Quantifying Water Fluxes of Irrigated Fields in an Agricultural Watershed in Oklahoma
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 7
Abstract
Evaluating the adequacy and efficiency of irrigation practices and identifying potential irrigation management improvements in agricultural watersheds require accurate estimates of water fluxes under actual management conditions. Such estimates are also beneficial for other applications, such as simulating physiological and hydrologic processes at field and basin scales. A three-year study was conducted at an agricultural watershed in west-central Oklahoma to quantify water fluxes and to compare the actual fluxes with those calculated assuming well-watered conditions. Measured applied irrigation data revealed that almost all studied fields were under-irrigated, with an average amount that was only 30% of what should have been applied to maintain well-watered (no stress) conditions. Other water fluxes, namely crop evapotranspiration (ET), runoff (RO), and deep percolation (DP), were estimated using two models with different levels of complexity: the root zone soil water balance (SWB) and the HYDRUS models. The outputs of the two models were close (normalized root mean square difference of 5% and 3% under actual and well-watered conditions, respectively) and showed that the common under-irrigation practices lead to a reduction in all fluxes compared to the hypothetical well-watered conditions. According to the HYDRUS model results, the average actual ET, RO, and DP fluxes were 82%, 50%, and 33% of what would have been experienced under well-watered conditions. The soil water content simulations of HYDRUS under the actual scenario were similar to readings of in-situ sensors installed at four depths at each study site with an overall root mean square difference of . The findings of this study demonstrate that differences between actual fluxes and those calculated based on no water stress assumptions could be notable, leading to major errors if well-watered fluxes are used in crop growth models, hydrologic simulations, irrigation energy use and emission models, and other applications.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, codes, and materials generated or used during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This manuscript is based upon work supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture, Agreement No. 69-3A75-16-013. Additional funding was provided by the Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Agreement No. 58-3070-5-007.
Disclaimer
The use of trade, corporation, and firm names in this article is for informational purposes only and is at the convenience of the reader. Oklahoma State University and the US Department of Agriculture neither approve nor endorse the use of products from these companies.
References
Allen, R. G., L. S. Pereira, D. Raes, and M. Smith. 1998. “FAO irrigation and drainage paper No. 56.” Food Agric. Organ. United Nations 56 (97): e156.
Allen, R. G., L. S. Pereira, M. Smith, D. Raes, and J. L. Wright. 2005. “FAO-56 dual crop coefficient method for estimating evaporation from soil and application extensions.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng. 131 (1): 2–13. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(2005)131:1(2).
Ashworth, J., D. Keyes, R. Kirk, and R. Lessard. 2001. “Standard procedure in the hydrometer method for particle size analysis.” Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 32 (5–6): 633–642. https://doi.org/10.1081/CSS-100103897.
Barde, M. P., and P. J. Barde. 2012. “What to use to express the variability of data: Standard deviation or standard error of mean?” Perspect. Clin. Res. 3 (3): 113–116. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.100662.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., R. A. L. Brito, M. G. Bos, R. A. Souza, E. B. Cavalcanti, and M. M. Bakker. 2001. “Low cost satellite data for monthly irrigation performance monitoring: Benchmarks from Nilo Coelho, Brazil.” Irrig. Drain. Syst. 15 (1): 53–79. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017967021198.
Becker, C. J., J. L. Steiner, and J. A. Daniel. 2011. “Stream-water quality, fort Cobb reservoir watershed, November 2004 to May 2007.” Accessed August 22, 2020. https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5257/Chapter7.pdf.
Burow, K. R., B. T. Nolan, M. G. Rupert, and N. M. Dubrovsky. 2010. “Nitrate in Groundwater of the United States, 1991−2003.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 44 (13): 4988–4997. https://doi.org/10.1021/es100546y.
Chebil, A., A. Souissi, A. Frija, and T. Stambouli. 2019. “Estimation of the economic loss due to irrigation water use inefficiency in Tunisia.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int. 26 (11): 11261–11268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04566-8.
Chen, Y., G. W. Marek, T. H. Marek, D. K. Brauer, and R. Srinivasan. 2017. “Assessing the efficacy of the SWAT auto-irrigation function to simulate irrigation, evapotranspiration, and crop response to management strategies of the Texas high plains.” Water 9 (7): 509. https://doi.org/10.3390/w9070509.
Chen, Y., G. W. Marek, T. H. Marek, D. K. Brauer, and R. Srinivasan. 2018. “Improving SWAT auto-irrigation functions for simulating agricultural irrigation management using long-term lysimeter field data.” Environ. Modell. Software 99 (Jan): 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.09.013.
Cid, P., S. Taghvaeian, and N. C. Hansen. 2018. “Evaluation of the FAO-56 methodology for estimating maize water requirements under deficit and full irrigation regimes in semiarid northeastern Colorado.” Irrig. Drain. 67 (4): 605–614. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2245.
Conrad, C., S. W. Dech, M. Hafeez, J. P. A. Lamers, and B. Tischbein. 2013. “Remote sensing and hydrological measurement based irrigation performance assessments in the Upper Amu Darya Delta, Central Asia.” Phys. Chem. Earth Parts A/B/C 61–62: 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2013.05.002.
Daccache, A., J. S. Ciurana, J. R. Diaz, and J. W. Knox. 2014. “Water and energy footprint of irrigated agriculture in the Mediterranean region.” Environ. Res. Lett. 9 (12): 124014. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/12/124014.
Datta, S., S. Taghvaeian, T. E. Ochsner, D. Moriasi, P. Gowda, and J. L. Steiner. 2018. “Performance assessment of five different soil moisture sensors under irrigated field conditions in Oklahoma.” Sensors 18 (11): 3786. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18113786.
Deb, S. K., M. K. Shukla, J. Šimůnek, and J. G. Mexal. 2013. “Evaluation of spatial and temporal root water uptake patterns of a flood-irrigated pecan tree using the HYDRUS (2D/3D) model.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng. 139 (8): 599–611. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000611.
Ellis, J. 2018. Simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Rush Springs Aquifer, Western Oklahoma. Washington, DC: USGS.
Fairchild, J. F., A. L. Allert, and K. R. Echols. 2011. “Water quality and trophic status of Fort Cobb Reservoir, Southwestern Oklahoma, 2006.” Accessed August 22, 2020. https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5257/Chapter8.pdf.
Fares, A., F. Abbas, D. Maria, and A. Mair. 2011. “Improved calibration functions of three capacitance probes for the measurement of soil moisture in tropical soils.” Sensors 11 (5): 4858–4874. https://doi.org/10.3390/s110504858.
Feddes, R. A., P. J. Kowalik, and H. Zaradny. 1978. Simulation of field water use and crop yield. New York: Wiley.
Forkutsa, I., R. Sommer, Y. I. Shirokova, J. P. A. Lamers, K. Kienzler, B. Tischbein, C. Martius, and P. L. G. Vlek. 2009. “Modeling irrigated cotton with shallow groundwater in the Aral Sea Basin of Uzbekistan. II: Soil salinity dynamics.” Irrig. Sci. 27 (4): 319–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-009-0149-0.
Garg, K. K., B. S. Das, M. Safeeq, and P. B. Bhadoria. 2009. “Measurement and modeling of soil water regime in a lowland paddy field showing preferential transport.” Agric. Water Manage. 96 (12): 1705–1714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.06.018.
Gassmann, M., J. Gardiol, and L. Serio. 2011. “Performance evaluation of evapotranspiration estimations in a model of soil water balance.” Meteorol. Appl. 18 (2): 211–222. https://doi.org/10.1002/met.231.
Gharibdousti, S. R. 2018. Evaluating the least cost selection of agricultural management practices in the Five-Mile Creek Area of Fort Cobb Watershed.” Accessed April 19, 2020. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2194896096.
Gillispie, E. C., T. D. Sowers, O. W. Duckworth, and M. L. Polizzotto. 2015. “Soil pollution due to irrigation with arsenic-contaminated groundwater: Current state of science.” Curr. Pollut. Rep. 1 (1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-015-0001-5.
Guzman, J. A., D. N. Moriasi, P. H. Gowda, J. L. Steiner, P. J. Starks, J. G. Arnold, and R. Srinivasan. 2015. “A model integration framework for linking SWAT and MODFLOW.” Environ. Modell. Software 73 (Nov): 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.08.011.
Hoekstra, A. Y. 2019. “Green-blue water accounting in a soil water balance.” Adv. Water Resour. 129 (Jul): 112–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2019.05.012.
Howell, T. A. 2003. “Irrigation efficiency.” In Encyclopedia of water science, edited by B. A. Stewart and T. A. Howell, 467–472. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Irmak, S., L. O. Odhiambo, W. L. Kranz, and D. E. Eisenhauer. 2011. Irrigation efficiency and uniformity, and crop water use efficiency. Lincoln, NE: Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
Jensen, M. E. 2007. “Beyond irrigation efficiency.” Irrig. Sci. 25 (3): 233–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-007-0060-5.
Jensen, M. E., and R. G. Allen. 2016. Evaporation, evapotranspiration, and irrigation water requirements. 2nd ed. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Leib, B. G., J. D. Jabro, and G. R. Matthews. 2003. “Field evaluation and performance comparison of soil moisture sensors.” Soil Sci. 168 (6): 396–408. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ss.0000075285.87447.86.
Li, K. Y., J. B. Boisvert, and R. D. Jong. 1999. “An exponential root-water-uptake model.” Can. J. Soil Sci. 79 (2): 333–343. https://doi.org/10.4141/S98-032.
Liu, H., H. Yang, J. Zheng, D. Jia, J. Wang, Y. Li, and G. Huang. 2012. “Irrigation scheduling strategies based on soil matric potential on yield and fruit quality of mulched-drip irrigated chili pepper in Northwest China.” Agric. Water Manage. 115 (Dec): 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2012.09.009.
Malakar, A., D. D. Snow, and C. Ray. 2019. “Irrigation water quality: A contemporary perspective.” Water 11 (7): 1482. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11071482.
Masasi, B., S. Taghvaeian, P. H. Gowda, G. Marek, and R. Boman. 2020. “Validation and application of AquaCrop for irrigated cotton in the southern great plains of US.” Irrig. Sci. 38 (5): 593–607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-020-00665-4.
McCann, I. R., A. Bruggeman, T. Oweis, and M. Pala. 2008. “Modification of the FAO-56 spreadsheet program for scheduling supplemental irrigation of winter crops in a Mediterranean climate.” Appl. Eng. Agric. 24 (2): 203–214. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.24269.
McPherson, R. A., C. A. Fiebrich, K. C. Crawford, J. R. Kilby, D. L. Grimsley, J. E. Martinez, J. B. Basara, B. G. Illston, D. A. Morris, and K. A. Kloesel. 2007. “Statewide monitoring of the mesoscale environment: A technical update on the Oklahoma Mesonet.” J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol. 24 (3): 301–321. https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH1976.1.
Monfort, W. S., W. Porter, J. Snider, C. Perry, and G. Vellidis. 2017. “Evaluation of new irrigation scheduling methods for peanut.” In Proc., 2017 American Society of Agronomy Southern Regional Branch Meeting. Mobile, AL: American Society of Agronomy Southern Regional Branch.
Moriasi, D. N., P. J. Starks, J. L. Steiner, X. C. Zhang, J. D. Garbrecht, and S. Glasgow. 2020. “An overview of research into conservation practice effects on soil and water resources in the Upper Washita Basin, Oklahoma, United States.” J. Soil Water Conserv. 75 (3): 330–339. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.75.3.330.
Neel, C. R., D. L. Wagner, J. S. Correll, J. E. Sanford, R. J. Hernandez, K. W. Spears, and P. B. Waltman. 2018. Hydrologic investigation report of the rush springs aquifer in West-Central Oklahoma, 2015. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
OCC (Oklahoma Conservation Commission). 2009. Fort Cobb watershed implementation project. Oklahoma City, OK: OCC.
Patil, M. D., B. S. Das, and P. B. Bhadoria. 2011. “A simple bund plugging technique for improving water productivity in wetland rice.” Soil Tillage Res. 112 (1): 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2010.11.010.
Patle, G. T., D. K. Singh, A. Sarangi, and M. Khanna. 2016. “Managing emission from groundwater pumping for irrigating major crops in Trans Indo-Gangetic Plains of India.” Clim. Change 136 (2): 265–279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1624-2.
Patrignani, A., and T. E. Ochsner. 2015. “Canopeo: A powerful new tool for measuring fractional green canopy cover.” Agron. J. 107 (6): 2312–2320. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj15.0150.
Rad, M. R., E. M. Haacker, V. Sharda, S. Nozari, Z. Xiang, A. Araya, V. Uddameri, J. F. Suter, and P. Gowda. 2020. “MOD$$AT: A hydro-economic modeling framework for aquifer management in irrigated agricultural regions.” Agric. Water Manage. 238 (Aug): 106194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106194.
Reindl, D. T., W. A. Beckman, and J. A. Duffie. 1990. “Evaluation of hourly tilted surface radiation models.” Sol. Energy 45 (1): 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(90)90061-G.
Samimi, M., A. Mirchi, D. Moriasi, S. Ahn, S. Alian, S. Taghvaeian, and Z. Sheng. 2020. “Modeling arid/semi-arid irrigated agricultural watersheds with SWAT: Applications, challenges, and solution strategies.” J. Hydrol. 590 (Nov): 125418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125418.
Schaap, M. G., F. J. Leij, and M. T. Van Genuchten. 2001. “Rosetta: A computer program for estimating soil hydraulic parameters with hierarchical pedotransfer functions.” J. Hydrol. 251 (3–4): 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00466-8.
Silva Ursulino, B., S. Maria Gico Lima Montenegro, A. Paiva Coutinho, V. Hugo Rabelo Coelho, D. Cezar dos Santos Araújo, A. Cláudia Villar Gusmão, S. Martins dos Santos Neto, L. Lassabatere, and R. Angulo-Jaramillo. 2019. “Modelling soil water dynamics from soil hydraulic parameters estimated by an alternative method in a tropical experimental basin.” Water 11 (5): 1007. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11051007.
Šimůnek, J., M. T. Van Genuchten, and M. Šejna. 2005. “The HYDRUS-1D software package for simulating the one-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated media.” Univ. Calif.-Riverside Res. Rep. 3: 1–240.
Šimůnek, J., M. T. Van Genuchten, and M. Šejna. 2012. “HYDRUS: Model use, calibration, and validation.” Trans. ASABE 55 (4): 1261–1274. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.42239.
Steiner, J. L., P. J. Starks, J. D. Garbrecht, D. N. Moriasi, X. Zhang, J. M. Schneider, J. A. Guzman, and E. Osei. 2014. “Long-term environmental research: The upper Washita River experimental watersheds, Oklahoma, USA.” J. Environ. Qual. 43 (4): 1227–1238. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2014.05.0229.
Storm, D. E., P. R. Busteed, and M. J. White. 2006. Fort Cobb basin: Modeling and land cover classification. Stillwater, OK: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Dept., Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Oklahoma State Univ.
Sun, C. K., and L. Ren. 2014. “Assessing crop yield and crop water productivity and optimizing irrigation scheduling of winter wheat and summer maize in the Haihe plain using SWAT model.” Hydrol. Processes 28 (4): 2478–2498. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9759.
Sutherland, A., J. D. Carlson, and M. Kizer. 2005. “Evapotranspiration product description.” In Oklahoma Mesonet. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma State Univ., Univ. of Oklahoma.
Taghvaeian, S., A. A. Andales, L. N. Allen, I. Kisekka, S. A. O’Shaughnessy, D. O. Porter, R. Sui, S. Irmak, A. Fulton, and J. Aguilar. 2020. “Irrigation scheduling for agriculture in the United States: The progress made and the path forward.” Trans. ASABE 63 (5): 1603–1618. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14110.
Taghvaeian, S., C. M. U. Neale, J. C. Osterberg, S. I. Sritharan, and D. R. Watts. 2018. “Remote sensing and GIS techniques for assessing irrigation performance: Case study in Southern California.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng. 144 (6): 05018002. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001306.
Tanaka, H. H., and L. V. Davis. 1963. Ground water: Rush springs sandstone. Norman, OK: Oklahoma Geological Survey.
Thorp, K. R., D. J. Hunsaker, K. F. Bronson, P. Andrade-Sanchez, and E. M. Barnes. 2017. “Cotton irrigation scheduling using a crop growth model and FAO-56 methods: Field and simulation studies.” Trans. ASABE 60 (6): 2023–2039. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.12323.
Triana, J. S. A., M. L. Chu, J. A. Guzman, D. N. Moriasi, and J. L. Steiner. 2019. “Beyond model metrics: The perils of calibrating hydrologic models.” J. Hydrol. 578 (Nov): 124032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124032.
Triana, J. S. A., M. L. Chu, J. A. Guzman, D. N. Moriasi, and J. L. Steiner. 2020. “Evaluating the risks of groundwater extraction in an agricultural landscape under different climate projections.” Water 12 (2): 400. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020400.
Üzen, N., Ö. Çetin, and R. Yolcu. 2018. “Possibilities of using dual Kc approach in predicting crop evapotranspiration of second-crop silage maize.” Turk. J. Agric. For. 42 (4): 272–280. https://doi.org/10.3906/tar-1712-10.
Vazifedoust, M., J. C. van Dam, R. A. Feddes, and M. Feizi. 2008. “Increasing water productivity of irrigated crops under limited water supply at field scale.” Agric. Water Manage. 95 (2): 89–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2007.09.007.
Ventrella, D., M. Castellini, S. Di Prima, P. Garofalo, and L. Lassabatère. 2019. “Assessment of the physically-based hydrus-1D model for simulating the water fluxes of a Mediterranean cropping system.” Water 11 (8): 1657. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081657.
Yalcin, E. 2019. “Estimation of irrigation return flow on monthly time resolution using SWAT model under limited data availability.” Hydrol. Sci. J. 64 (13): 1588–1604. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2019.1662025.
Zeng, R., and X. Cai. 2014. “Analyzing streamflow changes: Irrigation-enhanced interaction between aquifer and streamflow in the Republican River basin.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 18 (2): 493–502. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-493-2014.
Zhang, Y., W. Zhao, and L. Fu. 2017. “Soil macropore characteristics following conversion of native desert soils to irrigated croplands in a Desert-oasis Ecotone, Northwest China.” Soil Tillage Res. 168 (May): 176–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.01.004.
Zhang, Y., W. Zhao, J. He, and L. Fu. 2018. “Soil susceptibility to macropore flow across a desert-oasis ecotone of the Hexi Corridor, Northwest China.” Water Resour. Res. 54 (2): 1281–1294. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021462.
Zhang, Y., W. Zhao, T. E. Ochsner, B. M. Wyatt, H. Liu, and Q. Yang. 2019. “Estimating deep drainage using deep soil moisture data under young irrigated cropland in a Desert-Oasis Ecotone, Northwest China.” Vadose Zone J. 18 (1): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.10.0189.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 7 • July 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 31, 2020
Accepted: Jan 30, 2021
Published online: Apr 30, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Sep 30, 2021
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.