scholarly journals HYDRUS-1D Simulation of Soil Water Dynamics and Response of Different ETo Models to Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) Under a Rainfed Condition in Southern Manitoba

Author(s):  
Emeka Ndulue ◽  
Afua Adobea Mante ◽  
Ramanathan Sri Ran

Abstract Soil water content (SWC) plays a critical role in crop yield, irrigation scheduling, and water resources management. In the Canadian Prairies, the water content in the rootzone replenished by rainfall is rarely sufficient to satisfy crop water requirements. Thus, the need for robust and effective water management. Hydrologic modelling provides the opportunity to understand the underlying processes controlling and affecting soil water movement and distribution. Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important input of hydrologic models; thus, the estimation of ET could have significant consequences on modelling outcome and inference. The FAO Penman-Monteith (PM) is the recommended model for estimating the reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo). However, it is limited by requiring too many weather variables that are not readily available. Simple empirical ETo models have been developed as an alternative. In this study, six ETo models with different inputs were used to simulate soil water dynamics in a rainfed potato farm in Winkler, Manitoba, using the HYDRUS-1D model. The results showed that when used to simulate SWC, all the models followed a similar pattern, although a significant difference was observed at shallow depth (20 cm). Specifically, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between observed and simulated SWC from Hargreaves Samani, Romanenko, Penman, and FAO-PM (missing) models. When used to simulate the crop evapotranspiration (ETc), there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between observed and simulated ETc from FAO PM, Irmak, and Priestly – Taylor models. Hence, ETo models with fewer data inputs such as Irmak and Priestly – Taylor models can provide accurate and reliable results for water management in southern Manitoba.

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquim S. Silva ◽  
Francisco C. Rego ◽  
Stefano Mazzoleni

This paper presents a study where soil water content (SW) was measured before and after an experimental fire in a shrubland dominated by Erica scoparia L. in Portugal. Two plots were established: one was kept as a control plot and the other was burned by an experimental fire in June 2001. Measurements were taken before fire (2000), and after fire (2001, 2002, and 2003) at six depths down to 170 cm, from June to December. Measurements before fire allowed comparison of the two plots in terms of the SW differential, using 2000 as a reference. Results for 2001 showed that SW decreased less during the drying season (June–September) and increased more during the wetting season (October–December) in the burned plot than in the control plot. The magnitude of these effects decreased consistently in 2002 and 2003, especially at surface layers. The maximum gain of SW for the total profile in the burned plot was estimated as 105.5 mm in 2001, 70.2 mm in 2002, and 35.6 mm in 2003. The present paper discusses the mechanisms responsible for the increase in SW taking into account the characteristics of the plant community, including the root distribution, and the results of other studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vakhtang Shelia ◽  
Jirka Šimůnek ◽  
Ken Boote ◽  
Gerrit Hoogenbooom

AbstractAccurate estimation of the soil water balance of the soil-plant-atmosphere system is key to determining the availability of water resources and their optimal management. Evapotranspiration and leaching are the main sinks of water from the system affecting soil water status and hence crop yield. The accuracy of soil water content and evapotranspiration simulations affects crop yield simulations as well. DSSAT is a suite of field-scale, process-based crop models to simulate crop growth and development. A “tipping bucket” water balance approach is currently used in DSSAT for soil hydrologic and water redistribution processes. By comparison, HYDRUS-1D is a hydrological model to simulate water flow in soils using numerical solutions of the Richards equation, but its approach to crop-related process modeling is rather limited. Both DSSAT and HYDRUS-1D have been widely used and tested in their separate areas of use. The objectives of our study were: (1) to couple HYDRUS-1D with DSSAT to simulate soil water dynamics, crop growth and yield, (2) to evaluate the coupled model using field experimental datasets distributed with DSSAT for different environments, and (3) to compare HYDRUS-1D simulations with those of the tipping bucket approach using the same datasets. Modularity in the software design of both DSSAT and HYDRUS-1D made it easy to couple the two models. The pairing provided the DSSAT interface an ability to use both the tipping bucket and HYDRUS-1D simulation approaches. The two approaches were evaluated in terms of their ability to estimate the soil water balance, especially soil water contents and evapotranspiration rates. Values of thedindex for volumetric water contents were 0.9 and 0.8 for the original and coupled models, respectively. Comparisons of simulations for the pod mass for four soybean and four peanut treatments showed relatively highdindex values for both models (0.94–0.99).


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 1125-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Klenk ◽  
S. Jaumann ◽  
K. Roth

Abstract. High-resolution time-lapse ground-penetrating radar (GPR) observations of advancing and retreating water tables can yield a wealth of information about near-surface water content dynamics. In this study, we present and analyze a series of imbibition, drainage and infiltration experiments that have been carried out at our artificial ASSESS test site and observed with surface-based GPR. The test site features a complicated but known subsurface architecture constructed with three different kinds of sand. It allows the study of soil water dynamics with GPR under a wide range of different conditions. Here, we assess in particular (i) the feasibility of monitoring the dynamic shape of the capillary fringe reflection and (ii) the relative precision of monitoring soil water dynamics averaged over the whole vertical extent by evaluating the bottom reflection. The phenomenology of the GPR response of a dynamically changing capillary fringe is developed from a soil physical point of view. We then explain experimentally observed phenomena based on numerical simulations of both the water content dynamics and the expected GPR response.


2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Murphy ◽  
G. M. Lodge

Stored soil water may influence both the generation of surface runoff and the rate of evapotranspiration from pastures, which may be significant in northern New South Wales. Continuous data is essential to fully understand these processes in field studies. Electrical resistance sensors were used to capture continuous data and they were calibrated directly for soil water content (SWC), so as to provide quantitative data in real time. Calibration equations (logarithmic regression) were significantly different for a range of installation depths (2.5–20 cm). To�provide quantitative insight into soil water dynamics in studies of stored soil water, surface runoff, and evapotranspiration, real time data were collected at intervals ranging from 4 min to 24 h. Resistance sensors provided estimates of stored soil water (0–30 cm) that differed by up to 29% compared with estimates obtained from using a neutron moisture metre alone. In surface runoff studies, data collected at 4 min intervals showed that runoff was generated when soil water content was high. In studies of evapotranspiration, daily data were used to quantify different evapotranspiration rates (2.3–4.9 mm/day) and progressive depth of drying for a range of treatments. We concluded that data collected in real time using resistance sensors may be used to make better estimates of SWC and so improve the interpretation of surface runoff generation and evapotranspiration data.


2000 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Lolicato

Fortnightly soil water content measurements to a depth of 2.1 m under 4 cocksfoot cultivars, 2 phalaris cultivars, 2 lucerne cultivars and 1 Lotus corniculatus cultivar were used to compare soil profile drying and to define seasonal patterns of plant water use of the species over a 3-year period, on a duplex soil. Cultivars were also selected, within species groups, for varying seasonal growth patterns to assess this influence on soil water dynamics and growth. Over the 3-year period, treatments with the highest and lowest measures of profile soil water content were used to derive and compare values of maximum plant extractable water. Plots were maintained for a further 3 years, after which soil water content measurements in autumn were used to assess long-term effects of the treatments. The effect of seasonal growth patterns within a species was negligible; however, there were significant differences between species. Twenty-one months after pasture establishment, lucerne alone had a drying effect at 2.0 m depth and subsequently it consistently showed profiles with the lowest soil water content. Maximum plant extractable water was greatest for lucerne (230 mm), followed by phalaris (210 mm), Lotus corniculatus (200 mm) and cocksfoot (170 mm). Profiles with the lowest soil water content were associated with greater herbage growth and greater depths of water extraction. The soil water deficits developed by the treatments in autumn of the fourth year were similar to those measured in autumn of the seventh year, implying that a species-dependant equilibrium had been reached. Long-term rainfall data is used to calculate the probabilities of recharge occurring when rainfall exceeds maximum potential deficits for the different pasture species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 229-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueya Zhou ◽  
Dexin Guan ◽  
Jiabing Wu ◽  
Fenghui Yuan ◽  
Anzhi Wang ◽  
...  

Soil water dynamic is considered an important process for water resource and plantation management in Horqin Sand Land, northern China. In this study, soil water content simulated by the SWMS-2D model was used to systematically analyse soil water dynamics and explore the relationship between soil water and rainfall among micro-landforms (i.e., top, upslope, midslope, toeslope, and bottomland) and 0–200 cm soil depths during the growing season of 2013 and 2015. The results showed that soil water dynamics in 0–20 cm depths were closely linked to rainfall patterns, whereas soil water content in 20–80 cm depths illustrated a slight decline in addition to fluctuations caused by rainfall. At the top position, the soil water content in different ranges of depths (20–40 and 80–200 cm) was near the wilting point, and hence some branches, and even entire plants exhibited diebacks. At the upslope or midslope positions, the soil water content in 20–80 or 80–200 cm depths was higher than at the top position. Soil water content was higher at the toeslope and bottomland positions than at other micro-landforms, and deep caliche layers had a positive feedback effect on shrub establishment. Soil water recharge by rainfall was closely related to rainfall intensity and micro-landforms. Only rainfalls &gt; 20 mm significantly increased water content in &gt; 40 cm soil depths, but deeper water recharge occurred at the toeslope position. A linear equation was fitted to the relationship between soil water and antecedent rainfall, and the slopes and R<sup>2</sup> of the equations were different among micro-landforms and soil depths. The linear equations generally fitted well in 0–20 and 20–40 cm depths at the top, upslope, midslope, and toeslope positions (R<sup>2</sup> value of about 0.60), with soil water in 0–20 cm depths showing greater responses to rainfall (average slope of 0.189). In 20–40 cm depths, the response was larger at the toeslope position, with a slope of 0.137. In 40–80 cm depths, a good linear fit with a slope of 0.041 was only recorded at the toeslope position. This study provides a soil water basis for ecological restoration in similar regions.  


2010 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjith P. Udawatta ◽  
Stephen H. Anderson ◽  
Peter P. Motavalli ◽  
Harold E. Garrett

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