able to account for 50% to 78% of the variation in the estimated actual crop evapotranspiration. With respect to water flow through the soil, the observed soil water content and the simulated soil water content were compared using graphical and quantitative analysis. Based on the coefficient of determination (R2), the model accounted for 68% to 89% variation in the observed data. The intercept of the regression line varied from 0.01 to 0.08, and the slope, 0.75 to 0.99. The Nash–Sutcliffe modeling efficiency coefficient (NSE) varied from 0.62-0.89, the Percent bias (PBIAS) values varied from -1.99% to 1.16%. The root mean square error-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR) values varied from 0.33 to 0.61. The values for the evaluation parameters show that the model was able to simulate the water flow through the soil profile reasonably well.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyan Li ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Weiwei Fang ◽  
Fangzhong Shi

&lt;p&gt;Shrub is the main vegetation type for vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau, which plays an important role in the regional ecosystem restoration. Study on the relationships between vegetation and soil water of typical shrub ecosystems are significant for the restoration and reconstruction of ecosystems in the Loess Plateau. Three typical shrub (&lt;em&gt;Hippophae rhamnoides&lt;/em&gt; Linn., &lt;em&gt;Spiraea pubescens&lt;/em&gt; Turcz., and &lt;em&gt;Caragana korshinskii&lt;/em&gt; Kom.) ecosystems were chosen in the Loess Plateau. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the factors that influencing the processes of rainfall interception and root uptake of typical shrubs. S-Biome-BGC model was established based on the Biome-BGC model by developing the rainfall interception and soil water movement sub-models. The model was calibrated and verified using field data. The calibrated S-Biome-BGC model was used to simulate the characteristics of leaf area index (&lt;em&gt;LAI&lt;/em&gt;), net primary productivity (&lt;em&gt;NPP&lt;/em&gt;), soil water content and the interactions among them for the shrub ecosystems along the precipitation gradients in the Loess Plateau, respectively. The results showed that the predictions of the S-Biome-BGC model for soil water content and&lt;em&gt; LAI&lt;/em&gt; of typical shrub ecosystems in Loess Plateau were significantly more accurate than that of Biome-BGC model. The simulated &lt;em&gt;RMSE&lt;/em&gt; of soil water content decreased from 0.040~0.130 cm&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;-3&lt;/sup&gt; to 0.026~0.035 cm&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;-3&lt;/sup&gt;, and the simulated &lt;em&gt;RMSE&lt;/em&gt; of&lt;em&gt; LAI&lt;/em&gt; decreased from 0.37~0.70 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; m&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt; to 0.35~0.37 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; m&lt;sup&gt;-2&lt;/sup&gt;. Therefore, the S-Biome-BGC model can reflect the interaction between plant growth and soil water content in the shrub ecosystems of the Loess Plateau. The S-Biome-BGC model simulation for &lt;em&gt;LAI&lt;/em&gt;,&lt;em&gt; NPP&lt;/em&gt; and soil water content of the three typical shrubs were significantly different along the precipitation gradients, and increased with annual precipitation together. However, different &lt;em&gt;LAI&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;NPP&lt;/em&gt; and soil water correlations were found under different precipitation gradients.&lt;em&gt; LAI&lt;/em&gt; and&lt;em&gt; NPP&lt;/em&gt; have significant positive correlations with soil water content in the areas where the annual precipitation is above 460~500 mm that could afford the shrubs growth. The results of the study provide a re-vegetation threshold to guide future re-vegetation activities in the Loess Plateau.&lt;/p&gt;


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document