Estimation of snowmelt runoff in the Peace River region using a soil moisture budget

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. N. Hayhoe ◽  
R. G. Pelletier ◽  
L. J. P. van Vliet
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Moisture Budget ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
Peace River ◽  
Erosion Prediction ◽  
Spring Runoff ◽  
River Region ◽  
Soil Moisture Budget

Rainfall and snowmelt runoff on soil frozen below the surface are recognized as important factors contributing to soil loss in Canada. The risk of rain on frozen soil has been quantified, and the amount of snowmelt on frozen soil has been estimated. This study extends such research to derive a climate-based model to estimate winter and spring runoff. This could result in a more accurate erosion prediction for areas where snowmelt is a major source for runoff. Selected components of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model and the versatile soil moisture budget (VB) were tested on observed data for two study sites in the Peace River region. The version of the WEPP model available to us estimated snow depth, soil frost depth and frequency of freeze–thaw cycles. However, the results did not adequately match observed data. The VB was modified in this study to improve the estimate of potential winter and spring runoff, and it was shown that incorporating observations of snow depth improved the estimate of the time and amount of snowmelt runoff. The modified runoff model was validated with data collected in the Peace River area of northern Alberta and British Columbia and with published data from the Prairies. Key words: Snowmelt, runoff, soil moisture budget

Improved characterization of frozen soil processes in the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget model

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Getachew A. Mohammed ◽  
Masaki Hayashi ◽  
Christopher R. Farrow ◽  
Yasuhide Takano
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Soil Freezing ◽  
Soil Processes ◽  
Moisture Budget ◽  
Freezing And Thawing ◽  
Budget Model ◽  
Soil Freezing And Thawing ◽  
Soil Moisture Budget

Mohammed, G. A., Hayashi, M., Farrow, C. R. and Takano, Y. 2013. Improved characterization of frozen soil processes in the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget model. Can. J. Soil Sci. 93: 511–531. Soil freezing and thawing influence the infiltration of rain and snow melt water and subsequent redistribution, runoff generation, and a host of other processes. Accurate characterization of frozen soil processes in hydrological models is important for their use in managing agricultural activities and water resources. The Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) is a relatively simple soil water balance model, which has been widely used in Canada for several decades, but its application has primarily been for crop-growing seasons. We have modified the VSMB to include new algorithms for snow accumulation and melt, soil freezing and thawing, and snowmelt infiltration and runoff; and evaluated its performance using field data from a grassland site in Alberta. The new VSMB model simulates snow processes with reasonable accuracy and predicts the day of thawing within several days of observation. It also estimates the amount of runoff and its inter-annual variability reasonably well, although the model still has limitations in accurately predicting the vertical distribution of water content. Despite these limitations, the model will be useful for estimating the amount of snowmelt runoff that provides the critical water inputs to wetlands and dugouts, and for understanding the effects of landuse variability on these processes.

A MOISTURE STRESS INDEX FOR WHEAT BY MEANS OF A MODULATED SOIL MOISTURE BUDGET

1968 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Mack ◽  
W. S. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Stress Function ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Moisture Distribution ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Moisture Budget ◽  
Dough Stage ◽  
Soil Moisture Budget

Actual evapotranspiration (AE), soil moisture distribution, and moisture stress for a wheat crop (PE-AE) were estimated by the modulated soil moisture budget of Holmes and Robertson. The estimated soil moisture was reasonably well correlated with soil moisture measured weekly by means of gypsum blocks. Wheat yields from experimental plots in the corresponding area were related more closely to the moisture stress function (PE-AE: r = − 0.83), than to the seasonal precipitation (r = 0.62), the potential evapotranspiration (PE) or the evapotranspiration ratio (AE/PE). Regression analyses showed that the grain yields were reduced by an average of 156 (±sb = 40) kg/ha per cm of moisture stress from emergence to harvest, or by 311 and 69 kg/ha per cm of stress, from the fifth-leaf to the soft-dough stage and from the soft-dough stage to maturity, respectively. The moisture stress function may be used to characterize the soil–plant–atmosphere environment for the growing season of a crop. Precipitation and evapotranspiration data are presented annually for three standardized growing periods at Brandon from 1921 to 1963.

Effects of two crop rotations on seasonal runoff and soil loss in the Peace River region

1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. P. Van Vliet ◽  
J. W. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Soil Loss ◽  
Crop Rotations ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
Hordeum Vulgare L ◽  
Peace River ◽  
Residual Variation ◽  
River Region ◽  
Seasonal Runoff ◽  
Runoff And Soil Loss ◽  
Soil Losses

Four erosion plots were monitored from 1983 to 1989 (6 yr) to evaluate the effects of two crop rotations and their constituent crops on runoff and soil loss under natural precipitation near Fort St. John in the Peace River region of British Columbia. Rotation 1 consisted of two cycles of summerfallow — canola (Brassica rapa)-barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and Rotation 2 included summerfallow — canola-barley-barley underseed to red fescue (Festuca rubra L.)-fescue-fescue. Rainfall and snowmelt runoff were collected and sampled throughout the year to determine seasonal runoff and soil losses. Over the 6 yr, the cumulative runoff and soil losses were consistently greater under Rotation 1 than under Rotation 2. There was a greater than fourfold difference in total soil loss, and 33–35% more total runoff. Rainfall-induced runoff and soil losses were significantly higher for Rotation 1 than for Rotation 2. Snowmelt runoff accounted for 90 and 96% of the total annual runoff and for 39 and 80% of the total annual soil loss from Rotations 1 and 2, respectively. Two large rainfall events during 1983 and 1987, each causing a soil loss in excess of 2000 kg ha−1, accounted for between 85 and 91% of the 6-yr total rainfall-induced erosion from Rotation 1. No differences in runoff or soil loss were detected among crops but the comparisons were insensitive because of high residual variation. Key words: Runoff, soil loss, erosion plots, crop rotations

The use of annual legume green-manure crops as a substitute for summerfallow in the Peace River region

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Rice ◽  
P. E. Olsen ◽  
L. D. Bailey ◽  
V. O. Biederbeck ◽  
A. E. Slinkard
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Green Manure ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Dinitrogen Fixation ◽  
Annual Legumes ◽  
Peace River ◽  
Nitrate N ◽  
River Region ◽  
Green Manure Crops ◽  
Legume Green Manure

Field studies were conducted on a Landry clay-loam soil (Black Solod) to evaluate the effects of green manuring Tangier flatpea (Lathyrus tingitanus 'Tinga'), lentil (Lens culinaris 'Indianhead') and alfalfa (Medicago sativa 'Moapa') on subsequent barley (Hordeum vulgare 'Galt') crops. Each trial consisted of separate legume phases planted in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and barley phases in each of the subsequent years. The flatpea and lentil were incorporated (green manured) in late July or in late August to early September. The alfalfa was incorporated in late August to early September. The 3-yr mean dry matter (DM) yields of lentil and Tangier flatpea varied from 1047 to 2308 kg ha−1, with considerable variability from year to year. Alfalfa, used as an annual legume, produced 812 kg DM ha−1. Dinitrogen fixation by the annual legumes, as assayed by acetylene reduction was 16 kg N ha−1 or less. Soil moisture measurements following the legumes showed 2–3 cm less water in the profile to a depth of 120 cm following alfalfa and late-incorporated Tangier flatpea than following summerfallow and early-incorporated lentil and Tangier flatpea. Ammonium-N levels in the soil were similar following the various legume green-manure treatments. Nitrate-N levels following the legumes were variable, but the levels of nitrate-N in the plots following legume incorporation generally followed the order: fallow > early incorporation > late incorporation. The grain and N yield of barley following early-incorporated lentil and flatpea were equal to or only slightly less than the yield following fallow, suggesting that annual legumes have a good potential as green-manure crops in place of fallow in Black Solod soils of the Peace River region. Key words: Legume plow-down, soil conservation, dinitrogen fixation, soil moisture, nitrate-N

ESTIMATED SOIL WATER RESERVES APPLICABLE TO A WHEAT-FALLOW ROTATION FOR GENERALIZED SOIL AREAS MAPPED IN SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

1984 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 667-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. DE JONG ◽  
J. A. SHIELDS ◽  
W. K. SLY
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Holding Capacity ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Moisture Budget ◽  
Model Soil ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Soil Zone ◽  
Water Holding ◽  
Soil Moisture Budget

Long-term mean soil water reserves for a spring wheat-fallow rotation in the southern half of Saskatchewan were calculated using the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget. Four different available water-holding capacity classes and climatic data from 53 stations were used as input to the model. Soil water reserve data for the following times, seeding on 1 May in the crop year, at heading on 30 June, and on 1 May in the fallow year, were mapped. These were then combined with an available water-holding capacity map to portray in a single map the combined droughtiness due to climatic and soil attributes. Estimated soil water reserves compared well with measured data from one location in the Brown soil zone. The temporal and spatial changes in water reserves are discussed and related to summerfallowing. The maps provide information for use in making potential grain yield estimates. Key words: Soil water, wheat-fallow rotation, generalized soil areas, Saskatchewan, Versatile soil moisture budget

A MODULATED SOIL MOISTURE BUDGET

1959 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. HOLMES ◽  
G. W. ROBERTSON
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Budget ◽  
Soil Moisture Budget

Generalization and Testing of a Soil Moisture Budget for Different Drainage Conditions

1982 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 1417-1426 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Dale ◽  
W. M. L. Nelson ◽  
K. L. Scheeringa ◽  
R. G. Stuff ◽  
H. F. Reetz
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Budget ◽  
Soil Moisture Budget
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