Effect of Mulch on Soil Moisture, Temperature and Heat Flux Variation in the Presence of Shallow Groundwater

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student, Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of soil science, Faculty of Agriculture , Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Improving water efficiency in arid and semi-arid regions is an ongoing goal in agricultural production. Mulching is one of the important agronomic practices in conserving and modifying the soil physical environment. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of mulch cover on soil temperature and water content in two sandy and loamy soil textures in the presence of shallow groundwater (60 cm). A factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three factors (mulch, depth and soil texture). For this purpose, soil moisture content and temperature at different depths of 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 cm were measured over 90 days. Soil heat flux was also calculated in this period. The results showed that the effect of mulch cover on soil moisture and temperature distribution in both soils was significant at 1% level with retaining a moisture content of 20-25% in surface layer (5 cm). These could be attributed to the role of mulch cover on shaping temperature equilibrium in soil profiles and reduction of surface evaporation. The interaction between the mulch and soil texture on soil temperature profile was also remarkable (p<0.01). Daily temperature fluctuations in the surface layer of loamy soil with and without mulch cover were measured 11 and 17.5 °C, and in the sandy soil, 14 and 18.5°C, respectively. Total heat flux in the 5-10 cm layer of loamy soil with mulch was approximately 40% less in comparison with the bare soil highlighting the effect of mulch cover on alternation of soil surface energy balance especially during daytime.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Acharya, C.L, Hati, K.M, Bandopadhyay, K. K (2005) Mulches In: Hillel et al. Encyclopedia of Soils: in the Environment: Elsevier publication. 4, 521-532.
Akhtar, K, Wang, W., Khan, A., Ren, G., Afridi, M.Z., Feng, Y. (2019). Wheat straw mulching offset soil moisture deficient for improving physiological and growth performance of summer sown soybean. Agricultural Water Management, 211 (1), 16-25.
Aminzadeh, M., Or, D. 2014. Energy partitioning dynamics of drying terrestrial surfaces. Journal of Hydrology, 519, 1257-1270.
Arora, V.K., Singh, C.B., Sidhu, A.S., Thind, S.S. (2011). Irrigation, tillage and mulching effects on soybean yield and water productivity in relation to soil texture. Agricultural Water Management. 98, 563–568.
Ashrafuzzaman, M., Abdulhamid, M., Ismail, M.R., Sahidullah, S.M., (2011). Effect of plastic and straw mulch on growth and yield of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 54, 321–330.
Cass A, Campbell, G.S, Jones, T.L, (1987). Enhancement of thermal water vapor diffusion in soil. Soil Science Society American Journal, 48(1): 25–32.
Cahill, A.T., Parlange, M., (1998). On water vapor transport in field soils. Water Resources Research. 34(4), 731-739.
Chakraborty, D., Nagarajan, S., Aggarwal, P., Gupta, V.K., Tomar, R.K., Garg, R.N., Sahoo, R.N., Sarkar, A., Chopra, U.K., Sarma, K.S.S., Kalra, N., (2008). Effect of mulching on soil and plant water status, and the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a semi-arid environment. Agriculture Water Management. 95, 1323–1334.
Chen, Y., Chai, S., Tian, H., Chai, H., Li, Y., Cheng, L., Cheng, H. (2019). Straw strips mulch on furrows improves water use efficiency and yield of potato in a rain fed semiarid area. Agricultural Water Management, 211(1), 142-151.
Chung S O, Horton, R. (1987). Soil heat and water flow with a partial surface mulch. Water Resource Research, 23(12), 2175–2186.
Deb, S. K., Shukla, M. K, Sharma P, Mexal J .G, (2011). Coupled liquid water, water vapor, and heat transport simulations in an unsaturated zone of a sandy loam field. Soil Science, 176(8), 387–398.
Gowing, J.W., Rose, D.A., and Ghamarnia, H. 2009. The effect of salinity on water productivity of wheat under deficit irrigation above shallow ground water. Agricultural Water Management. 96(3): 517-524.
Grifoll, J., Gasto, J. M., Cohen, Y. (2005). Non-isothermal soil water transport and evaporation. Advanced Water Resource, 28, 1254–1266.
Gyssels, G., Poesen, J., Bochet, E., Li., Y, (2005). Impact of plant roots on the resistance of soils to erosion by water: a review, Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment. 29, 189–217.
Holmes, T.R., Owe, M., De Jue, R.A., Kooi, H, (2008). Estimating the soil temperature profile from a single depth observation: A simple empirical heat flow solution. Water resource research. 44(2), 13-29.
Ibarra, L., Valdez, L.A., Cárdenas, A., Lira, H., Lozano, J., Lozano, C, (2012). Influence of double cropping on growth and yield of dry beans with colored plastic mulches. Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research, 72(2), 470–475.
Kader, M.A., Senge, M., mojid, M. (2017). Mulching type-induced soil moisture and temperature regimes and water use efficiency of soybean under rain-fed condition in central Japan. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 5(4), 302-308.
Kamal, S and Singh, A.K. (2011), Effect of black plastic mulch on soil temperature and tomato yield, Progressive Horticulture, 43(2), 337-339.
Karimi, Gh. and Naseri, A. (2012). Effect of Groundwater Salinity on Maize Water Requirements and Yield. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 13(1), 13-44. (In Farsi).
Khuzestan Meteorological Organization, (2018). Technical Meteorological Newsletter. (In Farsi).
Lal, R., (1974). Soil temperature, soil moisture and maize yield from mulched and un-mulched tropical soils, Plant and Soil, 40, 129–143.
Lamont, W.J., (1993). Plastic mulches for the production of vegetable crops. Hort Technology 3, 35–39.
Li, X.Y., Gong, J.D., Wei, X.H., (2000). In-situ rainwater harvesting and gravel mulch combination for corn production in the dry semi-arid region of China. Journal of Arid Environment. 46, 371–382.
Li, S.X., Wang, Z.H., Li, S.Q., Gao, Y.J., Tian, X.H. (2013): Effect of plastic sheet mulch, wheat straw mulch, and maize growth on water loss by evaporation in dry land areas of China. Agricultural Water Management, 116, 39–49.
Lu, S., Ren, T., Yu, Z., Horton, R. (2011). A method to estimate the water vapour enhancement factor in soil. European Journal of Soil Science, 62(4), 498–504.
Mahdavi, S.M., Neyshabouri, M.R., Fujimaki, H., Heris, A.M. (2017). Coupled heat and moisture transfer and evaporation in mulched soils. Catena 151, 34–48.
McMillen, M., (2013). The Effect of Mulch Type and Thickness on the Soil Surface Evaporation Rate. California Polytechnic State University, USA.
Mengistu, A.G., van Rensburg, L.D., Mavimbela, S.W., (2018). Shallow groundwater effects on evaporation and soil temperature in two windblown sands (Eutric Cambisol and Chromic Luvisol) in South Africa. Geoderma Regional, 15, e00190.
Montague, T., and Kjelgren, R. (2004). Energy balance of six common landscape surfaces and the influence of surface properties on gas exchange of four containerized species. Scientia Horticulture 100, 229–249.
Najafi-Mood, M.H., Alizadeh, A., Mohamadian, A., and Mousavi, J. (2008). Investigation of relationship between air and soil temperature at different depths and estimation of the freezing depth (Case study: Khorasan Razavi), Journal of Water and Soil. 22, 456-466. (In Farsi).
Nassar, I.N. and R. Horton. (1999). Heat, water, and solute transfer in unsaturated porous media: I. Theory development and transport coefficient evaluation. Transport in Porous Media, 27, 39-55.
Novak, M.D, (2010). Dynamics of the near-surface evaporation zone and corresponding effects on the surface energy balance of a drying bare soil. Agricultural and forest Meteorology, 150(10), 1358–1365.
Pramanik, P, Bandyopadhyay, K, Bhaduri, D. Bhattacharyya, R, (2015). Effect of mulch on soil thermal regimes-a review, International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology, 8(3), 667-681.
Philip, J.R and de Vries, D. A., (1957). Moisture Movement in Porous Materials under Temperature Gradients, Eos Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 39(5), 909-916.
Ramezani moghadam, J.,  Naseri, A., Hooshmand, A., Meskar bashi, M. (2016). Lysimeter Study to Evaluate the Effects of Water Stress and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Maize in the Shallow Ground Water. Journal of Irrigation Sciences and Engineering (JISE). 39(3), 1-11(in Farsi).
Rasoulzadeh, A.S. and Rauof, M. (2013). General irrigation. Iran. (In Persian).
Ruzic, I., Bulic, H.I. (2014). Influence of soil moisture and dynamic vegetation coupling on numerical simulations of surface temperature, precipitation and evaporation over the Europe. Original scientific paper. 51(5), 55-74.
TishehZan, P. (2011). Root zone salinity change investigation under water table and mulch for establishment date palm. Ph.D. dissertation, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. (In Farsi).
Van Genuchten, M.Th. 1980. A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Science Society of American Journal. 44,892–898.
Wu, Y., Huang, F., Zhang, C., Jia, Z. (2016). Effects of different mulching patterns on soil moisture, temperature, and maize yield in a semiarid region of the Loess Plateau, China. Arid Land Research and Management.30 (4), 490-504.
Zhao, H., Wang, R.Y., Ma, B.L., Xiong, Y.C., Qiang, S.C., Wang, C.L., (2014). Ridge-furrow with full plastic film mulching improves water use efficiency and tuber yields of potato in a semiarid rain-fed ecosystem. Field Crop Research. 161, 137–148.