Selected components of the water and energy balances at the surface of a bare clay loam were measured at 57 locations in a 1 ha field. Spatial and temporal variability of these components were also studied. Components included evaporation, irrigation, moisture storage, sensible heat flux and long wave radiation. Sub-studies were conducted on irrigation uniformity under low pressure sprinklers; and, on steel versus plastic microlysimeters (ML) of various lengths. An energy balance model of evaporation, requiring minimal inputs, was developed and validated giving an r$\sp2$ value of 0.78. Model improvements included an easy method of accurately estimating soil surface temperature at many points in a field, and an empirically fitted transfer coefficient function for the sensible heat flux from the reference dry soil. The omission of soil heat flux and reflected shortwave radiation terms was shown to reduce model accuracy. Steel ML underestimated cumulative evaporation compared to plastic ML at 20 and 30 cm lengths. Cumulative evaporation increased with ML length. The 10 and 20 cm ML were too short for use over multiple days but 30 cm ML may not be long enough for extended periods. Daily net soil heat flux for steel ML averaged 44% higher than that for both plastic ML and undisturbed field soil. Christiansen's uniformity coefficient (UCC) was close to 0.83 for each of 3 irrigations when measured by both catch cans and by profile water contents. But UCC for the change in storage due to irrigation averaged only 0.43 indicating than the high uniformity of profile water contents was more due to surface and subsurface redistribution than to the uniformity of application. Profile water contents and catch can depths were time invariant across at least 3 irrigations. Midday soil surface temperatures and daily evaporation were somewhat less time invariant. Variogram plots for evaporation and surface temperature showed mostly random behavior. Relative variograms represented well the spatial variability of both catch can depths and profile water contents. A strong link was demonstrated between the time invariance of a variable and the usefulness of kriging on that variable.

Trickle irrigation is the latest technique to efficiently apply irrigation water to plants. It is selected over other irrigation systems when water is scarce or expensive, the soils are very permeable or cannot be leveled, and crop values are high or require specialized cultural practices. Trickle irrigation is also very popular in commercial landscaping because of its ease for automation. Plant growth is optimized when the soil water content is near field capacity so that adequate water and oxygen are available to the plant root. Thus, the knowledge of moisture movement from a point source is most critical in designing, operating and managing a trickle irrigation system. This knowledge could help improve the irrigation efficiency so that maximum growth and production could be achieved per unit of water. A simple procedure was developed which reasonably predicted the wetted soil volume, lateral movement and vertical movement of water from a point source. The underlying assumptions are that the soil moisture in the wetted profile approximates field capacity and trickle irrigation is defined to exclude large flow rates which would cause excessive ponding and surface runoff or small flow rates which would not increase the soil moisture so it can approach field capacity. Moisture contents in excess of field capacity would be lost to deep percolation because of gravity. This procedure was verified with field tests on a Superstition Fine Sand soil and in the laboratory on a Gadsden Clay soil. The moisture movement in the soil from a trickle source is more a function of the water volume applied than the rate at which it was applied. Higher flow rates can cause greater moisture contents in the soil during the application but the values decrease and approach water contents from lower flow rates if given similar redistribution periods. It is expected that the procedure for predicting wetted soil volume, lateral movement and vertical movement can be used by both designers and managers of trickle irrigation systems. Estimates of the soil moisture contents and volume of water applied are needed. Greater accuracy in predicting the moisture movement can be attained by some simple measurements in the field. The procedure resulting from this study is more advantageous over the mathematical models which require complicated unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions and high-speed computers to solve them.

Spatial variation of in situ available water content was studied along with related parameters over three 16-ha irrigated fields. The fields, two near Marana (Pima County, Arizona) and one near Casa Grande (Pillai County), range in texture from very fine loam to loamy sand. All soil series present are mapped as Entisols or Aridisols. A 50-m grid provided 56 sampling sites in each field. Each site was sampled at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 cm. Samples were collected from each field following a heavy irrigation in March 1977. Bulk samples were collected two days and four weeks after the application of approximately 300 mm of water, to determine in situ water content at field capacity and moisture redistribution with time. Related parameters such as particle size distribution and soil water characteristics were also studied. Bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity were determined from undisturbed, core samples. The measured parameters showed different patterns of variation within the same field as well as from one field to the other. Spatial variability of saturated hydraulic conductivity was the highest for which coefficient of variability (CV) ranged upward to 108%. Bulk density, on the other hand, showed the lowest coefficient of variability, as low as 5%. The in situ available water content (AWC), estimated by subtracting moisture content at 15 bars from the corresponding in situ FC values, showed a general tendency to increase with depth corresponding to the increase in percent silt plus sand with depth in all three fields. The coefficient of correlation between the two parameters was high (up to 0.70). The mean values of AWC as estimated using 0.1 bar values for field capacity in the laboratory were consistently higher than the in situ values. The values were within 25 - 35% of each other in Fields 1 and 2, while in the sandier soil of Field 3, the AWC was overestimated by an average of 74% in the laboratory. The CV showed an irregular tendency to increase with depth, but was consistently high in the 150 cm layer in all three fields. Values estimated in the laboratory showed lower CV and higher correlations with soil separates than in situ AWC in all three fields. These two observations can be attributed to the elimination of in situ factors such as texture stratification, compaction, and/or amount of water applied. Agricultural soil formed on water transported material at 0.1 bar were highly correlated with sand (r = -0.8) and the 15 bar values were better correlated with clay (r = 0.5). Also, the coefficient of variability increased consistently with decreases in moisture content. The analysis of variance showed the three fields to be heterogeneous. The variation for within and between the 5 depth groups was significant. A two-way interaction between depths and subareas within each field accounted for 44, 45 and 38% of the total variability in Fields 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Cumulative frequency distribution plots, full normal plots, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests of goodness-of-fit, tests of skewness and tests of kurtosis were conducted to test the null hypothesis of normal distribution for each parameter. The full normal plots, being sensitive to deviations from normality, rejected the null hypothesis in all cases with few exceptions. They showed the data tends to be skewed to the right and/or kurtic. The alternative frequency distribution of the parameters indicated the data to be asymmetric, short tailed with the exception of percent sand which was symmetric, short tailed for all three fields. A power transformation is suggested as a possibility for transforming the data to get near normal distribution.

No description available.

Arid and semi-arid countries are facing the exhaustion of their water resources and are being forced to use saline water (brackish groundwater and drainage water) for irrigated agriculture. The result is often disastrous as extensive productive regions become salinized. Nevertheless, there is potential to expand irrigated agriculture through the increasing use of saline waters for irrigation. / This study presents an analysis of the performance of a transient state, model for numerical simulation of water and solute transport, known as LEACHM-C. It is assessed for areas where saline water may be an option for crop production. The model estimates the salt and water balance of a soil profile given certain irrigation and crop rotation strategies. / First, the predictive capability of the model was successfully tested using one year of data from a field experiment in a dry region of India. / Second, potential usefulness of the LEACHM-C model as a tool in the planning of reclamation activities was examined for a semi-arid basin in Syria. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Thesis (M.S. - Soil and Water Science)--University of Arizona. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-199).

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (carbon copy). Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-85).

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.