Dilia Kool

Spatial and diurnal below canopy evaporation in a desert vineyard: Measurements and modeling

Evaporation from the soil surface (E) can be a significant source of water loss in arid areas. In sparsely vegetated systems, E is expected to be a function of soil, climate, irrigation regime, precipitation patterns, and plant canopy development and will therefore change dynamically at both daily and seasonal time scales. The objectives of this research were to quantify E in an isolated, drip-irrigated vineyard in an arid environment and to simulate below canopy E using the HYDRUS (2-D/3-D) model. Specific focus was on variations of E both temporally and spatially across the inter-row. Continuous above canopy measurements, made in a commercial vineyard, included evapotranspiration, solar radiation, air temperature and humidity, and wind speed and direction. Short-term intensive measurements below the canopy included actual and potential E and solar radiation along transects between adjacent vine-rows. Potential and actual E below the canopy were highly variable, both diurnally and with distance from the vine-row, as a result of shading and distinct wetted areas typical to drip irrigation. While the magnitude of actual E was mostly determined by soil water content, diurnal patterns depended strongly on position relative to the vine-row due to variable shading patterns. HYDRUS (2-D/3-D) successfully simulated the magnitude, diurnal patterns, and spatial distribution of E, including expected deviations as a result of variability in soil saturated hydraulic conductivity.

Fruit load governs transpiration of olive trees

We tested the hypothesis that whole-tree water consumption of olives (Olea europaea L.) is fruit load-dependent and investigated the driving physiological mechanisms. Fruit load was manipulated in mature olives grown in weighing-drainage lysimeters. Fruit was thinned or entirely removed from trees at three separate stages of growth: early, mid and late in the season. Tree-scale transpiration, calculated from lysimeter water balance, was found to be a function of fruit load, canopy size and weather conditions. Fruit removal caused an immediate decline in water consumption, measured as whole-plant transpiration normalized to tree size, which persisted until the end of the season. The later the execution of fruit removal, the greater was the response. The amount of water transpired by a fruit-loaded tree was found to be roughly 30% greater than that of an equivalent low- or nonyielding tree. The tree-scale response to fruit was reflected in stem water potential but was not mirrored in leaf-scale physiological measurements of stomatal conductance or photosynthesis. Trees with low or no fruit load had higher vegetative growth rates. However, no significant difference was observed in the overall aboveground dry biomass among groups, when fruit was included. This case, where carbon sources and sinks were both not limiting, suggests that the role of fruit on water consumption involves signaling and alterations in hydraulic properties of vascular tissues and tree organs.

Approaches for Estimating Soil Water Retention Curves at Various Bulk Densities With the Extended Van Genuchten Model

Soil bulk density (ρb) variations influence soil hydraulic properties, such as the water retention curve (WRC), but they are usually ignored in soil-water simulation models. We extend the van Genuchten WRC model parameters to account for ρb variations using a series of empirical expressions. WRC measurements made on eight soils with various ρb and textures are used to calibrate these ρb–related empirical equations. Accordingly, two approaches are developed to estimate WRCs of soils at various ρb. Another eight soils with a wide range of ρb and textures are used to evaluate the accuracy of the new approaches. Approach 1 estimates WRCs for each soil at various ρb using a WRC measurement made at a reference ρb and the soil texture fractions. This approach gives reasonable WRC estimates for the eight validation soils, with an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.025 m3 m-3 and an average determination coefficient (R2) of 0.94. For Approach 2, a WRC measurement made at a reference ρb and one additional water content-matric potential value measured at a different ρb value are used, which produces WRC estimates with an average RMSE of 0.017 m3 m-3 and an average R2 of 0.97. The methodology used in Approach 2 is also applied to the Brooks and Corey WRC model to obtain accurate and precise WRC estimates. The proposed approaches have the potential to be incorporated into simulation models for estimating soil hydraulic properties that are affected by transient and variable ρb.