Evaluation of Water Content in Soils of Žitný Ostrov from the Point of View of Its Exploitation for Biosphere

The lithospheric zone between the soil surface and the first ground water horizon, respectively the ground water table, has a character of three-phase system. It consists of solid phase having fine to rough disperse granularity. This creates a structure of porous environment with characters that can be physically determined. The water occurs in pores in different forms of state and its bond with solid phase. Its energetic bond is clearly quantified by means of moisture retention curve. The gas phase fills pores with the water up to the value of the full porosity, i.e. it fills the part of pores that is not saturated with water. Therefore, this lithospheric zone is called the soil aeration zone. The volume of water occurring in the soil aeration zone corresponds to the concentration of water in the framework of hydrological cycle components. This water serves as the water resource for the vegetation cover. The data used for calculation were particular soil types in the area, depth of ground water table, hydrolimits (wilting point, point of decreased availability, field water capacity) and aeration zone thickness. The water content in the soil aeration zone between hydrolimits field water capacity (FWC) and wilting point (WP) is the critical interval of water content for vegetation cover in a given locality. Water from this interval is available for the vegetation cover. This water has no properties of free water, and plants have to have a developed root system and such suction pressure, that is able to overcome the bond between water and soil. Calculated results were verified with the help of monitored water content. Both calculated and measured values of soil water content in the aeration zone show that the water content is affected by appurtenant soil type. The human activity in a landscape directly affects the dynamics of this water resource, either from quantitative or qualitative viewpoint. This affect is demonstrated by changes of the ground water regime, i.e. changes of ground water table and amplitude of its fluctuation. The paper brings results of water content evaluation in the soil aeration zone in the Žitný ostrov area.

Soil health indicators for Central Washington orchards

Soil health assessment can be a critical soil testing tool that includes biological and physical indicators of soil function related to crop and environmental health. Soil health indicator minimum data sets should be regional and management goal specific. The objective of this study was to initiate the steps to develop a soil assessment tool for irrigated orchard soils in Central Washington, United States including defining objectives, gathering baseline data and selecting target indicators. This study measured twenty-one biological, physical and chemical properties of soils in irrigated Central Washington apple orchards including indicators of water availability, root health, fertility, and biological activity. Soil factors were related to fruit yield and quality. Principal components and nonlinear Bayesian modeling were used to explore the relationship between soil health indicators and yield. Soil indicators measurements in Washington state orchards varied widely but generally had lower organic matter, available water capacity, wet aggregate stability and higher percent sand than in other regions. Linear mixed effects models for available water capacity and percent sand showed significant effects on yield, and models for root health ratings and Pratylenchus nematodes had moderate effects. The minimum dataset of soil health indicators for Central Washington orchards should include measurements of water availability (available water capacity, percent sand) and of root health (bean root health rating, Pratylenchus nematodes) in addition to standard fertility indicators to meet stakeholder management goals.

Design and Build an IoT Based Prepaid Water Usage Monitoring System and Telegram Notifications

In the boarding house the use of water for each person is different for each occupant of theboarding house. The increase in water use is not proportional to the increase in water capacity and theequalization of payments for each boarding house is different. Utilization of technology Internet ofThings (IoT) and the freechat application Telegram in the application to monitor water usageinformation for each boarding house occupant. In this study, a water monitoring device was made tomonitor information from two different platforms. The server can monitor water usage information forall residents of the boarding house. Telegram provides notification information when the water capacityof boarding houses is approaching empty from each device. Using Arduino and ESP8266 as controllersand wifi connection with the server. With this system, it is easier for the boarding house owner tomonitor the water usage of each boarding house occupant.

BALANÇO HÍDRICO CLIMATOLÓGICO E CLASSIFICAÇÃO CLIMÁTICA PARA O MUNICÍPIO DE PARANAVAÍ, PARANÁ

The study of climatic conditions of Paranavaí region is necessary due to its importance in the national agricultural scenario. The study aimed to calculate the climatological water balance (CWB) as well as performing the climate classification by the method of Thornthwaite e Mather for the municipality of Paranavaí, Paraná. Data from a historical series from 1975 to 2018 were used. For the calculation of the CWB was adopted the value of 100 mm for the available water capacity (AWC). The municipality studied presentes na annual average of 1523,8 mm precipitation and 1090,62 evapotranspiration. The municipality presented a trend climate o fone month of water deficiency (August) and eleven months of water excess (Setember to July). Regarding climate classification, was found C1dA’a’ climate, characterized as a mesothermic climate, with little or no water deficiency.

Research of the dynamics and level of watercourse pollution by paper and paperboard production processes

The use of waste paper as a fibrous semi-finished product in the production of paper and paperboard products makes it possible to somewhat reduce the consumption of cellulose. However, waste paper contains a number of water-polluting components of mineral and organic nature, which were introduced into its composition at the stage of production. One of the issues that may arise in the design of technological systems for the production of a given type of paper or cardboard or in the reconstruction of existing production to reduce losses of fibrous semi-finished products and ensure their optimal use or reduce fresh water consumption is to calculate the pollution and also to determine the impact of cardboard and paper production tanks and treatment plants on the dynamics and level of watercourse pollution. To study and analyze the paper and cardboard production processes, which belong to the class of complex technological systems, a methodology was developed that, using computer technology, allows assessing the state of a technological system until its implementation in action. However, from a practical point of view, methods still should be developed that will allow the designer to find solutions to problems that may arise at the design stage of the technological system for production of a given type of paper or cardboard or in the reconstruction of existing production. These problems are related to the calculation of the pollution level and the determination of impact from cardboard and paper production tanks and treatment facilities. The purpose of this article is to conduct research and forecast calculations based on mathematical models to determine the patterns of influence exerted by tanks on the dynamics and level of watercourse pollution in the production of paper and cardboard. The generalized technological system of cardboard production, which is presented in the form of a material flow graph, is taken as an object for research. Water-soluble contaminants of mineral and organic nature enter the production system together with fibrous raw materials, partly with fresh water, and with chemical additives used to impart certain qualities to the product at the stage of its production and at the stage of mechano-chemical water purification. In order to study their impact, it is necessary to conduct at least two stages of calculations on a personal computer using pre-designed models for the dynamics and level of watercourse pollution. At the first stage, the dynamic characteristics of each element of the technological system were equated to elements that do not have a dynamic delay and for which the passage of all watercourses is subject to the speed at which the cardboard web is cast on the mesh. The number of cycles before equilibrium is 99. In the second stage of calculations, it was taken into account that the four tanks in the technological system of production are characterized by a moment of delay and, therefore, the values ​​of delay factors were chosen based on water reserves that accumulate in these basins. The number of cycles before equilibrium in the second stage increased to 264. The main conclusion from the analysis of two options: the technological system in both cases goes to equilibrium at equal values ​​for all components of water-soluble mineral and organic components. However, there are often situations when, in the process of developing (designing) a complex technological system for the production of paper or cardboard, developers are interested in the weighted average concentration of water-soluble mineral components that most affect the state of water flows, and then the technological system can be simplified and presented as a single container linked to the environment. Analysis of the calculation formula of the time for the technological system to reach equilibrium shows that the time value is largely determined by the ratio of the water capacity (W) of the process system to the amount of water (BS) removed from the system. The greater the water capacity of the technological system and the smaller the BS, the longer the time the technological system reaches equilibrium. The next step of the study is to verify the results obtained on the basis of adequate mathematical models in actual production conditions.

Determination of the effects of tillage on the productivity of a sandy loam soil using soil productivity models

Based on the hypothesis that soil properties and productivity components should be affected by different tillage methods, field and laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effects of zero tillage (ZT), one pass of disc plough tillage (P), one pass of disc plough plus one pass of disc harrow tillage (PH) and one pass of disc plough plus two passes of disc harrow tillage (PHH) on the distribution of the bulk density, available water capacity, pH, organic matter, available phosphorus, iron oxide and aluminium oxide at different soil depths, and their effects on the soil productivity. The available water capacity, pH, organic matter and available phosphorus were found to increase with the degree of tillage, while the bulk density, iron oxide and aluminium oxide were found to decrease with the degree of tillage. The results show that the soil productivity index was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected by the tillage methods and found to increase with the degree of tillage.

Mapping the Available Water Capacity in tropical climate soils for soybean (Glycine max) cultivation in the state of Tocantins-Brazil

Brazilian soybean has undergone considerable economic growth. Its production depends on the demand for some inputs. One of these inputs is the soil water supply, which can be made artificially or obtained by natural rainfall. Knowledge of available water capacity (AWC), which depends on total water availability (TWA), is poorly accessible and difficult to measure in the field. This study aimed to map the AWC of the state of Tocantins, based on pedotransfer functions (PTFs), to evaluate the water availability of the soils of the microregions of that state. We used the Arya and Paris model, aided by a computer program, Qualisolo, made by Embrapa Instrumentação. One hundred fifty-seven tropical soil samples were extracted from the Embrapa Solos portal. Preliminarily, the soil water retention curve (SWRC) was obtained and, subsequently, the TWA and AWC for this oilseed were estimated. Multiple linear regressions show the correlation between TWA and clay (CL), Silt (ST) and total sand (TS) contents. The correlation established was TWA = 3.2993 – 0.0028TS – 0.0034CL. This main conclusion reflects a fruitful AWC for decision-making by the soybean agribusiness and exposes the regional weaknesses for this crop under a rainfed regime in some regions of Tocantins. We could observe that, in terms of water availability, agribusiness is a potential threat to the environment protection area (APA) of the Ilha do Bananal/Cantão, Formoso River microregion.