scholarly journals Rainfed farming prospects in the low rainfall zone of northern Iraq based on meteorological and soil moisture measurements

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hasan Hussein

<p dir="RTL" align="right"> </p><p dir="RTL" align="right">More than 50% of the rainfed region in northernIraqfalls within the low rainfall zone receiving between 300 and 400 mm of mean seasonal rainfall. Several natural runoff plots with access tubes were used to measure soil moisture distribution in depth and time. Measurements during two consecutive rainfall seasons were used to forecast the rainfed farming prospects in the low rainfall zone. The first season is considered wet because it received 568 mm of mean seasonal rainfall; the second rainfall season is considered dry because it received 256 of mean seasonal rainfall. The prospects of tillage systems, fertilization and soil moisture conservation for a successful rainfed farming (wheat and barley crops) venture in the low rainfall zone were explored and  a rainfed farming guide for this zone was suggested. </p><p dir="RTL" align="right"><strong><br /></strong></p><p dir="RTL" align="right"> </p>

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Khalid Hussian Solieman

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different irrigation intervals and tillage systems on soil moisture distribution and maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield. The field work was carried out at Demonstration Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Kassala, New Halfa (Sudan) for two consecutive seasons (2009/2010 and 2010/2011). The irrigation intervals were 14 days (I1) and 21 days (I2). While the tillage systems were {(disc plowing + harrowing + leveling + ridging (TS1)), (chisel plowing + harrowing + leveling + ridging, (TS2)), (disc harrowing + leveling + ridging, (TS3)), and ridging only, (TS4)}. The experiment was organized in split plot design with three replications. The soil moisture distribution was estimated before and during the experiment, while the measured crop growth and yield parameters were emergence percentage, plant height, leaf area index, biological yield, grain yield, and harvest index. The results showed that moisture content (%) tend to increase significantly (P≤ 0.05) with depth before running the treatments and during the different stages of the experiment, while the highest values of moisture content were observed with I1 and TS2. Moreover, irrigation intervals and tillage systems showed high significant (P≤0.01) effect on the leaf area index, grain yield and harvest index in both seasons. Hence, the combination of I1 and TS2 showed the highest grain yield across the two seasons (8.5 and10.4 ton/ha) compared to I2 with TS3 and TS4 which revealed the lowest ones, (6.5 and 3.9 ton/ha, respectively). The conclusion drawn from this study is that I1 and TS2 were showed the best soil moisture distribution and significant improvement of maize growth and yield parameters.


2001 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Aslanidou ◽  
P. Smiris

This  study deals with the soil moisture distribution and its effect on the  potential growth and    adaptation of the over-story species in north-east Chalkidiki. These  species are: Quercus    dalechampii Ten, Quercus  conferta Kit, Quercus  pubescens Willd, Castanea  sativa Mill, Fagus    moesiaca Maly-Domin and also Taxus baccata L. in mixed stands  with Fagus moesiaca.    Samples of soil, 1-2 kg per 20cm depth, were taken and the moisture content  of each sample    was measured in order to determine soil moisture distribution and its  contribution to the growth    of the forest species. The most important results are: i) available water  is influenced by the soil    depth. During the summer, at a soil depth of 10 cm a significant  restriction was observed. ii) the    large duration of the dry period in the deep soil layers has less adverse  effect on stands growth than in the case of the soil surface layers, due to the fact that the root system mainly spreads out    at a soil depth of 40 cm iii) in the beginning of the growing season, the  soil moisture content is    greater than 30 % at a soil depth of 60 cm, in beech and mixed beech-yew  stands, is 10-15 % in    the Q. pubescens  stands and it's more than 30 % at a soil depth of 60 cm in Q. dalechampii    stands.


Ecohydrology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique R. Vivoni ◽  
Alex J. Rinehart ◽  
Luis A. Méndez-Barroso ◽  
Carlos A. Aragón ◽  
Gautam Bisht ◽  
...  

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honglin Zhu ◽  
Tingxi Liu ◽  
Baolin Xue ◽  
Yinglan A. ◽  
Guoqiang Wang

Soil moisture distribution plays a significant role in soil erosion, evapotranspiration, and overland flow. Infiltration is a main component of the hydrological cycle, and simulations of soil moisture can improve infiltration process modeling. Different environmental factors affect soil moisture distribution in different soil layers. Soil moisture distribution is influenced mainly by soil properties (e.g., porosity) in the upper layer (10 cm), but by gravity-related factors (e.g., slope) in the deeper layer (50 cm). Richards’ equation is a widely used infiltration equation in hydrological models, but its homogeneous assumptions simplify the pattern of soil moisture distribution, leading to overestimates. Here, we present a modified Richards’ equation to predict soil moisture distribution in different layers along vertical infiltration. Two formulae considering different controlling factors were used to estimate soil moisture distribution at a given time and depth. Data for factors including slope, soil depth, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity were obtained from the literature and in situ measurements and used as prior information. Simulations were compared between the modified and the original Richards’ equations and with measurements taken at different times and depths. Comparisons with soil moisture data measured in situ indicated that the modified Richards’ equation still had limitations in terms of reproducing soil moisture in different slope positions and rainfall periods. However, compared with the original Richards’ equation, the modified equation estimated soil moisture with spatial diversity in the infiltration process more accurately. The equation may benefit from further solutions that consider various controlling factors in layers. Our results show that the proposed modified Richards’ equation provides a more effective approach to predict soil moisture in the vertical infiltration process.


1999 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 103-108
Author(s):  
Nozomu HIROSE ◽  
Toshio KOIKE ◽  
Hiroshi ISHIDAIRA ◽  
Takeo TADONO ◽  
Wang Shaoling ◽  
...  

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