Effects of biodegradable mulch on soil water and heat conditions,yield and quality of processing tomatoes by drip irrigation

To combat the problem of residual film pollution and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture in oasis areas,a field experiment was carried out in 2019 at the Wuyi Farm Corps Irrigation Center Test Station in Urumqi,Northwest China.Four types of biodegradable mulches,traditional plastic mulchs and a control group(bare land;referred to as CK)were compared,including a total of six different treatments.Effects of mulching on soil water and heat conditions as well as the yield and quality of processing tomatoes under drip irrigation were examined.In addition,a comparative analysis of economic benefits of biodegradable mulches was performed.Principal component analysis and gray correlation analysis were used to evaluate suitable mulching varieties for planting processing tomatoes under drip irrigation.Our results show that,compared with CK,biodegradable mulches and traditional plastic mulch have a similar effect on retaining soil moisture at the seedling stage but significantly increase soil moisture by 0.5%-1.5%and 1.5%-3.0%in the middle and late growth periods(P<0.050),respectively.The difference in the thermal insulation effect between biodegradable mulch and plastic mulch gradually reduces as the crop grows.Compared with plastic mulch,the average soil temperature at 5-20 cm depth under biodegradable mulches is significantly lowered by 2.04°C-3.52°C and 0.52°C-0.88°C(P<0.050)at the seedling stage and the full growth period,respectively,and the water use efficiency,average fruit yield,and production-investment ratio under biodegradable mulches were reduced by 0.89%-6.63%,3.39%-8.69%,and 0.51%-6.33%(P<0.050),respectively.The comprehensive evaluation analysis suggests that the black oxidized biological double-degradation ecological mulch made from eco-benign plastic is the optimal film type under the study condition.Therefore,from the perspective of sustainable development,biodegradable mulch is a competitive alternative to plastic mulch for large-scale tomato production under drip irrigation in the oasis.

Water and heat transport in hilly red soil of southern China:II. Modeling and simulation

Simulation models of heat and water transport have not been rigorously tested for the red soils of southern China. Based on the theory of nonisothermal water-heat coupled transfer, a simulation model, programmed in Visual Basic 6.0, was developed to predict the coupled transfer of water and heat in hilly red soil. A series of soil column experiments for soil water and heat transfer, including soil columns with closed and evaporating top ends, were used to test the simulation model. Results showed that in the closed columns, the temporal and spatial distribution of moisture and heat could be very well predicted by the model, while in the evaporating columns, the simulated soil water contents were somewhat different from the observed ones. In the heat flow equation by Taylor and Lary (1964), the effect of soil water evaporation on the heat flow is not involved, which may be the main reason for the differences between simulated and observed results. The predicted temperatures were not in agreement with the observed one with thermal conductivities calculated by de Vries and Wierenga equations, so that it is suggested that Kh, soil heat conductivity, be multiplied by 8.0 for the first 6.5 h and by 1.2 later on. Sensitivity analysis of soil water and heat coefficients showed that the saturated hydraulic conductivity, KS, and the water diffusivity, D(θ), had great effects on soil water transport; the variation of soil porosity led to the difference of soil thermal properties, and accordingly changed temperature redistribution, which would affect water redistribution.

Reduced Soil Moisture Contributes to More Intense and More Frequent Heat Waves in Northern China

Heat waves have attracted increasing attention in recent years due to their frequent occurrence.The present study investigates the heat wave intensity and duration in China using daily maximum temperature from 753 weather stations from 1960 to 2010.In addition,its relationships with soil moisture local forcing on the ten-day period and monthly scales in spring and summer are analyzed using soil moisture data from weather stations and ERA40 reanalysis data.And finally,a mechanistic analysis is carried out using CAM5.1（Community Atmosphere Model,version 5.1） coupled with CLM2（Community Land Model,version 2）.It is found that the heat wave frequency and duration show a sandwich distribution across China,with high occurrence rates in Southeast China and Northwest China,where the maximum frequency and duration exceeded 2.1 times and 9 days per year,respectively.The increasing trends in both duration and intensity occurred to the north of 35°N.The relationships between heat wave frequency in northern China in July（having peak distribution） and soil moisture in the earlier stage（from March to June） and corresponding period（July） are further analyzed,revealing a strong negative correlation in March,June and July,and thus showing that soil moisture in spring and early summer could be an important contributor to heat waves in July via positive subtropical high anomalies.However,the time scales of influence were relatively short in the semi-humid and humid regions,and longer in the arid region.The contribution in the corresponding period took place via positive subtropical high anomalies and positive surface skin temperature and sensible heat flux anomalies.

Numerical simulation and experimental validation of moisture-heat coupling for saturated frozen soils

In seasonally frozen regions,freezing-and-thawing action is the main cause responsible for the destruction of canals,which is closely linked to the temperature gradient and water transport.To investigate the behaviour of soils under freezing-and-thawing actions,many numerical models have been established that consider the important coupling of moisture transport and temperature evolution;but they contain excessive parameters,some of which are rather difficult to determine.Based on the well-known Harlan's theory,a simple moisture-heat coupling model was recently proposed to quantify the coupled moisture-heat transport performance of soils in terms of the central temperature and porosity.The mathematical module of COMSOL Multiphysics was further employed to solve the governing equations numerically.To validate our model,a thorough experimental scheme was carried out in our lab.The measured temperature distribution was found to be consistent with the predicted results.

Numerical Study of Impacts of Soil Moisture on the Diurnal and Seasonal Cycles of Sensible/Latent Heat Fluxes over Semi-arid Region

The semi-arid regions, as climatic and ecosystem transitional zones, are the most vulnerable to global environmental change. Earlier researches indicate that the semi-arid regions are characterized by strong landatmosphere coupling in which soil moisture is the crucial variable in land surface processes. In this paper, we investigate the sensitivity of the sensible/latent heat fluxes to soil moisture during the growing season based on the enhanced observations at Tongyu in the Jilin province of China, a reference site of international Coordinated Energy and Water Cycle Observations Project （CEOP） in the semi-arid regions, by using a sophisticated land surface model （NCAR_CLM3.0）. Comparisons between the observed and simulated sensible/latent heat fluxes indicate that the soil moisture has obvious effects on the sensible/latent heat fluxes in terms of diurnal cycle and seasonal evolution. Better representation of the soil moisture could improve the model performance to a large degree. Therefore, for the purpose of simulating the land-atmosphere interaction and predicting the climate and water resource changes in semi-arid regions, it is necessary to enhance the description of the soil moisture distribution both in the way of observation and its treatment in land surface models.

Numerical Study of Heat Transfer and Contaminant Transport in an Unsaturated Porous Soil

Penetration of chemicals in the soil ground through irrigation water or rainfall induces important risks for the environment. These risks are badly known and may lead to direct contamination of the environment (atmosphere or ground water) or harmful effects on organisms living at ground level, indirectly affecting men. It is thus necessary to estimate these potential chemical risks on the environment. For that reason, the gradual change of these products (fertilizers, solutions, pollutants, ...) in the ground has been the subject of a lot of recent research works, based in particular on the study of non-saturated porous media in a theoretical, numerical or experimental way. Most of these works are incomplete and, in order to simplify the problem, they don’t take into accounts some process, which may be of prime importance under particular natural conditions. Complexity of such studies results from their multidisciplinary nature. In this communication, we study simultaneous transport of pollutant, the water that provides transport and the heat transfer in a 200 cm long cylindrical column full of sand taken as a non-saturated porous medium. We consider two kinds of conditions on the temperature at the column surface: the case of constant temperature and the case of sinusoidal temperature. We evaluate the influence of this temperature on the transfers. This study is purely numerical. We use the control volume method to determine hydrous, thermal and pollutant concentration profiles.

Different discretization method used in coupled water and heat transport mode for soil under freezing conditions

A coupled water and heat transport mode is established based on the Richards equation to study water flow and heat transport in soil during freezing process. Both the finite difference and finite element method are used in the discretization, respectively. Two different computer programs are written and used to simulate an indoor unidirectional frozen test. The freezing depth, freezing rate and temperature variation are compared among lab tests, finite difference calculation simulation and finite element calculation simulation. Result shows that： the finite difference method has a better performance in freezing depth simulation while the finite element method has a better performance in numerical stability in one-dimensional freezing simulation.

Determination and Analysis on Heat of Trapezoidal Soil Wall in Solar Greenhouse

Solar greenhouse with trapezoidal soil wall is widely used due to its good heat retaining property and cost efficiency.In this study, solar irradiance, heat flux and the temperature 0.05 and 0.3 m from the inner surface of the wall at the upper,middle and lower measured positions were determined to study the thermal condition of the trapezoidal soil wall in solar greenhouse. The results showed: first, both the solar irradiance and the temperature increased from the upper to the lower measured position. Second, the heat absorption also increased from the upper to the lower measured position. In clear day, the heat absorption at the three measured positions accounted for 31.4%, 32.6% and 36.0% of the total amount of heat absorption of the whole wall. In cloudy day, the heat absorption at the three measured positions were 0.249, 0.370 and 0.440 MJ/m^2, which accounted for 23.5%, 35.0% and 41.4% of the total amount of heat absorption of the whole wall. When P<0.05, the heat fluxes were strikingly different between the upper and lower measured positions. But when P<0.01, the heat flux had no big difference among the three measured positions. Third, in clear day, the heat emission was the biggest at the middle measured position and smallest at the upper measured position. The heat emission at the three measured positions accounted for 27.5%, 36.7%and 35.8% of the total amount of heat emission of the whole wall. And the heat emission between the middle and lower measured position was not strikingly different. In cloudy day, the heat emission was the biggest at the lower measured position and smallest at the upper measured position. The average heat emission at the three measured positions accounted for 26.1%,36.4% and 37.4% of the total amount of heat emission of the whole wall. Fourthly, correlativity, the solar irradiance directly influenced the heat absorption and had close relation with heat emission. And heat emission again had close relation with the temperature in the greenhouse. Solar irradiance directly influences the thermal condition of a solar green house. It is hoped that this study can be referred to optimize trapezoidal structure and to improve the thermal conditions of the solar greenhouse.

Linking Surface Temperature Based Approaches for Estimating Soil Heat Flux with Error Propagation

Soil heat flux is an inseparable component of the surface energy balance. Accurate estimation of regional soil heat flux is valuable to studies of meteorology and hydrology. Conventional measurement of using soil heat flux plates at the site scale is impractical to estimate large-scale flux. Other approaches generally require soil temperature to?be measured in at least two soil layers, which is also difficult to implement at the regional scale. In the last decade, single-layer based approaches were developed to fulfill the regional requirement. This study used a simple but more general approach for estimating soil heat flux solely with surface temperature. The generalized approach can be conditionally linked to two existing single-layer based approaches but has fewer restrictions or assumptions. Error analysis revealed that measurement error in surface temperature would have limited effects on soil heat flux estimated from the new approach. Model simulations showed that soil heat flux estimated from the approach agreed with those simulated from the heat transfer equation. Furthermore, case examinations at two sites with contrasting climate regimes demonstrated that the generalized approach had better performance than the existing single-layer approaches. It achieved the highest correlation of determination and the lowest mean, standard deviation, and root mean squared error of the differences between the estimates and the field measures at either site. The generalized approach can estimate soil heat flux at a depth but it requires only surface temperature data as input, which is an advantage to remote sensing applications.

The analysis of heat and water fluxes in frozen silty soil

In this paper, based on the basic equations of water flow and heat transfer, the hydrothermal coupling model is established.The numerical model was realized in COMSOL Multiphysics software, and simulation results are compared with the experimental results of Watanabe and Wake(2008) to verify the effectiveness of the model. Through the calculation, we can obtain the dynamic changes of heat and water fluxes, thermal and hydrological properties, matric potential and temperature gradient in unsaturated freezing soil; and these variables are unmeasurable in practice.

Performance evaluation of two types of heated cables for distributedtemperature sensing-based measurement of soil moisture content

Distributed temperature sensing(DTS)using heated cables has been recently developed for distributed monitoring of in-situ soil moisture content.In this method,the thermal and electrical properties of heated cables have a significant influence on the measurement accuracy of soil moisture content.In this paper,the performances of two heated cables,i.e.the carbon-fiber heated cable(CFHC)and the metalnet heated cable(MNHC),are studied in the laboratory.Their structures,uniformity in the axial direction,measurement accuracy and suitability are evaluated.The test results indicate that the MNHC has a better uniformity in the axial direction than CFHC.Both CFHC and MNHC have high measurement accuracy.The CFHC is more suitable for short-distance measurement(500 m),while the MNHC can be used for longdistance measurement(>500 m).

The Influence of Heated Soil in Crop of“Tamaris”Tomato Plants on the Biological Activity of the Rhizosphere Soil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of heated soil on the population of bacteria, fungi and nematodes inhabiting the soil of tomato cultivar “Tamaris” growing in peat and coconut substrates. In addition, these media were tested in two different containers: cylinders and slabs. The total number of bacteria and fungi was significantly higher in the peat substrate than in the coconut substrate. A much higher number of beneficial bacteria producing spores were noted in the coconut soil. The total number of bacteria and fungi was modified by the heating levels. In all the experimental treatments, most of the identified individuals belonged to the group of nematodes that feed on bacteria and it was the most diverse group of species. The highest total number of nematodes was recorded for the second heating level, with the exception of cultivation carried out in peat slabs, where the most of nematodes were found at the control level. The highest first crop was produced by plants growing on the peat slabs supplied with the highest soil temperature. Tomato roots of all the control treatments showed the highest root morphological parameters.

A distributed measurement method for in-situ soil moisture content by using carbon-fiber heated cable

Moisture content is a fundamental physical index that quantifies soil property and is closely associatedwith the hydrological, ecological and engineering behaviors of soil. To measure in-situ soil moisturecontents, a distributed measurement system for in-situ soil moisture content （SM-DTS） is introduced.The system is based on carbon-fiber heated cable （CFHC） technology that has been developed to enhancethe measuring accuracy of in-situ soil moisture content. Using CFHC technique, a temperature characteristicvalue （Tt） can be defined from temperatureetime curves. A relationship among Tt, soil thermalimpedance coefficient and soil moisture content is then established in laboratory. The feasibility of theSM-DTS technology to provide distributed measurements of in-situ soil moisture content is verifiedthrough field tests. The research reported herein indicates that the proposed SM-DTS is capable ofmeasuring in-situ soil moisture content over long distances and large areas.

基于p阶线性模型的地埋管换热器流体温度分布研究

利用自主研发的分层热响应测试系统,获取沿深度方向上(竖向)管内流体温度实测数据,对比p阶线性分布模型计算结果和实测数据,研究两种典型工况条件下分层岩土介质中管内流体竖向分布规律和最佳p值。结果表明:恒热流工况时,p=-5阶线性分布模型能够准确预测管内流体温度分布;恒温工况时,最佳p值随流量的变化而变化,其关系为:|p|=7.361ln V+6.684。

川中丘陵区农田生态系统太阳辐射及土壤热通量数据集(2005-2021年)

太阳辐射是地表生态系统的主要能量来源,是生态系统维持本身正常运转和发展的原始动力;地表层土壤热通量是地表能量平衡的重要参数之一。四川盐亭农田生态系统国家野外科学观测研究站(简称盐亭站)是国家布局在亚热带四川盆地农业生态区的唯一农田生态系统监测野外站。该区域具有优越的光、热、水资源,非地带性土壤紫色土广泛分布,形成亚热带湿润季风气候与非地带性紫色土的最佳农业组合,农耕活跃,是四川盆地农业的主体区域。本研究基于盐亭站综合气象观测场Vaisala(芬兰)自动气象观测系统,经过数据采集、处理、数据质量控制与评估,集成2005-2021年紫色土典型农田生态系统太阳辐射和土壤热通量数据集,太阳辐射监测包括总辐射、反射辐射、紫外辐射、净辐射和光合有效辐射。数据集包含5个EXCEL文件,有各类辐射的时值、日值和月值观测及统计数据,数据量32.7 MB。本数据集可为生态系统生产能力评估、应对气候变化等方面的研究提供数据支持。

Achieving Cooler Soil as an Effective Heat Sink for Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) Cooling Technology in Malaysia Tropical Climate

This research is intended to explore the capacity of Malaysia soil in becoming a more effective heat sink for the application of Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) Cooling Technology in Malaysia. EAHE Cooling Technology consists of buried pipes underground where the ambient air is channeled through from the pipe inlet and produces cooler air at its outlet. Within the buried pipes, heat exchange process occurs between the air and the soil that surrounding the pipe. This building cooling technology has been applied in many countries, mostly in temperate or hot and arid climate where the diurnal temperature is large. However, minimal resources were found on the study of EAHE application to buildings in Malaysia, hence there is room to develop. A parametric study on EAHE cooling application in Malaysia was done through field experiment and concluded that among many parameters affecting the technology performance, the soil temperature which surrounded the pipe was the most influential factor. The study recommended to further reduce the soil temperature to achieve a cooler outlet temperature. In response to that, this research conducted a parametric study of soil temperature under three different soil surface conditions: bare, shaded with timber pallettes and insulated with used tyres at 1.0 m and 1.5 m underground. The data was logged for a month and the result has shown significant reduction in the soil temperature underground below the shaded and insulated soil surface as compared to below bare soil surface condition. The insulated soil surface produced the best result where the soil temperature was reduced up to 26.9°C. The main contribution of this paper is to highlight that the soil surface treatment can be used to reduce solar heat gain within the soil underground and thus improving the performance of EAHE Cooling Technology particularly for the application in Malaysia tropical climate.

坡地面栽培对日光温室土壤温度环境的影响

以平地面温室为对照,对坡地面温室土壤白天蓄热期间的温度变化和蓄热量变化进行研究,以期为老旧日光温室的改造提供参考。结果表明:坡地面温室明显改善了日光温室土壤温度环境,与平地面温室相比,坡地面温室日提高土壤温度0.1~1.7℃,日最高土壤温度提高1.0~1.9℃,日降低冠层上部空气温度1.9~4.0℃,日增大土壤蓄热量8.44%~44.57%。晴天土壤温度和蓄热量的增加幅度大于阴天。

Thermo-Mechanical Properties Study of Stabilized Soil Bricks to Sugar Cane Molasses and Cassava Starch Binders

The current study deals Swith thermo-mechanical properties of stabilized soil small bricks with the help of organic binders of sugar cane molasses and cassava starch. Different formulations of soil concrete have been suggested after the geotechnical characterization of samples of soil was taken. From these, it arises that the studied soil is the most plastically clay (of type A3) according to GTR classification. Samples made of small bricks and measured out at 4%, 6% and 8% of binders (molasses, starch or molasses + starch) have been warmed up to different temperatures (100°C, 150°C, 200°C and 250°C) for the rising of the thermic behavior under different conditions and submitted to crushing testings for the estimation of characteristic resistances to the compression. According to the mechanical behavior, we note an improvement of resistances for small bricks measured 4%, 6% and 8%, of molasses respectively of 32.44%, 32.06% and 23.43% against the value of reference for small bricks without molasses. In the same way, the binder (molasses + starch) also reveals an improvement of resistance to the compression of 13.27%, 26.17% and 26.17%. On the contrary, the stabilization with the starch binder did not bring a significative improvement. According to the thermic influence, the heating at 100°C of stabilized small bricks at 4%, 6% and 8% of molasses, reveals a significative improvement of resistances. Moreover, the stabilization with the starch reveals on the contrary a good behavior for heatings at 150°C and 250°C. In short, for the binder (molasses + starch), it is the heating at 200°C that shows some improvements of remarkable resistances. Different analyses of realized statistics also show the effectivity of obtained results. For all realized formulations, the measuring out at 6% of binders (molasses, or molasses + starch) seems as optimal in front of the best thermo-mechanical revealed properties.

不同土质条件下土壤蓄热特性的数值模拟研究

选取严寒地区、寒冷地区、夏热冬冷地区典型地源热泵作为研究对象,建立地埋管及周围土壤的物理模型,根据不同地域的地质条件,为土壤区域设置不同的热物性参数及分层数,对整个蓄热季的地埋管及周围土壤的换热情况进行数值模拟,探究地质条件对地源热泵换热特性及土壤蓄热量的影响。结果表明,由于所选各地区土壤热物性参数及分层数不同,整个蓄热季后土壤蓄热量差异较大,严寒地区、寒冷地区、夏热冬冷地区土壤蓄热量分别为949.251 MJ、1 031.122 MJ和709.225 MJ。受土壤各层热物性参数差异影响,同一地区各层土壤的热量传递半径及升温速率也存在较大不同。粉质粘土层热量传递半径大,中粗砂与淤泥质粘土层温度提升快。此外,在整个蓄热季中,受土壤热容增大影响,蓄热效率呈现出下降趋势,在实际运行过程中应采用间歇蓄热,提升蓄热效率。

Soil Nature Effect Investigation on the Ground-to-Air Heat Exchanger for the Passive Cooling of Rooms

The building sector consumes much energy either for cooling or heating and is associated to greenhouse gas emissions. To meet energy and environmental challenges, the use of ground-to-air heat exchangers for preheating and cooling buildings has recently received considerable attention. They provide substantial energy savings and contribute to the improvement of thermal comfort in buildings. For these systems, the ground temperature plays the main role. The present work aims to investigate numerically the influence of the nature of soil on the thermal behavior of the ground-to-air heat exchanger used for building passive cooling. We have taken into account in this work the influence of the soil nature by considering three types of dry soil: clay soil, sandy-clay soil and sandy soil. The mixed convection equations governing the heat transfers in the earth-to-air heat exchanger have been presented and discretized using the finite difference method with an Alternate Direction Implicit (ADI) scheme. The resulting algebraic equations are then solved using the algorithm of Thomas combined with an iterative Gauss-Seidel procedure. The results show that the flow is dominated by forced convection. The examination of the sensitivity of the model to the type of soil shows that the distributions of contours of streamlines, isotherms, isovalues of moisture are less affected by the variations of the nature of soil through the variation of the diffusivity of the soil. However, it is observed that the temperature values obtained for the clay soil are higher while the sandy soil shows lower temperature values. The values of the ground-to-air heat exchanger efficiency are only slightly influenced by the nature of the soil. Nevertheless, we note a slightly better efficiency for the sandy soil than for the sandy-clayey silt and clayey soils. This result shows that a sandy soil would be more suitable for geothermal system installations.