Evaluation of Hydraulic Process and Performance of Border Irrigation with Different Regular Bottom Configurations

Field topography or microtopography plays an important role in achieving acceptable performance in border irrigation. Extension of conservation tillage across the North China Plain has resulted in change in field bottom configuration. This study defined regular bottom configuration for border irrigation, and introduced three regular bottom configurations： border-strip irrigation （BSI）, border-furrow irrigation （BFI） and rill irrigation （RI）. The effects of regular bottom configuration on the hydraulic process and irrigation performance were evaluated by field experiments and a WinSRFR3.1 model. Results suggest that the WinSRFR3.1 model was capable of the simulation of BFI and RI, and that the hydraulic process and irrigation performance were diverse among BSI, BFI, and RI. BSI had the highest infiltration rate while BFI had the lowest infiltration rate; BSI took the most time to complete the water advance while BFI took the least time. As a result, BSI showed the worst irrigation performance while BFI gave the best irrigation performance. Different field bottom configurations mainly accounted for differences. We conclude that regular field bottom configuration is an important factor for acceptable performance in border irrigation.

Simulating advance distance in border irrigation systems based on the improved method of characteristics

Improving the simulation accuracy of the advance distance based on the method of characteristics is essential to develop numerical solutions for simulating surface irrigation.Instead of volume balance in the traditional method of characteristics(T-MC),the position of critical flow is determined to simulate the advance distance in the improved method of characteristics(I-MC),which is used in border irrigation systems with rapid variation in inflow discharge in the current research.Specifically,the zones of both subcritical and supercritical flow were firstly distinguished to determine the position of the critical flow point,which was also the upstream boundary of the wetting front region,and then the advance distance was calculated by applying the diffusive wave equation in the wetting front region.The results showed that the I-MC accurately simulated the advance distance with high determination coefficients(0.984-0.998)and low errors(root mean square error of 0.35-1.56 min and coefficient of residual mass of 0.01-0.06),which performed much better than the T-MC.The I-MC provided a suitable and simple numerical simulation tool to improve the establishment of numerical surface irrigation models.

Effects of different irrigation methods on micro-environments and root distribution in winter wheat fields

The irrigation method used in winter wheat fields affects micro-environment factors, such as relative humidity（RH） within canopy, soil temperature, topsoil bulk density, soil matric potential, and soil nutrients, and these changes may affect plant root growth.An experiment was carried out to explore the effects of irrigation method on micro-environments and root distribution in a winter wheat field in the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 growing seasons.The results showed that border irrigation（BI）, sprinkler irrigation（SI）, and surface drip irrigation（SDI） had no significant effects on soil temperature.Topsoil bulk density, RH within the canopy, soil available N distribution, and soil matric potential were significantly affected by the three treatments.The change in soil matric potential was the key reason for the altered root profile distribution patterns.Additionally, more fine roots were produced in the BI treatment when soil water content was low and topsoil bulk density was high.Root growth was most stimulated in the top soil layers and inhibited in the deep layers in the SDI treatment, followed by SI and BI, which was due to the different water application frequencies.As a result, the root profile distribution differed, depending on the irrigation method used.The root distribution pattern changes could be described by the power level variation in the exponential function.A good knowledge of root distribution patterns is important when attempting to model water and nutrient movements and when studying soil-plant interactions.

Performance of a zero-inertia model for irrigation with rapidly varied inflow discharges

The zero-inertia model is widely used for simulating surface flow in irrigation systems.This model is accurate when inflow discharge is constant.However,simulation of irrigation systems with rapidly varied inflow discharge is needed due to the development of real time control irrigation technology.Hence,the objective of this study is to validate the zero-inertia model with rapidly varied inflow discharge.For this purpose,twenty-three border irrigation tests at a range of inflow changes on different field slopes and roughness coefficients were conducted.Then,the sensitivity analyses of bed slope,infiltration parameters,and roughness coefficient were examined.The results indicate that the zero-inertia model predictions are in good agreement with field data in both advance/recession times and flow depths.The infiltration parameters were the most sensitive input variable of the zero-inertia model.The input variables have a more considerable impact on the recession phase than the advance phase.