Nonlinear Root-Water Uptake Model
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 122, Issue 4
Abstract
Sound irrigation management requires information about root-water uptake patterns of different crops. In the existing literature, the extraction rate of soil moisture by the roots is assumed to be either constant or varying linearly with the root depth, during the crop period. However, both these models have limited application. With this in view, an empirical root-water uptake model in which the extraction rate varies nonlinearly with the root depth is proposed. Using experimentally obtained soil-moisture depletion values for nonlimiting soil-moisture conditions, it is found that the proposed model performs better than the constant rate models and linearly varying rate models of root-water uptake. Also, constant as well as linear extraction-rate models are found to be particular cases of the proposed model. Based on simulations for limited soil-moisture conditions, it is also found that the frequency of irrigation is sensitive to the use of root-water uptake models.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Afshar, A., and Marino, M. A.(1976). “Model for simulating soil-water content considering evapotranspiration.”J. Hydro., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 37, 309–322.
2.
Erie, L. J., French, O. F., and Harris, K. (1965). “Consumptive use of water by crops in Arizona.”Tech. Bull. 169, Agric. Experiment Stn., Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
3.
Feddes, R. A., Bresler, E., and Neuman, S. P.(1974). “Test of a modified numerical model for water uptake by root systems.”Water Resour. Res., 10(6), 1199–1206.
4.
Feddes, R. A., Kowalik, P. J., and Zaradny, H. (1978). Simulation of field water use and crop yield . Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
5.
Gardner, W. R.(1960). “Dynamic aspects of water availability to plants.”Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 89(2), 63–74.
6.
Gardner, W. R.(1964). “Relation of root distribution to water uptake and availability.”Agronomy J., 56, 41–45.
7.
Gerwitz, P. A., and Page, E. R.(1974). “An empirical mathematical model to describe plant root systems.”J. Appl. Ecology, 11, 773–781.
8.
Gupta, S. C., and Larson, W. E.(1979). “Estimating soil water retention characteristics from particle size distribution, organic matter percent and bulk density.”Water Resour. Res., 15(5), 1633–1635.
9.
Hoogland, J. C., Feddes, R. A., and Belmans, C.(1981). “Root water uptake model depending on soil water pressure head and maximum extraction rate.”Acta Horticulture, 119, 123–131.
10.
Israelsen, O. W. (1962). Irrigation principles and practices, 3rd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.
11.
Marino, M. A., and Tracy, J. C.(1988). “Flow of water in a root-soil environment.”J. Irrig. and Drain. Engrg., ASCE, 114(4), 588–604.
12.
Mendenhall, W., and Sincich, T. (1988). Statistics for the engineering and computer sciences . Dellen Publishing Co., San Francisco, Calif.
13.
Molz, F. J., and Remson, I.(1970). “Extraction term models of soil moisture use by transpiring plants.”Water Resour. Res., 6(5), 1346–1356.
14.
Molz, F. J.(1981). “Models of water transport in the soil-plant system: A review.”Water Resour. Res., 17(5), 1245–1260.
15.
Nimah, M. N., and Hanks, R. J.(1973). “Model for estimating soil water, plant, and atmospheric interrelations. I: description and sensitivity.”Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 37(4), 522–527.
16.
Prasad, R.(1984). “Influence of time step in the simulation modeling of evapotranspiration.”Proc., Industrial Acad. Sci., 7, 91–118.
17.
Prasad, R.(1988). “A linear root water uptake model.”J. Hydro., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 99, 297–306.
18.
Prasad, R.(1989). “Detection of moisture stress by indicator plots—A simulation.”J. Hydro., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 109, 11–24.
19.
Rose, C. W., Byrne, G. F., and Hansen, G. K.(1976). “Water transport from soil through plant to atmosphere: A lumped parameter model.”Agric. Meteorology, 16, 171–184.
20.
Rowse, H. R., Stone, D. A., and Gerwitz, A.(1978). “Simulation of the water distribution in soil, 2, The model for cropped soil and its comparison with experiment.”Plant Soil, 49, 534–550.
21.
van Genuchten, M. T.(1980). “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil.”Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 122 • Issue 4 • July 1996
Pages: 198 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jul 1, 1996
Published in print: Jul 1996
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.