Reduction of evaporation from bare soil using plastic and gravel mulches and assessment of gravel mulch for partitioning evapotranspiration under irrigated canola

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 222 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Dlamini ◽  
I. B. Ukoh ◽  
L. D. van Rensburg ◽  
C. C. du Preez
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Brassica Napus L ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Lysimeter Experiment ◽  
Gravel Mulch

Partitioning of evapotranspiration (ET) into its components of evaporation (E) and transpiration (T) is difficult, yet important for managing unproductive and productive water losses under irrigated agriculture. A lysimeter experiment (Expt 1) was conducted on sandy Clovelly and sandy loam Bainsvlei soils in Bloemfontein, South Africa where plastic sheet and dolerite gravel mulches were applied to lysimeters to determine to what extent they restricted E from the soil surface compared with a bare soil control. No crops were grown in the lysimeters for Expt 1. Gravel mulch on Clovelly-filled lysimeters reduced E by 33% and by 41% for Bainsvlei-filled lysimeters compared with bare soil. Based on these results, lysimeter Expt 2 was undertaken on gravel mulched and unmulched bare soil lysimeters to assess the effectiveness of gravel mulch in partitioning ET into E and T using the Tanner and Sinclair (1983) method embedded in the soil water balance. In Expt 2, canola (Brassica napus L.) was grown in the lysimeters for 168 days. Gravel mulch had a significant effect on water use (WU) by suppressing the E component of ET, resulting in WU being on average 11% lower from gravel-mulched lysimeters than the unmulched lysimeters, and this translated to an improved average WU efficiency of 11.91kgha–1mm–1 for canola. Taken together, these results reinforce the potential for gravel mulch as a viable management option for soil water conservation, which is crucial for plant available water, a major limiting factor for plant growth in arid and semiarid lands.

scholarly journals Losses of soil, water, organic carbon and nutrients caused by water erosion in different crops and natural savannah in the northern Amazon

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Fernando Gomes de Souza ◽  
Valdinar Ferreira Melo ◽  
Wellington Farias Araújo ◽  
Thiago Henrique de Castro Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Water Erosion ◽  
Brachiaria Brizantha ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
The Impact

Currently in Brazil, the main form of erosion is caused by the impact of raindrops on the soil surface, triggering the process of water erosion and causing serious damage to agricultural areas. This study evaluated losses of soil, water, organic carbon and nutrients in different cultures, bare soil and savanna under natural rain. The experimental design was completely randomized with five treatments (bare soil - BS, cowpea bean - CB, Brachiaria brizantha - BB, corn - CO and natural savanna – SN) with three replications; The treatment of bare soil (BS), followed by the treatment cultivated with cowpea bean  (CB) showed higher losses of soil, water, organic carbon and nutrients; The highest losses of soil, water, organic carbon and nutrients in the treatment of bare soil (BS) occurred during the period of greatest erosivity; but for treatments CB, BB and CO, the highest losses occurred during the establishment of the crop, in view of the lower soil cover. Soils cultivated with Brachiaria brizantha - BB, corn - CO and in the Natural Savana - SN area were more efficient in reducing soil and water losses during all months evaluated. Plant cover produced by the (SN) treatment and by the (BB) and (CO) treatments acted to reduce the harmful effects of erosion, minimizing losses of nutrients and organic carbon. The soil should be well protected during periods when rainfall presents the highest values of erosivity index.

scholarly journals Effective and rational use of irrigation water in the conditions of the republic of Karakalpakstan

2021 ◽  
Vol 264 ◽  
pp. 04023
Author(s):  
S Kurbanbaev ◽  
O Karimova ◽  
Zakir Turlibaev ◽  
Rashid Baymuratov
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Irrigation Technologies ◽  
Effective Use

The lack of water that has been repeated in recent years dictates the requirements of a strict regime of water conservation and economical use of water. Understanding the need for strict water conservation and the fight against unproductive water losses must be started with the producers of agricultural products, i.e., from farms, as rational water use and water conservation at the field level could save a significant amount of irrigation water. The article reflects the current state of water use in irrigated agriculture in the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The main, inter-farm, and intra-farm canals have been studied in detail, and the mode and efficiency of their work have been assessed. The obtained results of the conducted field research works on irrigation technologies are presented. Suggestions on the choice of water-saving irrigation technologies are given, as well as recommendations on the effective use of irrigation water in the non-growing season.

scholarly journals Efficient organic mulch thickness for soil and water conservation in urban areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Wang ◽  
Jianzhi Niu ◽  
Ronny Berndtsson ◽  
Linus Zhang ◽  
Xiongwen Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Rainfall Simulation ◽  
Organic Mulch ◽  
Arid And Semiarid

AbstractThe use of organic mulch is important for urban green applications. For urban areas in arid and semiarid regions receiving short high-intensive rainfall, rainfall characteristics, and soil slope play an important role for mulch functioning. These properties of mulch were studied. For this purpose, rainfall simulation experiments using organic mulching were conducted in Jiufeng National Forestry Park to analyze the influence of organic mulch under different slope and heavy rainfall events. The results showed that soil water content displayed a decreasing tendency with increasing mulch application. Compared to bare soil, a mulch application of 0.25 kg/m2 and 0.50 kg/m2 led to maximum soil water content and maximum runoff decrease occurred for 0.50 kg/m2 mulch. Higher application rate of mulch displayed less soil water content and greater runoff. The runoff amount and runoff generation rate decreased by 28–83% and 21–83%, respectively, as compared to bare soil. With a mulch application of 0.25–1.00 kg/m2, soil drainage accounted for 56–60% of total rainfall. Overall, an efficient mulch application was found to be 0.25–0.50 kg/m2. The results of this study are relevant for arid and semiarid urban regions that experience heavy rainfall.

scholarly journals Phytomass and production components of colored cotton under salt stress in different phenological stages

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-138
Author(s):  
Lauriane A. dos A. Soares ◽  
Pedro D. Fernandes ◽  
Geovani S. de Lima ◽  
Saulo S. da Silva ◽  
Rômulo C. L. Moreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Colored Cotton ◽  
Cotton Genotypes ◽  
Naturally Colored Cotton

ABSTRACT Scarcity of good quality water is a limiting factor for irrigated agriculture, especially in semi-arid regions, which induces the use of waters with high salt concentration in crop irrigation. In view of the above, the objective of this study was to evaluate the phytomass accumulation and production components of colored cotton genotypes during the different development stages, under conditions of high salinity, with plants grown in lysimeters under greenhouse conditions, at the Center for Technology and Natural Resources of the Federal University of Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. Three cotton genotypes (‘BRS Rubi’, ‘BRS Topázio’ and ‘BRS Safira’) irrigated with salinized water (9 dS m-1) during the three stages of crop development (vegetative, flowering and fruiting) were evaluated. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three repetitions and three plants per plot, in drainage lysimeters filled with 24.5 kg of an Oxisol, with sandy loam texture. Irrigation with salinized water during the vegetative stage promoted greater phytomass accumulation in the genotypes of naturally colored cotton. In the initial stages of the cotton development, irrigation with saline water can be used with the lowest losses in production components, which are negatively affected when saline water is applied in the fruiting stage. Among the genotypes, ‘BRS Topázio’ is the most tolerant to irrigation water salinity in terms of seed cotton weight and lint cotton weight, regardless of the development stage.

Soil temperature and the energy balance of vegetative mulch in the semi-arid tropics. II. Dynamic analysis of the total energy balance

Soil Research ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 515 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Ross ◽  
J Williams ◽  
RL Mccown
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Loss ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Total Energy Balance ◽  
Soil Temperatures

Soil temperatures and water losses under killed vegetative mulch canopies are examined in the context of no-tillage crop production, using a numerical dynamic model of the soil, canopy and lower atmosphere. Both liquid and vapour movement in the soil are included, as are free and forced convection in the canopy. The predictions of the model for a clay loam soil are as follows. Medium and heavy mulches reduce the water loss over six days by 1.4 and 2.7 mm respectively, the reduction occurring while the soil surface is wet. This small effect is important in giving seedlings an extra 2 or 3 days for establishment. Water loss from bare soil and under a medium mulch is limited by soil resistance even on the first day of evaporation from initially wet soil. Mulch canopies that intercept 80 and 50% of incoming radiation can keep surface soil temperatures within 10 and 20�C respectively of ambient, whereas bare soil temperatures may rise 30�C above ambient. A moderate wind reduces soil temperatures under a mulch only a few degrees, but cools the canopy much more. A rough soil surface helps cool the soil. Water losses and soil temperatures are little affected by a 50% change in soil water diffusivity or thermal conductivity. An extensive mulched area results in temperatures well above those observed on small plots surrounded by transpiring vegetation, which maintains cool air above the mulch. A simplified form of the model, which incorporates only a single mulch layer and which ignores effects of wind, yields soil temperatures which are not greatly different from those generated by the more complex model for wind speeds below 1 ms-1 at canopy height.

scholarly journals Adsorption of Water Vapor by Bare Soil in an Olive Grove in Southern Spain

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1011-1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Verhoef ◽  
A. Diaz-Espejo ◽  
J. R. Knight ◽  
L. Villagarcía ◽  
J. E. Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Adsorbed Water ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Water Vapor Adsorption ◽  
Moisture Loss ◽  
Absolute Difference ◽  
Olive Grove ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Vapor Adsorption

Abstract Data for water vapor adsorption and evaporation are presented for a bare soil (sandy loam, clay content 15%) in a southern Spanish olive grove. Water losses and gains were measured using eight high-precision minilysimeters, placed around an olive tree, which had been irrigated until the soil reached field capacity (∼0.22 m3 m−3). They were subsequently left to dry for 10 days. A pair of lysimeters was situated at each of the main points of the compass (N, E, S, W), at a distance of 1 m (the inner set of lysimeters; ILS) and 2 m (the outer set of lysimeters; OLS), respectively, from the tree trunk. Distinct periods of moisture loss (evaporation) and moisture gain (vapor adsorption) could be distinguished for each day. Vapor adsorption often started just after noon and generally lasted until the (early) evening. Values of up to 0.7 mm of adsorbed water per day were measured. Adsorption was generally largest for the OLS (up to 100% more on a daily basis), and increased during the dry down. This was mainly the result of lower OLS surface soil moisture contents (period-average absolute difference ∼0.005 m3 m−3), as illustrated using various analyses employing a set of micrometeorological equations describing the exchange of water vapor between bare soil and the atmosphere. These analyses also showed that the amount of water vapor adsorbed by soils is very sensitive to changes in atmospheric forcing and surface variables. The use of empirical equations to estimate vapor adsorption is therefore not recommended.

Hydrological processes and herbage production in shrub invaded Poplar Box (Eucalyptus populnea) woodlands.

1981 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
GG Johns
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Free Water ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Hydrological Processes ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Annual Distribution ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

The hydrological processes of relevance to herbage production in shrub invaded semi-arid popla box (Eucalvptus popuhea) woodlands are reviewed. Climatic limitations to herbage production in the poplar box lands are discussed in relation to the annual distribution of rainfall and evaporation. The limiting effects of trees and shrubs on herbage production within a woodland are then evaluated using data from a study site near Coolabah in north-western New South Wales. Hydrologic measurements made at the site include soil water storage, run-off and infiltration rates. Marked spatial variability in infiltration of water into the soil was in part related to the distribution of plants and redistribu- tion of water from ridges to adjacent flats occurred because of low rates of infiltration into bare soil areas between groups of trees and shrubs. From measurements of the depletion of soil water which accumulated during an exceptionally wet period the potential rate of evapotranspiration from the poplar box component of the woodland was estimated to be 0.5 times that from a free water surface. Bare soil evaporation accounted for approximately one half of water losses. Herbage production is shown to be poorly related to soil water storage alone, but the regression between herbage production and the product of water and nitrogen availabilities accounts for 70% of the vari~ce. It is concluded that the role of trees and shrubs in competing with herbage for nutrients, as well as water, is in need of clarification.

Characterising canola pollen germination across a temperature gradient

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm J. Morrison ◽  
Allison Gutknecht ◽  
John Chan ◽  
S. Shea Miller
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Brassica Napus ◽  
Thermal Gradient ◽  
Pollen Germination ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Major Goal ◽  
Brassica Napus L ◽  
Influence Of Temperature ◽  
Heat Stress Tolerance ◽  
Stress Susceptibility

If predictions are correct, heat stress during reproduction will become a yield limiting factor in many world crops and breeding heat stress tolerance a major goal. The objective of our paper was to highlight a novel system to investigate the influence of temperature (T) on pollen germination using a thermal gradient PCR programmed to establish differential Ts across 12 wells of a PCR plate. Seven cultivars of Brassica napus L. were grown through flowering in a cool growth cabinet (20/15°C day/night) or a heat stress cabinet (HST, 27/22°C day/night). Pollen from each cultivar × cabinet combination was aspirated from 6 opened flowers, and suspended in germination media. Drops of the pollen suspension were floated on media in each well, and the PCR T was set to 30°C with a gradient of ± 10°C, creating a range from ~20 to 40°C from left to right. After an 8 h treatment, the pollen germination (pg, %) and pollen tube growth score (ptg, 1–5) were evaluated using a microscope. There were significant differences among cultivars for pg and ptg score and significant differences among well T for pg and ptg score. Pollen tubes grew best at T from 20 to 23°C. Well T exceeding 33°C reduced pg and ptg score, although 3 of the 8 cultivars had good pg even at 36°C. HST >29°C, in a growth cabinet, generally resulted in B. napus raceme sterility, although our experiment showed that pollen was still capable of germinating up to 33°C, indicating that pollen germination may not be the only reason for heat stress susceptibility.

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