Impact of Initial Soil Conditions on Soil Hydrothermal and Surface Energy Fluxes in the Permafrost Region of the Tibetan Plateau

Accurate initial soil conditions play a crucial role in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes in land surface process modeling.This study emphasized the influence of the initial soil temperature(ST)and soil moisture(SM)conditions on a land surface energy and water simulation in the permafrost region in the Tibetan Plateau(TP)using the Community Land Model version 5.0(CLM5.0).The results indicate that the default initial schemes for ST and SM in CLM5.0 were simplistic,and inaccurately represented the soil characteristics of permafrost in the TP which led to underestimating ST during the freezing period while overestimating ST and underestimating SLW during the thawing period at the XDT site.Applying the long-term spin-up method to obtain initial soil conditions has only led to limited improvement in simulating soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.The modified initial soil schemes proposed in this study comprehensively incorporate the characteristics of permafrost,which coexists with soil liquid water(SLW),and soil ice(SI)when the ST is below freezing temperature,effectively enhancing the accuracy of the simulated soil hydrothermal and surface energy fluxes.Consequently,the modified initial soil schemes greatly improved upon the results achieved through the long-term spin-up method.Three modified initial soil schemes experiments resulted in a 64%,88%,and 77%reduction in the average mean bias error(MBE)of ST,and a 13%,21%,and 19%reduction in the average root-mean-square error(RMSE)of SLW compared to the default simulation results.Also,the average MBE of net radiation was reduced by 7%,22%,and 21%.

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.

Effect of mulching with maize straw on water infiltration and soil loss at different initial soil moistures in a rainfall simulation

Mulching and soil water content(SWC) have a significant impact on soil erosion,and this study investigated the effect of straw mulching on water infiltration and soil loss under different initial SWC treatments in a rainfall simulation experiment conducted in northern China.Increasing initial SWC can decrease soil infiltration and increase soil loss.During an 80 mm rainfall event(80 mm·h–1for 60 min),8%,12% and 16% initial SWC treatments decreased cumulative infiltration by8.7%,42.5% and 58.1%,and increased total sediment yield by 44,146 and 315 g,respectively,compared to 4%initial SWC.However,in all the straw mulching treatments,there was no significant difference in stable infiltration rate between the different initial SWC treatments.For all initial SWC treatments,straw mulching of30% or more significantly enhanced water infiltration by over 31% and reduced soil loss by over 49%,compared to the unmulched treatment.Taking into consideration the performance of no-till planters,a maize straw mulching rate of 30% to 60%(1400–3100 kg·hm–2) is recommended for the conservation of water and soil in northern China.

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.

Emitter discharge characteristics of vertical tube irrigation affected by various factors

To examine the working principle of vertical tube irrigation, variations in vertical tube emitter discharge and their causes were analyzed in the laboratory experiment. The effects of the pressure head, initial soil water content, and tube diameter on the emitter discharge of the vertical tube were studied. The results show that quantitative relationship between the time and cumulative infiltration and emitter discharge of the vertical tube is obtained, and R 2 is more than 0.98. Emitter discharge exhibits a positive and negative correlation with the pressure head and soil water content, respectively. Tube dia- meter has a nonsignificant effect on the emitter discharge. Changes of the soil water content around the emitter water outlet are the main causes of emitter discharge variations. In the experiments, the range of vertical tube emitter discharge is 0.056-1.102 L/h. The emitter of vertical tube irrigation automatically adjusts the soil water content and maintains the root zone soil water content within an appropriate range, which achieves continuous irrigation, and further achieves the effect of water-saving.