Long-Term Simulations of the Hydrology for Sugarcane Fields in the Humid Tropics: Case Study on Guyana’s Coastland
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 8
Abstract
A 4.2-ha sugarcane field in Guyana was instrumented to measure hydrometeorological variables and water table depths in order to calibrate DRAINMOD. The model performs favorably, with a Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) of 0.72, index of agreement (IoA) of 0.92, mean absolute error (MAE) of 16.5 cm and percentage bias (PBIAS) of 1.0%. DRAINMOD is then used for long-term simulations of the field hydrology using historical climate data. The simulated field discharges are used to compute average drainage rates (DR) for five durations (). The annual maximum drainage rates for each of the five durations are then fitted to the Gumbel distribution (EV1) for frequency analysis. The return period for an average 3-day (DR3) duration drainage event is estimated, and it is shown that the historical design drainage coefficients () used for surface drainage systems in sugarcane fields along Guyana’s coastland have return periods ranging from 1 in 2 years to 1 in 5 years. These return periods are within recommended values commonly used for agricultural drainage systems.
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Acknowledgments
Logistical support and access to the experimental site was provided by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). Technical assistance from Kenton Ollivierre, Research Associate, McGill University is gratefully acknowledged. Financial support for the project was provided by McGill University. Historical climate records were provided by the Hydrometeorological Services, Ministry of Agriculture (Guyana). This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada (project number 106525-002). Finally, the authors are very grateful for the reviewers’ comments throughout the peer review process.
Disclaimer
All trade names or commercial products mentioned are solely for the information of the reader and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use by McGill University or the authors.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 8 • August 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 13, 2016
Accepted: Feb 23, 2017
Published online: May 13, 2017
Published in print: Aug 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Oct 13, 2017
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