Giorgio Baiamonte

Improvement of FAO-56 Model to Estimate Transpiration Fluxes of Drought Tolerant Crops under Soil Water Deficit: Application for Olive Groves

AbstractAgro-hydrological models are considered an economic and simple tool for quantifying crop water requirements. In the last two decades, agro-hydrological physically based models have been developed to simulate mass and energy exchange processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Although very reliable, because of the high number of required variables, simplified models have been proposed to quantify crop water consumes. The main aim of this paper is to propose an amendment of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations FAO-56 spreadsheet program to introduce a more realistic shape of the stress function, valid for mature olive orchards (Olea europaea L.). The modified model is successively validated by means of the comparison between measured and simulated soil water contents and actual transpiration fluxes. These outputs are finally compared with those obtained with the original version of the model. Experiments also allowed assessing the ability of simulated crop water str...

The influence of roughness geometry and Shields parameter on flow resistance in gravel-bed channels

The spatial variability of bed particles of a gravel-bed channel is analysed and treated experimentally in order to simulate the effects of the arrangement of coarse bed elements on the flow resistance law. For the studied bed patterns, characterized by the concentration Γ of coarser elements arranged on the bed layer, a particle arrangement parameter α is proposed. The α parameter is useful for estimating the intercept b0 of the semi-logarithmic flow resistance law deduced by flume measurements carried out for the hydraulic condition of large-scale and transition roughness. The differences between the experimental friction factor parameter values and the ones calculated by the proposed semi-logarithmic relationship are explained by the ratio between the Shields parameter and its critical value. The analysis shows that estimates of the friction factor parameter are not improved by introducing the Froude number into the flow resistance law.

Structure alteration of a sandy-clay soil by biochar amendments

PurposeThe aim of the present study was to investigate structure alterations of a sandy-clay soil upon addition of different amounts of biochar (fbc).Materials and methodsAll the fbc samples were analyzed by high energy moisture characteristic (HEMC) technique and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry. HEMC was applied in order to evaluate aggregate stability of biochar-amended soil samples. 1H NMR relaxometry experiments were conducted for the evaluation of the pore distributions through the investigation of water dynamics of the same samples.Results and discussionThe HEMC technique revealed improvement in aggregate stability through measurements of the amount of drainable pores and the stability ratio. The latter increased as the amount of biochar was raised up. The 1H NMR relaxometry revealed a unimodal T1 distribution for both the sole sandy-clay soil and the biochar. Conversely, a bimodal T1 distribution was acquired for all the different fbc samples.ConclusionsImprovement in aggregate stability was obtained as biochar was progressively added to the sandy-clay soil. A dual mechanism of water retention has been hypothesized. In particular, intra-aggregate porosity was indicated as the main responsible for molecular water diffusion when fbc comprised between 0 and 0.33. Conversely, inter-aggregate porosity resulted predominant, through swelling processes, when fbc overcame 0.33.

Analytical Solution of Kinematic Wave Time of Concentration for Overland Flow under Green-Ampt Infiltration

AbstractIn this paper the well-known kinematic wave equation for computing the time of concentration for impervious surfaces has been extended to the case of pervious hillslopes, accounting for infiltration. An analytical solution for the time of concentration for overland flow on a rectangular plane surface is derived using the kinematic wave equation under the Green-Ampt infiltration. The relative time of concentration is defined as the ratio between the time of concentration of an infiltrating plane and the soil sorptivity time scale, depending on the normalized rainfall intensity and a parameter synthesizing the soil and hillslope characteristics. It is shown that for a more complex case (corresponding to the second domain of solution domain), the time of concentration can also be estimated by two simplified approximate procedures. An error analysis for the time of concentration computed for constant and time-varying infiltration is carried out. Finally, for a hillslope under the Green-Ampt infiltrati...

Simplified Probabilistic-Topologic Model for Reproducing Hillslope Rill Network Surface Runoff

AbstractThis work presents a simplified probabilistic-topologic model for reproducing rill network surface runoff on a square-plane hillslope. The model requires only two parameters: the first is related to the production capacity of overland flow of the hillslope, at the initial conditions of the process, and the second depends on the sinuosity of the rill network. From a hydrological point of view, the following parameters account for the effects that essentially delineate the hydrologic response of a natural hillslope: rainfall intensity, hillslope roughness, and slope. Obviously, the reliability of the model is pending experimental validation that has only just begun. However, a preliminary experiment conducted on a 1.0×1.3-m test plot, with variable slope, has produced promising first results.

Overland Flow Times of Concentration for Hillslopes of Complex Topography

AbstractThe time of concentration is an important parameter for predicting peak discharge at the basin outlet and for designing urban infrastructure facilities. In studying the hillslope response, employing hydraulic equations of flow, the shape of the hillslope geometry has often been assumed as rectangular and planar. However, natural hillslopes have complex topographies whose shapes are characterized by irregularly spaced contour lines. Recently, kinematic wave time of concentration has been derived for rectangular and curved parallel hillslopes. This paper extends this work to hillslopes of complex planform geometry, considering the degree of divergence or convergence of the hillslope. The extended formulation consists of only one equation that is valid for both divergent/convergent surfaces and for concave/convex hillslope profile, and is compared with the formulations for plane convergent and plane divergent surfaces previously introduced. Results are compared with those already available in the lit...

Simplified Model to Predict Runoff Generation Time for Well-Drained and Vegetated Soils

AbstractThe study of generation process of subsurface stormflow, typical of well-drained and high-permeable soils, can be theoretically carried out by applying the continuity and motion equations with the appropriate boundary conditions. However, difficulties and uncertainness on determining soil hydraulic properties and soil physics heterogeneities mean this way is not always feasible. In a different way, process dynamic can be derived by the local scale through a coarse graining procedure, allowing preservation of medium motion character, while hydraulic fluctuation of the motion is lost. Following an approach like this, a simplified model to predict the runoff generation time, the so-called delay time, is developed in this paper. Under the assumption of sloped hillslope and Dunnian mechanism of runoff generation, which implies a time-varying active length of the hillslope where runoff occurs, a relationship of the active length versus time is derived. Finally, the effect induced by the interception pro...

Probability Distribution of Peak Discharge at the Hillslope Scale Generated by Hortonian Runoff

AbstractIn this work, the probability distribution of peak discharge at the hillslope bottom is determined hypothesizing a prevalent Hortonian mechanism of runoff production for a given rainfall duration. As is well known, the probability distribution of peak discharge depends on the probability of both the rainfall event as well as that of the antecedent soil moisture conditions. In particular, the probability of the rainfall event is calculated according to the familiar rainfall duration–intensity–frequency approach, whereas the ecohydrological method from the literature is used here to define the probability of the antecedent soil moisture conditions. The latter depends on a set of parameters describing the dynamic interactions between average climate, soil and vegetation. By using the Monte Carlo procedure, the peak discharge is derived for a given rainfall duration and for each antecedent moisture condition/rainfall intensity pair from a physical-based model from the literature, by coupling the analy...

Quick and Slow Components of the Hydrologic Response at the Hillslope Scale

AbstractIt is widely recognized that the Hortonian mechanism of runoff generation occurs in arid and semi-arid regions, generally characterized by high rainfall intensity on soils exhibiting low infiltrabilities. Differently, in steeply sloping forested watersheds in humid climates, by infiltrating through a highly permeable upper soil horizon, water moves beneath the soil surface determining a slow response. However, in most real cases, for example when in arid regions mountain forested areas take place, both (quick and slow) runoff generation processes coexist and together contribute to the hydrologic hillslope response. In this paper, based on analytical solutions of the hydrologic response, instantaneous response functions of both quick and slow components are defined, depending on parameters characterizing geometrical and dynamical features at the hillslope scale of immediate physical meaning. For each response component, two characteristic time-scales are defined, the mean holding time spent by a pa...

Modeling the probability distribution of peak discharge for infiltrating hillslopes

Hillslope response plays a fundamental role in the prediction of peak discharge at the basin outlet. The peak discharge for the critical duration of rainfall and its probability distribution are needed for designing urban infrastructure facilities. This study derives the probability distribution, denoted as GABS model, by coupling three models: (1) the Green-Ampt model for computing infiltration, (2) the kinematic wave model for computing discharge hydrograph from the hillslope, and (3) the intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) model for computing design rainfall intensity. The Hortonian mechanism for runoff generation is employed for computing the surface runoff hydrograph. Since the antecedent soil moisture condition (ASMC) significantly affects the rate of infiltration, its effect on the probability distribution of peak discharge is investigated. Application to a watershed in Sicily, Italy, shows that with the increase of probability, the expected effect of ASMC to increase the maximum discharge diminishes. Only for low values of probability, the critical duration of rainfall is influenced by ASMC, whereas its effect on the peak discharge seems to be less for any probability. For a set of parameters, the derived probability distribution of peak discharge seems to be fitted by the gamma distribution well. Finally, an application to a small watershed, with the aim to test the possibility to arrange in advance the rational runoff coefficient tables to be used for the rational method, and a comparison between peak discharges obtained by the GABS model with those measured in an experimental flume for a loamy-sand soil were carried out.