Abstract
To advance site-specific management of soil volumetric moisture content (VMC), this study analyzed the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of soil VMC using the method of sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS) during the different growth stages of winter wheat. This was compared with data measured by time domain reflectometry (TDR) which is a well-established electromagnetic technique to measure soil VMC. The spatial autocorrelation coefficient of VMC indicated the strongest clustering of VMC in the tillering stage, and the least clustering of VMC in the harvest stage. A threshold of VMC in topsoil in the jointing stage of winter wheat was put forward. This threshold is 26, signifying that at a lower value, irrigation should be performed and irrigation efficiencies can be improved. Stable and sub-stable areas in the spatial variability maps of VMC were identified in the winter wheat jointing stage. Furthermore, the optimal irrigation stage was the early jointing stage, and irrigation was performed once as a guide. A loose-couple spatial model was constructed using the VMC in topsoil and the volume of water for irrigation. The VMC in the jointing stage of winter wheat was linked with efficient and water-saving irrigation.
Highlights
Soil moisture is a fundamental property affecting plant growth, transport, and transformation of soil nutrients, water, and energy budgets in the soil–crop system
The results indicated that the spatial dependency characteristics of volumetric moisture content (VMC) decreased step by step from the tillering stage to the harvest stage in the range of 0.7 to 0.2 on the whole
Coefficients of VMC changed from the tillering stage through harvest stage for winter wheat growth stages, suggesting the more complicated tendency of Moran’s I for VMC is profoundly affected by the random factors such as mean annual warming and rainfall
Summary
Soil moisture is a fundamental property affecting plant growth, transport, and transformation of soil nutrients, water, and energy budgets in the soil–crop system. Soil moisture content is used for determination of the soil–water balance and precision irrigation management. It is an important variable that affects atmospheric and hydrologic process by influencing the partitioning of incoming radiation into sensible and latent heat flues and by separating precipitation into infiltration and surface runoff but is a state variable controlling a wide array of ecological, hydrological, geotechnical, and meteorological processes. In the Yellow-Huai River Plain, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation is a staple planting system and crop production is generally dependent on rainfall and irrigation water. Improving water use efficiency, the balance between soil moisture in topsoil and the volume of water for irrigation, and narrowing the gap between winter wheat water demands and soil water supply are of great
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