A study of the soil water potential threshold values to trigger irrigation of ‘Shimizu Hakuto’ peach at pivotal fruit developmental stages

Water management is an important practice that affects fruit size and quality.Effective implementation of irrigation scheduling requires knowledge of the appropriate indicators and thresholds,which are established manly based on the effects of water deficits on final fruit quality.Few studies have focused on the real-time effects of water status on fruit and shoot growth.To establish soil water potential (ψ_(soil)) thresholds to trigger irrigation of peach at pivotal fruit developmental stages,photogrammetry,^(13)C labelling,and other techniques were used in this study to investigate real-time changes in stem diameter,fruit projected area,net leaf photosynthetic rate (P_(n)),and allocation of photoassimilates to fruit under soil water potential conditions ranging from saturation to stress in 6-year-old Shimizu hakuto’peach.Stem growth,fruit growth,and P_n exhibited gradually decreasing sensitivity to water deficits during fruit developmental stages I,II,and III.Stem diameter growth was significantly inhibited whenψ_(soil)dropped to-8.5,-7.6,and-5.4 k Pa,respectively.Fruit growth rate was low,reaching zero when theψ_(soil)was-9.0 to-23.1,-14.9 to-21.4,and-16.5 to-23.3 k Pa,respectively,and P_ndecreased significantly when theψ_(soil)reached-24.2,-22.7,and-20.4 kPa,respectively.In addition,more photoassimilates were allocated to fruit under moderateψ_(soil)conditions (-10.1 to-17.0 k Pa) than under otherψ_(soil)values.Our results revealed threeψ_(soil)thresholds,-10.0,-15.0,and-15.0 kPa,suitable for triggering irrigation during stages I,II,and III,respectively.These thresholds can be helpful for controlling excessive tree vigor,maintaining rapid fruit growth and leaf photosynthesis,and promoting the allocation of more photoassimilates to fruit.

Characteristics of In-Situ Soil Water Hysteresis Observed through Multiple-Years Monitoring

A soil water retention curve (SWRC) is an essential soil physical property for analyzing transport and retention of water in a soil layer. A SWRC is often described as a single-valued function that relates the soil water potential ψ to volumetric water content θ of the soil. However, an in-situ ψ − θ relation should show soil water hysteresis, though this fact is often neglected in analyses of field soil water regimes while long-term in-situ soil water hysteresis is not well characterized. This study aimed at probing and characterizing in-situ ψ − θ relations. The developments of large hysteresis in the in-situ ψ − θ relations were observed only a few times during the study period of 82 months. Any of the large hysteretic behaviors in the ψ − θ relations began with an unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. The completion of a hysteresis loop required a recorded maximum rainfall. Because the study field had very small chances to meet such strong rainfall events, it took multiple years to restore the fraction of soil water depleted by the unusually strong continual reduction in ψ. While wetting-drying cycles had occurred within a certain domain of ψ, hysteretic behaviors tended to be so small that the in-situ ψ − θ relation can be approximated as a single-valued function of θ(ψ). These observed patterns of the in-situ ψ − θ relations were characterized by kinds of difference in dθ/dψ between a drying process and a wetting process at a given ψ. Thus, more amounts of experimental facts about wetting SWRCs in parallel with drying SWRCs should be needed for correct modelling, analyzing, and predicting soil water regimes in fields. It is also necessary to increase our understandings about the long-term trends of occurrences of extreme weather conditions associated with possible change in climate.

Combination of effective color information and machine learning for rapid prediction of soil water content

Soil water content(SWC)is one of the critical indicators in various fields such as geotechnical engineering and agriculture.To avoid the time-consuming,destructive,and laborious drawbacks of conventional SWC measurements,the image-based SWC prediction is considered based on recent advances in quantitative soil color analysis.In this study,a promising method based on the Gaussian-fitting gray histogram is proposed for extracting characteristic parameters by analyzing soil images,aiming to alleviate the interference of complex surface conditions with color information extraction.In addition,an identity matrix consisting of 32 characteristic parameters from eight color spaces is constituted to describe the multi-dimensional information of the soil images.Meanwhile,a subset of 10 parameters is identified through three variable analytical methods.Then,four machine learning models for SWC prediction based on partial least squares regression(PLSR),random forest(RF),support vector machines regression(SVMR),and Gaussian process regression(GPR),are established using 32 and 10 characteristic parameters,and their performance is compared.The results show that the characteristic parameters obtained by Gaussian-fitting can effectively reduce the interference from soil surface conditions.The RGB,CIEXYZ,and CIELCH color spaces and lightness parameters,as the inputs,are more suitable for the SWC prediction models.Furthermore,it is found that 10 parameters could also serve as optimal and generalizable predictors without considerably reducing prediction accuracy,and the GPR model has the best prediction performance(R^(2)≥0.95,RMSE≤2.01%,RPD≥4.95,and RPIQ≥6.37).The proposed image-based SWC predictive models combined with effective color information and machine learning can achieve a transient and highly precise SWC prediction,providing valuable insights for mapping soil moisture fields.

SimET: An open-source tool for estimating crop evapotranspiration and soil water balance for plants with multiple growth cycles

Accurate estimation of crop evapotranspiration(ETc) and soil water balance, which is vital for optimizing water management strategy in crop production, can be performed by simulation. But existing software has many deficiencies, including complex operation, limited scalability, lack of batch processing, and a single ETc model. Here we present simET, an open-source software package written in the R programming language. Many concepts involved in crop ETc simulation are condensed into functions in the package. It includes three widely used crop ETc models built on these functions: the single-crop coefficient,double-crop coefficient, and Shuttleworth–Wallace models, along with tools for preparing model data and comparing estimates. SimET supports ETc simulation in crops with repeated growth cycles such as alfalfa, a perennial forage crop that is cut multiple times annually.

Biocrust-induced partitioning of soil water between grass and shrub in a desert steppe of Northwest China

Maintaining the stability of exotic sand-binding shrub has become a large challenge in arid and semi-arid grassland ecosystems in northern China.We investigated two kinds of shrublands with different BSCs(biological soil crusts)cover in desert steppe in Northwest China to characterize the water sources of shrub(Caragana intermedia Kuang et H.C.Fu)and grass(Artemisia scoparia Waldst.et Kit.)by stable 18O isotopic.Our results showed that both shrublands were subject to persistent soil water deficiency from 2012 to 2017,the minimum soil depth with CV(coefficient of variation)<15% and SWC(soil water content)<6% was 1.4 m in shrubland with open areas lacking obvious BSC cover,and 0.8 m in shrubland covered by mature BSCs.For C.intermedia,a considerable proportion of water sources pointed to the surface soil.Water from BSCs contributed to averages 22.9%and 17.6%of the total for C.intermedia and A.scoparia,respectively.C.intermedia might use more water from BSCs in rainy season than dry season,in contrast to A.scoparia.The relationship between shrub(or grass)and soil water by δ^(18)O shown significant differences in months,which partly verified the potential trends and relations covered by the high variability of the water source at seasonal scale.More fine roots at 0-5 cm soil layer could be found in the surface soil layer covered by BSCs(8000 cm/m^(3))than without BSCs(3200 cm/m^(3)),which ensured the possibility of using the surface soil water by C.intermedia.The result implies that even under serious soil water deficiency,C.intermedia can use the surface soil water,leading to the coexistence between C.intermedia and A.scoparia.Different with the result from BSCs in desert areas,the natural withdrawal of artificial C.intermedia from desert steppe will be a long-term process,and the highly competitive relationship between shrubs and grasses also determines that its habitat will be maintained in serious drought state for a long time.

Performance evaluation of CLM5.0 in simulating liquid soil water in high mountainous area,Northwest China

The model performance in simulating soil water content(SWC) is crucial for successfully modeling earth’s system,especially in high mountainous areas.In this study,the performance of Community Land Model 5.0(CLM5.0) in simulating liquid SWC was evaluated against observations from nine in-situ sites in the upper reach of the Heihe River Watershed(HRW),Northwest China.The CLM5.0 shows reliable performance in the study area with correlation coefficients(R) ranging between 0.79–0.93,root mean standard errors(RMSE)ranging between 0.044–0.097 m^(3)/m^(3),and the mean bias(BIAS) ranging between-0.084–0.061 m^(3)/m^(3).The slightly worse performance of CLM5.0 than CLM4.5 on alpine meadow and grassland is mainly caused by the revised canopy interception parameterization.The CLM5.0 overestimates interception and underestimates evapotranspiration(ET) on both alpine meadow and grassland during the growth period.The systematical overestimations at all the grassland sites indicate that the underestimation of ET is much larger than the overestimation of interception on grassland during growth period,while the errors of simulated interception and ET are partially canceled out on alpine meadow.Moreover,the underestimation of ET is more responsible for the overestimation of SWC than the overestimation of interception in the high mountainous area.It is necessary to estimate reasonable empirical parameter α(proportion of leaf water collection area) in interception parameterization scheme and further improve the dry surface layerbased soil evaporation resistance parameterization introduced in CLM5.0 in future researches.The performance of CLM5.0 is better under completely frozen stage than thawing stage and freezing stage,because of low variations of liquid SWC caused by extremely low hydraulic conductivity of soils.The underestimation of liquid SWC under frozen state is caused by underestimation of soil temperature,which leads to more ice mass and less liquid water in total water content.

Distribution of available soil water capacity in China

The available soil water capacity (ASWC) is important for studying crop production, agro-ecological zoning, irrigation planning, and land cover changes. Laboratory determined data of ASWC are often not available for most of soil profiles and the nationwide ASWC largely remains lacking in relevant soil data in China. This work was to estimate ASWC based on physical and chemical properties and analyze the spatial distribution of ASWC in China. The pedo-transfer functions (PTFs), derived from 220 survey data of ASWC, and the empirical data of ASWC based on soil texture were applied to quantify the ASWC. GIS technology was used to develop a spatial file of ASWC in China and the spatial distribution of ASWC was also analyzed. The results showed the value of ASWC ranges from 15 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3 to 22 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3 for most soil types, and few soil types are lower than 15 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3 or higher than 22 × 10-2 cm3·cm-3. The ASWC is different according to the complex soil types and their distribution. It is higher in the east than that in the west, and the values reduce from south to north except the northeastern part of China. The "high" values of ASWC appear in southeast, northeastern mountain regions and Northeast China Plain. The relatively "high" values of ASWC appear in Sichuan basin, Huang-Huai-Hai plain and the east of Inner Mongolia. The relatively "low" values are distributed in the west and the Loess Plateau of China. The "very low" value regions are the northern Tibetan Plateau and the desertified areas in northern China. In some regions, the ASWC changes according to the complex topography and different types of soils. Though there remains precision limitation, the spatial data of ASWC derived from this study are improved on current data files of soil water retention properties for Chinese soils. This study presents basic data and analysis methods for estimation and evaluation of ASWC in China.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improved plant growth and nutrient acquisition of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta under variable soil water conditions

Desert ephemeral plants play an important role in desert ecosystem.Soil water availability is considered as the major restrictive factor limiting the growth of ephemeral plants.Moreover,arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi（AM fungi） are widely reported to improve the growth of desert ephemerals.The present study aimed to test the hypothesis of that AM fungi could alleviate drought stress of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta,and AM fungal functions reduced with the improvement of soil water content.A pot experiment was carried out with three levels of soil water contents（4.5%,9.0%,and 15.8%（w/w））,and three AM inoculation treatments（Glomus mosseae,Glomus etunicatum and non-inoculation）.The results indicate that mycorrhizal colonization rate decreased with the increase of soil water availability.Inoculation improved plant growth and N,P and K acquisition in both shoots and roots regardless water treatments.When comparing the two fungi,plants inoculated with G.mosseae performed better than those inoculated with G.etunicatum in terms of plant growth and nutrient acquisition.These results showed that ameliorative soil water did not suppress arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal functions in improving growth and nutrient acquisition of desert ephemeral Plantago minuta.

Application of Mulching Materials of Rainfall Harvesting System for Improving Soil Water and Corn Growth in Northwest of China

The ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting（RFRH） system is used for dryland crop production in northwest of China.To determine the effects of RFRH using different mulching materials on corn growth and water use efficiency（WUE）,a field experiment was conducted during 2008-2010 at the Heyang Dryland Experimental Station,China.Four treatments were used in the study.Furrows received uncovered mulching in all RFRH treatments whereas ridges were mulched with plastic film（PF）,biodegradable film（BF） or liquid film（LF）.A conventional flat field without mulching was used as the control（CK）.The results indicated that the average soil water storage at depths of 0-200 cm were 8.2 and 7.3%,respectively higher with PF and BF than with CK.However,LF improved soil water storage during the early growth stage of the crop.Compared with CK,the corn yields with PF and BF were increased by 20.4 and 19.4%,respectively,and WUE with each treatment increased by 23.3 and 21.7%,respectively.There were no significant differences in corn yield or WUE with the PF and BF treatments.The net income was the highest with PF,followed by BF,and the 3-yr average net incomes with these treatments were increased by 2 559 and 2 430 CNY ha-1,respectively,compared with CK.BF and PF had similar effects in enhancing the soil water content,crop yield and net income.Therefore,it can be concluded that biodegradable film may be a sustainable ecological alternative to plastic film for use in the RFRH system in northwest of China.

Root length density distribution and associated soil water dynamics for tomato plants under furrow irrigation in a solar greenhouse

Furrow irrigation is a traditional widely-used irrigation method in the world. Understanding the dynamics of soil water distribution is essential to developing effective furrow irrigation strategies, especially in water-limited regions. The objectives of this study are to analyze root length density distribution and to explore soil water dynamics by simulating soil water content using a HYDRUS-2D model with consideration of root water uptake for furrow irrigated tomato plants in a solar greenhouse in Northwest China. Soil water contents were also in-situ observed by the ECH_2O sensors from 4 June to 19 June and from 21 June to 4 July, 2012. Results showed that the root length density of tomato plants was concentrated in the 0–50 cm soil layers, and radiated 0–18 cm toward the furrow and 0–30 cm along the bed axis. Soil water content values simulated by the HYDRUS-2D model agreed well with those observed by the ECH_2O sensors, with regression coefficient of 0.988, coefficient of determination of 0.89, and index of agreement of 0.97. The HYDRUS-2D model with the calibrated parameters was then applied to explore the optimal irrigation scheduling. Infrequent irrigation with a large amount of water for each irrigation event could result in 10%–18% of the irrigation water losses. Thus we recommend high irrigation frequency with a low amount of water for each irrigation event in greenhouses for arid region. The maximum high irrigation amount and the suitable irrigation interval required to avoid plant water stress and drainage water were 34 mm and 6 days, respectively, for given daily average transpiration rate of 4.0 mm/d. To sum up, the HYDRUS-2D model with consideration of root water uptake can be used to improve irrigation scheduling for furrow irrigated tomato plants in greenhouses in arid regions.

Response of plant physiological parameters to soil water availability during prolonged drought is affected by soil texture

Soil water deficit is increasingly threatening the sustainable vegetation restoration and ecological construction on the Loess Plateau of China due to the climate warming and human activities.To determine the response thresholds of Amygdalus pedunculata(AP)and Salix psammophila(SP)to soil water availability under different textural soils,we measured the changes in net photosynthetic rate(Pn),stomatal conductance(Gs),intercellular CO2 concentration(Ci),leaf water potential(ψw),water use efficiency(WUE)and daily transpiration rate(Td)of the two plant species during soil water content(SWC)decreased from 100%field capacity(FC)to 20%FC in the sandy and loamy soils on the Loess Plateau in the growing season from June to August in 2018.Results showed that Pn,Gs,WUE and Td of AP and SP remained relatively constant at the beginning of soil water deficit but decreased rapidly as plant available soil water content(PASWC)fell below the threshold values in both the sandy and loamy soils.The PASWC thresholds corresponding to Pn,Gs and Ci of AP in the loamy soil(0.61,0.62 and 0.70,respectively)were lower than those in the sandy soil(0.70,0.63 and 0.75,respectively),whereas the PASWC thresholds corresponding to Pn,Gs and Ci of SP in the loamy soil(0.63,0.68 and 0.78,respectively)were higher than those in the sandy soil(0.58,0.62 and 0.66,respectively).In addition,the PASWC thresholds in relation to Td and WUE of AP(0.60 and 0.58,respectively)and SP(0.62 and 0.60,respectively)in the loamy soil were higher than the corresponding PASWC thresholds of AP(0.58 and 0.52,respectively)and SP(0.55 and 0.56,respectively)in the sandy soil.Furthermore,the PASWC thresholds for the instantaneous gas exchange parameters(e.g.,Pn and Gs)at the transient scale were higher than the thresholds for the parameters(e.g.,Td)at the daily scale.Our study demonstrates that different plant species and/or different physiological parameters exhibit different thresholds of PASWC and that the thresholds are affected by soil texture.The result can provide guidance for the rational allocation and sustainable management of reforestation species under different soil conditions in the loess regions.

Effect of vegetation on soil water retention and storage in a semi-arid alpine forest catchment

The runoff generated from mountainous regions is recognized as the main water source for inland river basins in arid environments. Thus, the mechanisms by which catchments retain water in soils are to be understood. The water storage capacity of soil depends on its depth and capacity to retain water under gravita- tional drainage and evapotranspiration. The latter can be studied through soil water retention curve （SWRC）, which is closely related to soil properties such as texture, bulk density, porosity, soil organic carbon conteMt, and so on. The present study represented SWRCs using HYDRUS-1D. In the present study, we measured pl^ysical and hydraulic properties of soil samples collected from Sabina przewalskii forest （south-facing slope with highest solar radiation）, shrubs （west-facing slope with medium radiation）, and Picea crassifolia forest （north-facing slope with lowest radiation）, and analyzed the differences in soil water storage capacity of these soil samples. Soil water content of those three vegetation covers were also measured to validate the soil water storage capacity and to analyze the relationship between soil organic matter content and soil water content. Statistical analysis showed that different vegetation covers could lead to different soil bulk densities and differences in soil water retention on the three slope aspects. Sand content, porosity, and organic carbon content of the P. crassifolia forest were rela- tively greater compared with those of the S. przewalskii forest and shrubs. However, silt content and soil bulk density were relatively smaller than those in the S. przewalskii forest and shrubs. In addition, there was a sig- nificant linear positive relationship between averaged soil water content and soil organic matter content （P〈0.0001）. However, this relationship is not significant in the P. crassifolia forest. As depicted in the SWRCs, the water storage capacity of the soil was 39.14% and 37.38% higher in the P. crassifolia forest than in the S. przewalskii forest and shrubs, respectively, at a similar soil depth.

Grain yield and water use efficiency of super rice under soil water deficit and alternate wetting and drying irrigation

This study investigated if super rice could better cope with soil water deficit and if it could have better yield performance and water use efficiency （WUE） under alternate wetting and drying （AWD） irrigation than check rice. Two super rice cultivars and two elite check rice cultivars were grown in pots with three soil moisture levels, well watered （WW）, moderate water deficit （MWD） and severe water deficit （SWD）. Two cultivars, each for super rice and check rice, were grown in field with three irrigation regimes, alternate wetting and moderate drying （AWMD）, alternate wetting and severe drying （AWSD） and conventional irrigation （CI）. Compared with that under WW, grain yield was significantly decreased under MWD and SWD treatments, with less reduction for super rice than for check rice. Super rice had higher percentage of productive tillers, deeper root distribution, higher root oxidation activity, and greater aboveground biomass production at mid and late growth stages than check rice, especially under WMD and WSD. Compared with CI,AWMD increased, whereasAWSD decreased grain yield, with more increase or less decrease for super rice than for check rice. Both MWD and SWD treatments and eitherAWMD orAWSD regime significantly increased WUE compared with WW treatment or CI regime, with more increase for super rice than for check rice. The results suggest that super rice has a stronger ability to cope with soil water deficit and holds greater promising to increase both grain yield and WUE by adoption of moderate AWD irrigation.

Spatial variability of soil water content and related factors across the Hexi Corridor of China

Soil water content(SWC) is a key factor limiting ecosystem sustainability in arid and semi-arid areas of the Hexi Corridor of China, which is characterized by an ecological environment that is vulnerable to climate change. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the large-scale spatial distribution of SWC in this region. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the spatial distribution patterns of SWC across the Hexi Corridor and identify the factors responsible for spatial variation of SWC at a regional scale. This study collected and analyzed SWC in the 0–100 cm soil profile from 109 field sampling sites(farmland, grassland and forestland) across the Hexi Corridor in 2017. We selected 17 factors, including land use, topography(latitude, longitude, elevation, slope gradient, and slope aspect), soil properties(soil clay content, soil silt content, soil bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, field capacity, and soil organic carbon content), climate factors(mean annual precipitation, potential evaporation, and aridity index), plant characteristic(vegetation coverage) and planting pattern(irrigation or rain-fed), as possible environmental variables to analyze their effects on SWC. The results showed that SWC was 0.083(±0.067) g/g in the 0–100 cm soil profile and decreased in the order of farmland, grassland and forestland. The SWC in the upper soil layers(0–20, 20–40 and 40–60 cm) had obvious difference when the mean annual precipitation differed by 200 mm. The SWC decreased from southeast to northwest following the same pattern as precipitation, and had a moderate to strong spatial dependence in a large effective range(75–378 km). The SWC showed a similar distribution and had no significant difference between soil layers in the 0–100 cm soil profile. The principal component analysis showed that the mean annual precipitation, geographical position(longitude and latitude) and soil properties(soil bulk density and soil clay content) were the main factors dominating the variance of environmental variables. A stepwise linear regression equation showed that plant characteristic(vegetation coverage) and soil properties(soil organic carbon content, field capacity and soil clay content) were the optimal factors to predict the variation of SWC. Soil clay content could be better to explain the SWC variation in the deeper soil layers compared with the other factors.

Optimization of sowing date and seeding rate for high winter wheat yield based on pre-winter plant development and soil water usage in the Loess Plateau,China

Sowing date and seeding rate are critical for productivity of winter wheat(Triticum aestivum L.).A three-year field experiment was conducted with three sowing dates(20 September(SD1),1 October(SD2),and 10 October(SD3)) and three seeding rates(SR67.5,SR90,and SR112.5) to determine suitable sowing date and seeding rate for high wheat yield.A large seasonal variation in accumulated temperature from sowing to winter dormancy was observed among three growing seasons.Suitable sowing dates for strong seedlings before winter varied with the seasons,that was SD2 in 2012–2013,SD3 in 2013–2014,and SD2 as well as SD1 in 2014–2015.Seasonal variation in precipitation during summer fallow also had substantial effects on soil water storage,and consequently influenced grain yield through soil water consumption from winter dormancy to maturity stages.Lower consumption of soil water from winter dormancy to booting stages could make more water available for productive growth from anthesis to maturity stages,leading to higher grain yield.SD2 combined with SR90 had the lowest soil water consumption from winter dormancy to booting stages in 2012–2013 and 2014–2015; while in 2013–2014,it was close to that with SR67.5 or SR112.5.For productive growth from anthesis to maturity stages,SD2 with SR90 had the highest soil water consumption in all three seasons.The highest water consumption in the productive growth period resulted in the best grain yield in both low and high rainfall years.Ear number largely contributed to the seasonal variation in grain yield,while grain number per ear and 1 000-grain weight also contributed to grain yield,especially when soil water storage was high.Our results indicate that sowing date and seeding rate affect grain yield through seedling development before winter and also affect soil water consumption in different growth periods.By selecting the suitable sowing date(1 October) in combination with the proper seeding rate of 90 kg ha–1,the best yield was achieved.Based on these results,we recommend that the current sowing date be delayed from 22 or 23 September to 1 October.

Response of soil water dynamics to precipitation years under different vegetation types on the northern Loess Plateau, China

Implementation of the Grain-for-Green project has led to rapid land cover changes and resulted in a significantly increased vegetation cover on the Loess Plateau of China during the past few decades. The main objective of this study was to examine the responses of soil water dynamics under four typical vegetation types against precipitation years. Soil water contents (SWCs) were measured in 0–4.0 m profiles on a hillslope under the four vegetation types of shrub, pasture, natural fallow and crop in a re-vegetated catchment area from April to October in normal (2010), dry (2011), wet (2014) and extremely wet (2013) years. The results indicated that precipitation and vegetation types jointly controlled the soil water temporal dynamics and profile characteristics in the study region. SWCs in 0–4.0 m profiles of the four vegetation types were ranked from high to low as crop>fallow>pasture>shrub and this pattern displayed a temporal stability over the four years. In the extremely wet year, SWC changes occurred in the 0–2.0 m layer under shrub and pasture while the changes further extended to the depth of 4.0-m deep layers under fallow and crop. In the other three years, SWCs changes mainly occurred in the 0–1.0 m layer and kept relatively stable in the layers deeper than 1.0 m for all the four vegetation types. The interannual variation in soil depth of SWCs was about 0–2.0 m for shrub and pasture, about 0–3.4 m for fallow and about 0–4.0 m for crop, respectively. The dried soil layers formed at the depths of 1.0, 0.6, 1.6 and 0.7 m under shrub, and 1.0, 1.0, 2.0 and 0.9 m under pasture, respectively in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. The infiltrated rainwater mostly stayed in the 0–1.0 m layer and hardly supplied to soil depth >1.0 m in normal, dry and wet years. Even in the extremely wet year of 2013, rainwater recharge depth did not exceed 2.0 m under shrub and pasture. This implied that soil desiccation was difficult to remove in normal, dry and wet years, and soil desiccation could be removed in 1.0–2.0 m soil layers even in the extremely wet year under shrub and pasture. The results indicated that the natural fallow was the best vegetation type for achieving sustainable utilization of soil water and preventing soil desiccation.

Long Term Effects of Farming System on Soil Water Content and Dry Soil Layer in Deep Loess Profile of Loess Tableland in China

Soil water is strongly affected by land use/cover in the Loess Plateau in China. Water stored in thick loessal soils is one of the most important resources regulating vegetation growth. However, soil water in the deep loess proifle, which is critical for maintaining the function of the“soil water pool”is rarely studied because deep proifle soil samples are dififcult to collect. In this study, four experimental plots were established in 2005 to represent different farming systems on the Changwu Tableland：fallow land, fertilized cropland, unfertilized cropland, and continuous alfalfa. The soil water content in the 15-m-deep loess proifles was monitored continuously from 2007 to 2012 with the neutron probe technique. The results showed that temporal variations in soil water proifles differed among the four farming systems. Under fallow land, the soil water content increased gradually over time, ifrst in the surface layers and later in the deep soil layers. In contrast, the soil water content decreased gradually under continuous alfalfa. The distributions of soil water in deep soil layers under both fertilized and unfertilized cropland were relatively stable over time. Thus farming system signiifcantly affected soil water content. Seven years after the start of the experiment, the soil water contents in the 15-m-deep proifles averaged 23.4%under fallow land, 20.3%under fertilized cropland, 21.6%under unfertilized cropland, and 16.0%under continuous alfalfa. Compared to measurements at the start of the experiment, both fallow land and unfertilized cropland increased soil water storage in the 15-m loess proifles. In contrast, continuous alfalfa reduced soil water storage. Fertilized cropland has no signiifcant effect on soil water storage. These results suggest that deep soil water can be replenished under the fallow and unfertilized farming systems. Dry soil layers （i.e., those which have soil water content less than the stable ifeld water capacity） in the subsoil of the Changwu Tableland region can be classiifed as either temporary dry soil layers or persistent dry soil layers. Temporary dry soil layers, which typically form under annual crops, often disappear during wet years. Persistent dry soil layers generally develop under perennial vegetation. Even after removing the vegetation, persistent dry soil layers remain for several decades. This study provides information useful for the conservation and utilization of soil water resources in the Loess Tableland.

Relationship Between Canopy Temperature at Flowering Stage and Soil Water Content,Yield Components in Rice

The canopy temperature of rice at the flowering stage and the soil water content were investigated under different soil water treatments （the soil water contents were 24%, 55%, 90% and 175% at the flowering stage）. The canopy temperature was lower than air temperature, and the soil water content significantly influenced the canopy temperature. The lower the soil water content, the higher the canopy temperature, the less the accumulative absolute value of canopy-air temperature difference. Moreover, the maximum difference between treatments and CK in the accumulative absolute value of canopy-air temperature difference appeared at 13：00 μm. in a day, thus, it could be considered as a suitable measuring time. Under the lowest water content treatment, the peak flowering occurred in the first three days （about 70% of panicles flowered）, resulting in shortened and lightened panicle of rice. As to the CK and the high water content treatments, the peak flowering appeared in the middle of flowering duration, with longer panicle length and higher panicle weight. Results indicated the lower the soil water content, the less the filled grain number and grain yield.

Effects of Soil Water Content on Cotton Root Growth and Distribution Under Mulched Drip Irrigation

The relation between soil water content and the growth of cotton root was studied for the scheme of field water and cotton yield under mulched drip irrigation. Based on the field experiments, three treatments of soil water content were conducted with 90%, 75%θf, and 60%θf （θfis field water capacity）. Cotton roots and root-shoot ratio were studied with digging method, and the soil moisture was observed with TDR （time domain reflector）, and cotton yield was measured. The results indicated that the growth of cotton root accorded with Logistic growth curve in the three treatments, the cotton root grew quickly and its weight was very high under 75%θf because of the suitable soil water condition, while grew slowly and its weight was lower under 90%θf due to water moisture beyond the suitable condition, and the root weight was in between under 60%θf For the three water treatments, the cotton root weight decreased with soil depth, and decreased more significantly in deeper soil layer with the soil moisture increasing. And the ratio of cotton root weight in 0-30 cm soil layer to the total root weight was the highest under 75%θf. The cotton root system was distributed mainly in the soil of narrow row and wide row mulched with plastic film, and little in the soil outside plastic film. The weight of cotton root was the highest in the soil of narrow row or wide row mulched with plastic film under 75%θf. Root-shoot ratio decreased with the soil moisture increasing. The soil water content affected cotton yields, and cotton yield was the highest under 75%θf. The higher soil moisture level is unfavorable to the growth of cotton root system and yield of cotton under mulched drip irrigation.

Spatio-temporal variations of soil water content and salinity around individual Tamarix ramosissima in a semi-arid saline region of the upper Yellow River, Northwest China

Ecological restoration by Taman＇x plants on semi-arid saline lands affects the accumulation, distribution patterns and related mechanisms of soil water content and salinity. In this study, spatio-temporal variations of soil water content and salinity around natural individual Tamarix ramosissiraa Ledeb. were invetigated in a semi-arid saline region of the upper Yellow River, Northwest China. Specifically, soil water content, electrical conductivity （EC）, sodium adsorption ratio （SARa）, and salt ions （including Na＋, K＋, Ca2＋, Mg2＋ and 8042-） were measured at different soil depths and at different distances from the trunk of T. ramasissima in May, July, and September 2016. The soil water content at the 20-80 cm depth was significantly lower in July and September than in May, indicating that T. ramosissima plants absorb a large amount of water through the roots during the growing period, leading to the decreasing of soil water content in the deep soil layer. At the 0-20 cm depth, there was a salt island effect around individual T. ramosissima, and the ECe differed significantly inside and outside the canopy of T. ramosissima in May and July. Salt bioaccumulation and stemflow were two major contributing factors to this difference. The SAR at the 0-20 cm depth was significantly different inside and outside the canopy of T. ramosissima in the three sampling months. The values of SAR~ at the 60-80 cm depth in May and July were significantly higher than those at the 0-60 cm depth and higher than that at the corresponding depth in September. The distribution of Na＋ in the soil was similar to that of the SAI, while the concentrations of K＋, Ca2＋, and Mg2＋ showed significant differences among the sampling months and soil depths. Both season and soil depth had highly significant effects on soil water content, ECe and SARa, whereas distance from the trunk of T. ramosissima only significantly affected ECe. Based on these results, we recommend co-planting of shallow-rooted salt-tolerant species near the Tamarx plants and avoiding planting herbaceous plants inside the canopy of T. ramodssima for afforestation in this semi-arid saline region. The results of this study may provide a reference for appropriate restoration in the semi-arid saline regions of the upper Yellow River.