Simulation of Daily Mean Soil Temperatures for Agricultural Land Use Considering Limited Input Data

Carmen Krammer,Philipp Grabenweger,Josef Eitzinger,Jan Balek,Branislava Lalic,Anne Gobin,Miroslav Trnka,Erwin Murer,Martin Možný,Levent Şaylan

doi:10.3390/atmos12040441

Abstract

A one-dimensional simulation model that simulates daily mean soil temperature on a daily time-step basis, named AGRISOTES (AGRIcultural SOil TEmperature Simulation), is described. It considers ground coverage by biomass or a snow layer and accounts for the freeze/thaw effect of soil water. The model is designed for use on agricultural land with limited (and mostly easily available) input data, for estimating soil temperature spatial patterns, for single sites (as a stand-alone version), or in context with agrometeorological and agronomic models. The calibration and validation of the model are carried out on measured soil temperatures in experimental fields and other measurement sites with various climates, agricultural land uses and soil conditions in Europe. The model validation shows good results, but they are determined strongly by the quality and representativeness of the measured or estimated input parameters to which the model is most sensitive, particularly soil cover dynamics (biomass and snow cover), soil pore volume, soil texture and water content over the soil column.

Highlights

Soil temperature plays an important role in many soil processes and is related to atmospheric, soil and surface conditions
Soil temperature measurements are critical for calibrating many soil temperature response functions in simulation models [6], since soil temperature and water content affect physical, chemical and soil biological processes [7,8]
The soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance is determined by soil temperature and water content [9,10,11], because they regulate the rate of N-mineralization and, further, the emission of gases from soils [12,13]; C/N balance models are a critical part of most crop growth models, e.g., [14,15]

Summary

Introduction

Soil temperature plays an important role in many soil processes and is related to atmospheric, soil and surface conditions. A good performance of soil temperature simulation is very important, especially for crop models, which include nutrient balance or models simulating leaching processes and gas emissions from soils. The soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance is determined by soil temperature and water content [9,10,11], because they regulate the rate of N-mineralization and, further, the emission of gases from soils [12,13]; C/N balance models are a critical part of most crop growth models, e.g., [14,15]. Soil properties and important surface conditions, such as snow cover and plant canopy characteristics [20,21] that influence soil temperatures, are much more difficult to estimate due to their even stronger spatial variability

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Results

Conclusion