Soil Temperature in a Row Crop with Incomplete Surface Cover

Abstract

AbstractA method is presented to predict soil temperature distribution between rows of crops that partially shade the soil surface. The method combines a model for predicting time and location of soil surface shading with a model for two‐dimensional soil heat transfer. The track of shadow model is general, and requires only plant shape parameters, field location coordinates, row spacing, and row direction to predict soil surface shading as a function of time. The soil heat transfer model is an explicit finite difference approximation of the transient conduction equation, allowing for time and space dependence of soil thermal properties. The surface boundary temperatures are computed by partitioning the surface net radiation into the sensible air, latent, and ground heat flux components. Standard meteorological inputs required to compute the energy partitioning are global radiation, air temperature and humidity, and windspeed. Observed and computed temperature distributions show agreement for a 1‐d simulation. To predict surface energy partitioning and soil temperature accurately for longer periods of time, the method must be expanded to account for water transport.