Groundwater use is of fundamental importance to meet rapidly expanding urban, industrial, and agricultural water requirements, particularly in semiarid zones. To quantify the current rate of groundwater recharge is thus a prerequisite for efficient and sustainable groundwater resource management in these dry areas, where such resources are often the key to economic development. Increased groundwater recharge has been documented where native vegetation or forest/shrub land was converted to grassland or pasture, or where the land was cleared for agricultural purposes. The basic argument for increased recharge is that evapotranspiration, primarily interception and transpiration, is higher in shrublands than grasslands. Chloride mass balance (CMB) has been used to estimate ancient recharge, but recharge from recent land-use change has also been documented, specifically where vegetation has been altered and deep-rooted species replaced with shallow-rooted grasses. Chloride concentrations are inversely related to recharge rates: low Clconcentrations indicate high recharge rates as Cl- is leached from the system; high Cl concentrations indicate low recharge rates since Cl- accumulates as a result of evapotranspiration. The objectives were (1) to assess the hypothesis that removal of woody-shrub vegetation and replacement with grasses increases deep drainage, (2) to quantify the amount of deep drainage after land-use change, and (3) to provide science-based data for a better understanding of changing land-use impacts on deep drainage. Eight soils from five locations in the Central Rolling Red Plains near Abilene and Sweetwater were sampled. Each location consisted of a pair of similar soils with contrasting vegetative cover: shrubland and grassland. At each site three to five soil cores were taken as deep as possible and samples were taken by horizon, but horizons were split when their thickness exceeded 0.25 m. Soil Cl- profiles under shrubland at three sites showed that virtually no water escapes beyond the root zone. High Cl- concentrations and inventories reflect soil moisture fluxes that approached 0 mm yr-1 with depth. Evapotranspiration may be largely responsible for Cl- enrichment in those profiles. Surprisingly, soil moisture flux past 200 cm under juniper woodlands was the highest with 2.6 mm yr-1. Evapotranspirative Cl- enrichment in the upper 300 cm was not observed and may suggest a different water uptake mechanism for this plant community. Soil Cl- profiles showed increased recharge rates under grassland vegetation ecosystem. Estimated deep drainage past 200 cm of 0.1 to 1.3 mm yr-1 was observed. Low Cl- concentrations and inventories suggest a leaching environment that may be in response to changes in land use/land cover.

This dissertation focuses on the challenge of soil hydraulic parameter scaling in soil hydrology and related applications in general; and, in particular, the upscaling of these parameters to provide effective values at coarse scales. Soil hydraulic properties are required for many hydrological and ecological models at their representative scales. Prediction accuracy of these models is highly dependent on the quality of the model input parameters. However, measurement of parameter data at all such required scales is impractical as that would entail huge outlays of finance, time and effort. Hence, alternate methods of estimating the soil hydraulic parameters at the scales of interest are necessary. Two approaches to bridge this gap between the measurement and application scales for soil hydraulic parameters are presented in this dissertation. The first one is a stochastic approach, based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) applied within a Bayesian framework. ANNs have been used before to derive soil hydraulic parameters from other more easily measured soil properties at matching scales. Here, ANNs were applied with different training and simulation scales. This concept was further extended to work within a Bayesian framework in order to provide estimates of uncertainty in such parameter estimations. Use of ancillary information such as elevation and vegetation data, in addition to the soil physical properties, were also tested. These multiscale pedotransfer function methods were successfully tested with numerical and field studies at different locations and scales. Most upscaling efforts thus far ignore the effect of the topography on the upscaled soil hydraulic parameter values. While this flat-terrain assumption is acceptable at coarse scales of a few hundred meters, at kilometer scales and beyond, the influence of the physical features cannot be ignored. anew upscaling scheme which accounts for variations in topography within a domain was developed to upscale soil hydraulic parameters to hill-slope (kilometer) scales. The algorithm was tested on different synthetically generated topographic configurations with good results. Extending the methodology to field conditions with greater complexities also produced good results. A comparison of different recently developed scaling schemes showed that at hill-slope scales, inclusion of topographic information produced better estimates of effective soil hydraulic parameters at that scale.

<p>An investigation to assess the anthropogenic pollutant loads, transport and impact on shallow groundwater in one of Kampala’s peri-urban areas (Bwaise III Parish) was undertaken. Bwaise III is a densely populated informal settlement with a high water table (<1.5 m) and inadequate basic social services infrastructure (e.g, sanitation, safe water supply, roads, etc).</p><p>Field surveys were undertaken to identify, locate and quantify various pollutant sources. Information on the usability and operational aspects of the excreta and solid waste management systems was obtained from consultations with the residents. Water from installed monitoring wells and one operational protected spring and wastewater (sullage) characteristics (quality, discharges for drains and spring, water levels for the wells) as well as soil characteristics (soil stratigraphy, physical and chemical) were determined through field and laboratory measurements. Laboratory batch experiments were undertaken to estimate phosphorus sorption potential of the soils.</p><p>The results reveal that excreta disposal systems, solid waste and sullage are the major contributors to shallow groundwater contamination. High contaminant loads from these sources accumulate within the area resulting in widespread contamination. The water table responds rapidly to short rains (48hr) due to the pervious and shallow (<1 m) vadose zone, which consists of mostly organic fill material. Rapid water quality deterioration (increased thermotolerant coliforms, organic content in the form of total kjedahl nitrogen, phosphorus) following rains potentially follows from leaching, desorption and macropore flow. Spatial variation of the water quality in the area is largely related to anthropogenic activities within the vicinity of the well sources. Animal rearing, solid waste dumps and latrines are seen to result in increased localised microbial and organic content during the rains. The spring discharge with high nitrate levels does not respond to short rains suggesting that this source is fed by regional baseflow. The corresponding high microbial contamination in this case is a result of observed poor maintenance of the protection structure leading to direct ingress of contaminated surface runoff. Natural attenuation of contaminants is very limited. Estimated bacteria die-off rates are very low, about 0.01hr-1, suggesting a high risk for microbial contamination. The soils still have potential to retain additional phosphorus, whose sorption is largely a function of iron, available phosphorus and moisture content of the soils. This is also seen with the model results in which the phosphorus contaminant plume sticks to the surface irrespective of the rainfall infiltration rates. Simulation results show that continuous heavy intense rains (> 0.25mm/min) result in rapid flooding occurring within 1hr to 2 days. With lower rains, the water table does not rise to the surface, and no flooding takes place.</p><p>Protection of the shallow groundwater in the area requires socio-technical measures targeting reduction of pollutant loads within the area as well as a wider spring catchment. Re-protection of the spring, coupled with awareness creation, should be immediately addressed so as to reduce microbial contamination. Community participation in solidwaste management should be encouraged. Resource recovery systems such as composting of the mostly organic waste and use of ecological sanitation toilet systems should be piloted in the area. Successful operation of the systems however depends on continuous sensitisation of the communities.</p><p>An investigation to assess the anthropogenic pollutant loads, transport and impact on shallow groundwater in one of Kampala’s peri-urban areas (Bwaise III Parish) was undertaken. Bwaise III is a densely populated informal settlement with a high water table (<1.5 m) and inadequate basic social services infrastructure (e.g, sanitation, safe water supply, roads, etc).</p><p>Field surveys were undertaken to identify, locate and quantify various pollutant sources. Information on the usability and operational aspects of the excreta and solid waste management systems was obtained from consultations with the residents. Water from installed monitoring wells and one operational protected spring and wastewater (sullage) characteristics (quality, discharges for drains and spring, water levels for the wells) as well as soil characteristics (soil stratigraphy, physical and chemical) were determined through field and laboratory measurements. Laboratory batch experiments were undertaken to estimate phosphorus sorption potential of the soils.</p><p>The results reveal that excreta disposal systems, solid waste and sullage are the major contributors to shallow groundwater contamination. High contaminant loads from these sources accumulate within the area resulting in widespread contamination. The water table responds rapidly to short rains (48hr) due to the pervious and shallow (<1 m) vadose zone, which consists of mostly organic fill material. Rapid water quality deterioration (increased thermotolerant coliforms, organic content in the form of total kjedahl nitrogen, phosphorus) following rains potentially follows from leaching, desorption and macropore flow. Spatial variation of the water quality in the area is largely related to anthropogenic activities within the vicinity of the well sources. Animal rearing, solid waste dumps and latrines are seen to result in increased localised microbial and organic content during the rains. The spring discharge with high nitrate levels does not respond to short rains suggesting that this source is fed by regional baseflow. The corresponding high microbial contamination in this case is a result of observed poor maintenance of the protection structure leading to direct ingress of contaminated surface runoff. Natural attenuation of contaminants is very limited. Estimated bacteria die-off rates are very low, about 0.01hr-1, suggesting a high risk for microbial contamination. The soils still have potential to retain additional phosphorus, whose sorption is largely a function of iron, available phosphorus and moisture content of the soils. This is also seen with the model results in which the phosphorus contaminant plume sticks to the surface irrespective of the rainfall infiltration rates. Simulation results show that continuous heavy intense rains (> 0.25mm/min) result in rapid flooding occurring within 1hr to 2 days. With lower rains, the water table does not rise to the surface, and no flooding takes place.</p><p>Protection of the shallow groundwater in the area requires socio-technical measures targeting reduction of pollutant loads within the area as well as a wider spring catchment. Re-protection of the spring, coupled with awareness creation, should be immediately addressed so as to reduce microbial contamination. Community participation in solidwaste management should be encouraged. Resource recovery systems such as composting of the mostly organic waste and use of ecological sanitation toilet systems should be piloted in the area. Successful operation of the systems however depends on continuous sensitisation of the communities.</p>

Perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs) are commonly proposed tracers for use in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) leak detection and vadose zone monitoring programs. Tracers are co-injected with supercritical CO₂ and monitored in the vadose zone to identify leakage and calculate leakage rates. These calculations assume PFTs exhibit “ideal” tracer behavior (i.e. do not sorb onto or react with porous media, partition into liquid phases or undergo decay). This assumption has been brought into question by lab and field evaluations showing PFT partitioning into soil contaminants and sorbing onto clay. The objective of this study is to identify substrates in which PFTs behave conservatively and quantify non-conservative behavior. PFT breakthrough curves are compared to those of a second, conservative tracer, sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆). Breakthrough curves are generated in 1D flow-through columns packed with 5 different substrates: silica beads, quartz sand, illite, organic-rich soil, and organic-poor soil. Constant flow rate of carrier gas, N₂, is maintained. A known mass of tracer is injected at the head of the columns and the effluent analyzed at regular intervals for tracers at picogram levels by gas chromatography. PFT is expected to behave conservatively with respect to SF₆ in silica beads or quartz sand and non-conservatively in columns with clay or organics. However, results demonstrate PFT retardation with respect to SF₆ in all media (retardation factor is 1.1 in silica beads and quartz sand, 2.5 in organic-rich soil, >20 in organic-poor soil, and >100 in illite). Retardation is most likely due to sorption onto clays and soil organic matter or condensation to the liquid phase. Sorption onto clays appears to be the most significant factor. Experimental data are consistent with an analytical advection/diffusion model. These results show that PFT retardation in the vadose zone has not been adequately considered for interpretation of PFT data for CCS monitoring. These results are preliminary and do not take into account more realistic vadose zone conditions such as the presence of water, in which PFTs are insoluble. Increased moisture content will likely decrease sorption onto porous media and retardation in the vadose zone may be less than determined in these experiments. / text

A new methodology is proposed for estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) flux at small spatial and temporal scales. The method involves simultaneous measurement of soil moisture (SM) profiles and water table heads along transects flow paths. The method has been applied in a shallow water table field site in West-Central Florida for data collected from January 2002 through June 2004. Capacitance shift type moisture sensors were used for this research, placed at variable depth intervals starting at approximately 4 in. (10 cm) below land surface and extending well below the seasonal low water table depth of 59 in. (1.5 m). Vegetation included grassland and wetland forested flatwoods. The approach includes the ability to resolve multiple ET components including shallow and deep vadose zone, surface interception capture and depression storage ET. Other components of the water budget including infiltration, total and saturation rainfall excess runoff, net runoff, changes in storage and lateral groundwater flows are also derived from the approach. One shortcoming of the method is the reliance on open pan or other potential ET estimation techniques when the water table is at or near land surface. Results are compared with values derived for the two vegetative covers from micrometeorological and Bowen ratio methods. Advantages of the SM method include resolving component ET.

American Water Resources Association Symposium Proceedings / Reprinted from Establishment of Water Quality Monitoring Programs / Edited By: Lorne G. Everett and Kenneth D. Schmidt / June 12-14, 1978 / San Francisco, California / Traditional techniques for monitoring the mass flux of pollutants in the vadose zone involve obtaining point samples of solute, either by core sampling of solids, followed by laboratory extraction, or by installation of suction probes. An alternative sampling technique, discussed in this paper, is to sample perched ground water within the vadose zone. Large amounts of water may be pumped for sampling purposes from wells drilled into productive, perched ground -water bodies. Alternatively, cascading water from perched regions may be sampled in wells with perforations above the water table. Analytical results of samples from such wells are more representative of regional conditions than small point samples. Case studies are presented on sampling from perched ground water underlying a point source (an oxidation pond), a line source (an ephemeral stream), and a diffuse source (irrigation return flow).

Near-surface sediments in the vadose zone play a fundamental role in the hydrologic system. The shallow vadose zone can act as a buffer to delay or attenuate surface contaminants before they reach the water table. It also acts as a temporary soil moisture reservoir for plant and atmospheric uptake, and regulates the seasonal groundwater recharge process. Over the past few decades, geophysical methods have received unprecedented attention as an effective vadose zone characterization tool offering a range of non-invasive to minimally invasive techniques with the capacity to provide detailed soil moisture information at depths typically unattainable using conventional point-measurement sensors. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has received much of this attention due to its high sensitivity to the liquid water phase in geologic media. While much has been learned about GPR soil moisture monitoring and characterization techniques, it has not been evaluated across highly dynamic natural soil conditions. Consequently, GPR’s capacity to characterize a complete range of naturally occurring vadose zone conditions including wetting/drying and freeze/thaw cycles, is not yet fully understood. Further, the nature of GPR response during highly dynamic moisture periods has not been thoroughly investigated. The objective of this thesis is to examine the capacity of various surface GPR techniques and methodologies for the characterization of soil moisture dynamics in the upper few meters of vadose zone, and to develop measurement strategies capable of providing quantitative information about the current and future state of the shallow hydrologic system. To achieve this, an exhaustive soil moisture monitoring campaign employing a range of GPR antenna frequencies and survey acquisition geometries was initiated at three different agricultural field sites located in southern Ontario, Canada, between May 2006 and October 2008. This thesis represents the first attempt to evaluate multiple annual cycles of soil conditions and associated hydrological processes using high-frequency GPR measurements. Summaries of the seven major works embodied in this thesis are provided below. Direct ground wave (DGW) measurements obtained with GPR have been used in a number of previous studies to monitor volumetric water content changes in the root zone; however, these studies have involved controlled field experiments or measurements collected across limited ranges in soil moisture. To further investigate the capacity of the DGW method, multi-frequency (i.e., 225 MHz, 450 MHz and 900 MHz) common-midpoint (CMP) measurements were used to monitor a complete annual cycle of soil water content variations at three sites with different soil textures (i.e., sand, sandy loam and silt loam). CMP surveys permitted characterization of the nature and evolution of the near-surface electromagnetic wavefields, and their subsequent impact on DGW velocity measurements. GPR results showed significant temporal variations in both the near-surface wavefield and multi-frequency DGW velocities corresponding to both seasonal and shorter term variations in soil conditions. While all of the measurement sites displayed similar temporal responses, the rate and magnitude of these velocity variations corresponded to varying soil water contents which were primarily controlled by the soil textural properties. Overall, the DGW measurements obtained using higher frequency antennas were less impacted by near-surface wavefield interference due to their shorter signal pulse duration. The estimation of soil water content using GPR velocity requires an appropriate petrophysical relationship between the dielectric permittivity and volumetric water content of the soil. The ability of various empirical relationships, volumetric mixing formulae and effective medium approximations were evaluated to predict near-surface volumetric soil water content using high-frequency DGW velocity measurements obtained from CMP soundings. Measurements were collected using 225, 450 and 900 MHz antennas across sand, sandy loam and silt loam soil textures over a complete annual cycle of soil conditions. A lack of frequency dependence in the results indicated that frequency dispersion had minimal impact on the data set. However, the accuracy of soil water content predictions obtained from the various relationships ranged considerably. The best fitting relationships did exhibit some degree of textural bias that should be considered in the choice of petrophysical relationship for a given data set. Further improvements in water content estimates were obtained using a field calibrated third-order polynomial relationship and three-phase volumetric mixing formula. While DGW measurements provide valuable information within the root zone, the characterization of vertical moisture distribution and dynamics requires a different approach. A common approach utilizes normal-moveout (NMO) velocity analysis of CMP sounding data. To further examine this approach, an extensive field study using multi-frequency (i.e., 225 MHz, 450 MHz, 900 MHz) CMP soundings was conducted to monitor a complete annual cycle of vertical soil moisture conditions at the sand, sandy loam and silt loam sites. The use of NMO velocity analysis was examined for monitoring highly dynamic vertical soil moisture conditions consisting of wetting/drying and freeze/thaw cycles with varying degrees of magnitude and vertical velocity gradient. NMO velocity analysis was used to construct interval-velocity-depth models at a fixed location collected every 1 to 4 weeks. Time-lapse models were combined to construct temporal interval-velocity fields, which were converted into soil moisture content. These moisture fields were used to characterize the vertical distribution, and dynamics of soil moisture in the upper few meters of vadose zone. Although the use of multiple antenna frequencies provided varying investigation depths and vertical resolving capabilities, optimal characterization of soil moisture conditions was obtained with 900 MHz antennas. The integration of DGW and NMO velocity data from a single CMP sounding could be used to assess the nature of shallow soil moisture coupling with underlying vadose zone conditions; however, a more quantitative analyses of the surface moisture dynamics would require definitive knowledge of GPR sampling depth. Although surface techniques have been used by a number of previous researchers to characterize soil moisture content in the vadose zone, limited temporal sampling and low resolution near the surface in these studies impeded the quantitative analysis of vertical soil moisture distribution and its associated dynamics within the shallow subsurface. To further examine the capacity of surface GPR, an extensive 26 month field study was undertaken using concurrent high-frequency (i.e., 900 MHz) reflection profiling and CMP soundings to quantitatively monitor soil moisture distribution and dynamics within a sandy vadose zone environment. An analysis on the concurrent use of reflection and CMP measurements was conducted over two contrasting annual cycles of soil conditions. Reflection profiles provided high resolution traveltime data between four stratigraphic reflection events while cumulative results of the CMP sounding data set produced precise depth estimates for those reflecting interfaces, which were used to convert interval traveltime data into soil water content estimates. The downward propagation of episodic infiltration events associated with seasonal and transient conditions were well resolved by the GPR data. The GPR data also revealed variations in the nature of these infiltration events between contrasting annual cycles. The use of CMP soundings also permitted the determination of DGW velocities, which enabled better characterization of short-duration wetting/drying and freezing/thawing processes. This higher resolution information can be used to examine the nature of the coupling between shallow and deep moisture conditions. High-resolution surface GPR measurements were used to examine vertical soil moisture distribution and its associated dynamics within the shallow subsurface over a 26 month period. While the apparent ability of surface GPR methods to give high quality estimates of soil moisture distribution in the upper 3 meters of the vadose zone was demonstrated, the nature of these GPR-derived moisture data needed to be assessed in the context of other hydrological information. As a result, GPR soil moisture estimates were compared with predictions obtained from a well-accepted hydrological modeling package, HYDRUS-1D (Simunek et al., 2008). The nature of transient infiltration pulses, evapotranspiration episodes, and deep drainage patterns were examined by comparing them with vertical soil moisture flow simulations. Using laboratory derived soil hydraulic property information from soil samples and a number of simplifying assumptions about the system, very good agreement was achieved between measured and simulated soil moisture conditions without model calibration. The overall good agreement observed between forward simulations and field measurements over the vertical profile validated the capacity of surface GPR to provide detailed information about hydraulic state conditions in the upper few meters of vadose zone. A unique DGW propagation phenomenon was observed during early soil frost formation. High-frequency DGW measurements were used to monitor the seasonal development of a thin, high velocity frozen soil layer over a wet low velocity unfrozen substratum. During the freezing process, the progressive attenuation of a low velocity DGW and the subsequent development of a high velocity DGW were observed. Numerical simulations using GPRMAX2D (Giannopoulos, 2005) showed that low velocity DGW occurring after freezing commenced was due to energy leaking across the frozen layer from the spherical body wave in the unfrozen half space. This leaky phase progressively dissipated until the frozen layer reached a thickness equivalent to one quarter of the dominant wavelength in the frozen ground. The appearance of the high velocity DGW was governed by its destructive interference with the reflection events from the base of the frozen layer. This interference obscured the high velocity DGW until the frozen layer thickness reached one half of the dominant wavelength in the frozen ground. While GPR has been extensively used to study frozen soil conditions in alpine environments, its capacity to characterize highly dynamic shallow freeze-thaw processes typically observed in temperate environments is not well understood. High-frequency reflection profiles and CMP soundings were used to monitor the freezing and thawing process during the winter seasonal period at the sand and silt loam sites. Reflection profiles revealed the long-term development of a very shallow (<0.5 m) soil frost zone overlying unfrozen wet substratum. During the course of the winter season, long-term traveltime analysis yielded physical properties of the frozen and unfrozen layers as well as the spatial distribution of the base of the soil frost zone. Short-term shallow thawing events overlying frozen substratum formed a dispersive waveguide for both the CMP and reflection profile surveys. Inversion of the dispersive wavefields for the CMP data yielded physical property estimates for the thawed and frozen soils and thawed layer thickness. It was shown that GPR can be used to monitor very shallow freezing and thawing events by responding to changes in the relative dielectric permittivity of the soil water phase. The works embodied in this thesis demonstrate the effectiveness of high-frequency GPR as a non-invasive soil moisture monitoring tool under a full range of naturally occurring moisture conditions with the temporal and vertical resolution necessary to quantitatively examine shallow vadose zone moisture dynamics. Because this study encompassed an unprecedented range of naturally occurring soil conditions, including numerous short and long duration wetting/drying and freezing/thawing cycles, complex geophysical responses were observed during highly dynamic soil moisture processes. Analysis and interpretation of these geophysical responses yielded both qualitative and quantitative information about the state of the hydrologic system, and hence, provided a non-invasive means of characterizing soil moisture processes in shallow vadose zone environments. In the future, these GPR soil moisture monitoring strategies should be incorporated into advanced land-surface hydrological modeling studies to improve our understanding of shallow hydrologic systems and its impacts on groundwater resources.

abstract: Bioretention basins are a common stormwater best management practice (BMP) used to mitigate the hydrologic consequences of urbanization. Dry wells, also known as vadose-zone wells, have been used extensively in bioretention basins in Maricopa County, Arizona to decrease total drain time and recharge groundwater. A mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model has been developed for the minimum cost design of bioretention basins with dry wells. The model developed simultaneously determines the peak stormwater inflow from watershed parameters and optimizes the size of the basin and the number and depth of dry wells based on infiltration, evapotranspiration (ET), and dry well characteristics and cost inputs. The modified rational method is used for the design storm hydrograph, and the Green-Ampt method is used for infiltration. ET rates are calculated using the Penman Monteith method or the Hargreaves-Samani method. The dry well flow rate is determined using an equation developed for reverse auger-hole flow. The first phase of development of the model is to expand a nonlinear programming (NLP) for the optimal design of infiltration basins for use with bioretention basins. Next a single dry well is added to the NLP bioretention basin optimization model. Finally the number of dry wells in the basin is modeled as an integer variable creating a MINLP problem. The NLP models and MINLP model are solved using the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). Two example applications demonstrate the efficiency and practicality of the model. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil Engineering 2016

A modelagem da dinâmica de solutos no solo tem se mostrado uma ferramenta essencial, pois permite simular cenários e prever impactos ao meio ambiente associados ao manejo inadequado de fertilizantes agrícolas. Na zona radicular das culturas a parametrização do transporte de solutos, bem como a parametrização física do solo, são de difícil determinação tornando a sua modelagem onerosa e imprecisa. Portanto, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar a performance do modelo SWAP (Soil, Water, Atmosphere and Plant), em simular a extração da solução do solo pela cultura do milho, em ambiente protegido. O ambiente de estudo ficou restrito à rizosfera da cultura do milho ao longo de seu ciclo de desenvolvimento, mediante a aplicação de uma solução de nitrato de potássio via água de irrigação. Para isso, conduziu-se um experimento em ambiente protegido, cujo cultivo do milho foi feito em 18 lisímetros de drenagem de 500L com plantio de duas covas por lisímetro (plantio em 22/11/2014 e colheita em 22/02/2015). Os valores de umidade volumétrica do solo e de condutividade elétrica da solução do solo foram registrados pela TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry), sendo monitorados em 4 profundidades ao longo da secção transversal das raízes (5, 15, 25 e 35 cm). Também foram monitoradas variáveis agrometeorológicas a fim de se descrever as condições experimentais. Os valores simulados pelo modelo SWAP foram confrontados com os dados observados, registrados pela TDR. A avaliação da performance do modelo foi feita pelo emprego do índice de concordância (Id), índice de avaliação de modelos (E), raíz quadrada média do erro (RMSE) e coeficiente de determinação. Diante dos resultados obtidos, percebeu-se pelo monitoramento agrometeorológico que o ciclo da cultura se deu em condições de anomalias climáticas, isso de certa forma influenciou na extração de água pela cultura. A simulação da extração de água na rizosfera do milho pelo modelo SWAP demonstrou uma satisfatória performance do modelo, o qual apresentou resultado pelos índices de avaliação valores superiores a 0,7 e índices de concordância superiores a 0,9 para todas as camadas monitoradas. O erro quadrático médio foi inferior a 0,009 cm3 cm-3 para todas as camadas, apesar de ter nas camadas mais profundas uma atenuação qualitativa na simulação. O movimento da extração da solução do solo na rizosfera, em especial, nas camadas superficiais apresentaram resultados satisfatórios com índices de avaliação de modelos de 0,659 e 0,596 e índices de concordância de 0,913 e 0,834, respectivamente, para as camadas de 5 e 15 cm de profundidade. Já para as camadas mais profundas não se observou boa aderência do valor simulado aos dados. O coeficiente de extração relativa da solução do solo pelo milho apresentou valor de 16%. Assim, o modelo SWAP mostrou-se satisfatório na simulação do movimento da solução do solo na zona radicular da cultura do milho, mesmo sob condições atmosféricas extremas. Não obstante, seu desempenho foi prejudicado para as simulações em camadas inferiores, onde foi observada uma baixa variação do conteúdo de água e concentração de sais no solo. / The modeling of solute dynamics in soil is an essential tool for simulating scenarios and predicting environment impacts associated with inadequate management of fertilizers. Solute transport parameter and soil physical parameters in the vadose zone are difficult to determine, causing modeling to be expensive and imprecise. This research, therefore, was set up to evaluate the effectiveness of the SWAP (Soil, Water, Atmosphere and Plant) model to simulate soil solution uptake by corn under controlled environmental conditions. The study consisted of applying a potassium nitrate solution in irrigation water to maize rhizosphere throughout its development cycle. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in which maize was planted on 11/22/2014 and harvested on 02/22/2015 in eighteen 500L drainage lysimeters.The soil moisture values and electrical conductivity of soil solution were registered by TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) at four depths (5, 15, 25 and 35 cm) along the cross-section of the root. Environmental variables were also monitored in order to characterize the experimental conditions. Values simulated by the SWAP model were compared with observed data recorded by the TDR. Model performance was evaluated by the use of the Concordance Index (Id), the Model Assessment Index (E), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Coefficient of Determination. As the experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, the water uptake patterns might not be reflective of uptake patterns under normal weather conditions. The simulation of water extraction in the rhizosphere of corn by SWAP model matched observed values, with indices greater than 0.7 and concordance rates of over 0.9, for all monitored layers. The RMSE was less than 0.009 cm3 cm-3 for all layers. The concentration of extracts of the soil solution in the rhizosphere, in particular in the top two layers, were satisfactorily simulated with model evaluation indexes of 0.659 and 0.596, and concordance rates of 0.913 and 0.834, respectively, for the 5 and 15 cm layers. For the deeper layers, there was little correlation between the observed and simulated value. The relative extraction coefficient of soil solution for corn was 16%. Thus, the SWAP model satisfactorily simulated soil solution movement in the upper layers of the vadose zone of maize, even under extreme weather conditions. However, the model did not perform as well in the lower layers performance was impaired for the simulations in lower layers, which had low variation in the observed water content and salt concentration in the soil.

No description available.