Water and heat transport in hilly red soil of southern China:I. Experiment and analysis

Studies on coupled transfer of soil moisture and heat have been widely carried out for decades. However, little work has been done on red soils, widespread in southern China. The simultaneous transfer of soil moisture and heat depends on soil physical properties and the climate conditions. Red soil is heavy clay and high content of free iron and aluminum oxide. The climate conditions are characterized by the clear four seasons and the serious seasonal drought. The great annual and diurnal air temperature differences result in significant fluctuation in soil temperature in top layer. The closed and evaporating columns experiments with red soil were conducted to simulate the coupled transfer of soil water and heat under the overlaying and opening fields’ conditions, and to analyze the effects of soil temperature gradient on the water transfer and the effects of initial soil water contents on the transfer of soil water and heat. The closed and evaporating columns were designed similarly with about 18 °C temperatures differences between the top and bottom boundary, except of the upper end closed or exposed to the air, respectively. Results showed that in the closed column, water moved towards the cold end driven by temperature gradient, while the transported water decreased with the increasing initial soil water content until the initial soil water content reached to field capacity equivalent, when almost no changes for the soil moisture profile. In the evaporating column, the net transport of soil water was simultaneously driven by evaporation and temperature gradients, and the drier soil was more influenced by temperature gradient than by evapo- ration. In drier soil, it took a longer time for the temperature to reach equilibrium, because of more net amount of transported water.

Effects of initial soil moisture content on soil water and nitrogen transport under muddy water film hole infiltration

Film hole irrigation has been widely adopted as an effective water-saving irrigation technology in the arid and semiarid areas of China.To investigate the effects of initial soil moisture content(θ0)on soil water and nitrogen transport characteristics under muddy water film hole infiltration,the laboratory experiments were conducted with muddy water film hole infiltration,using five initial soil moisture content treatments.The models for describing the relationships between the cumulative infiltration(I(t))and infiltration duration(t);the relationship among the horizontal and vertical migration distances of the wetting front(Fx,Fz),θ0 and t,were established.The results showed that the initial soil moisture content had a significant effect on I(t),Fx,Fz and moisture content distribution in the wetted body.The change of I(t)over t conformed to Kostiakov model.With the increase ofθ0,the infiltration coefficient(K)gradually decreased.NO-3-N was mainly distributed in the range of the wetting radius of 15 cm,while NH+4-N was mainly distributed in the range of the wetting radius of 8 cm.This study can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for film hole irrigation.