Este projeto de pesquisa foi desenvolvido visando quantificar possíveis distúrbios de vazão em emissores gotejadores submetidos à aplicação de ferro solúvel, sólidos em suspensão (partículas de solo) em águas contendo material orgânico (fitoplâncton/algas), com o orifício dos emissores posicionados para baixo e para cima. Foram realizados dois experimentos A e B em um período de 12 meses, utilizando-se 16 modelos de tubos gotejadores novos e 26 modelos de tubos gotejadores em uso, com suas respectivas linhas gotejadoras montadas em uma bancada de ensaios em estrutura metálica localizada no Laboratório de Irrigação, da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz - ESALQ/USP. No experimento A realizou-se 4 tratamentos (T1, T2, T3 e T4), divididos em duas fases, onde na fase 1 avaliou-se a susceptibilidade de diferentes tubos gotejadores ao entupimento por ferro solúvel via duas qualidades de água de irrigação (com e sem carga orgânica) e na fase 2, avaliou-se a susceptibilidade de diferentes tubos gotejadores ao entupimento por aplicação de ferro solúvel, carga orgânica (fitoplâncton/algas) e sólidos em suspensão, com os emissores posicionados para cima e para baixo, ainda na fase 2 aplicou-se uma solução concentrada, nos tratamentos T1 e T4, com uma relação de 1:30, diretamente nos tubos gotejadores, sem passar por filtragem, este procedimento fora adotado com o objetivo de simular a quantidade de material sedimentado numa linha de tubos gotejadores instalada em campo, de aproximadamente 300 metros. No experimento B, foram realizados dois tratamentos (T5 e T6) onde se avaliou a susceptibilidade de diferentes tubos gotejadores em uso ao entupimento por ferro solúvel, carga orgânica (fitoplâncton/algas) e sólidos suspensos (partículas de solo). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com utilização dos testes F para análise de variância e Tuckey, a 5% de significância, para comparação de médias. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a aplicação de sólidos em suspensão e elevado teor de ferro, sem passar por filtragem (tratamentos T1 e T4/Fase2/experimento A) intensificaram o processo de entupimento e que a adição de partículas de solo aos tratamentos, passando pelo sistema de filtragem (T2 e T3/Fase 2/experimento A), não potencializou mudanças significativas do cenário de suscetibilidade ao entupimento na grande maioria dos diferentes modelos de tubos gotejadores. O posicionamento para baixo dos orifícios dos emissores foi o que demonstrou maior suceptibilidade ao entupimento. Nos ensaios realizados no experimento A os modelos A, C e L foram os que apresentaram um melhor desempenho, mantendo suas vazões praticamente constante mesmo quando submetidos aos tratamentos mais agressivos (tratamentos T1 e T4/Fase2/experimento A). Os tratamentos realizados no experimento A mostraram que os modelos E, F, G e P foram os que sofreram maiores percentuais de obstrução. Os modelos E e F também apresentaram o pior desempenho quando submetidos aos ensaios realizados tratamento T5 (hidróxido de ferro + água LAB) do experimento B. / This research project was developed to quantify possible disturbances of flow rate in drip emitters subject to the application of soluble iron, suspended solids (soil particles) in water containing organic material (phytoplankton / algae), with emitters outlet positioned down and up. Two experiments were carried out A and B during 12 months period, using 16 models of new drip tubes and 26 models of used drip tubes. The tests were conducted on a bench test located at the Irrigation and Drainage Laboratory of the University of Sao Paulo (ESALQ / USP). Experiment A implemented 4 treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4) in two phases: in phase 1 it was evaluated the susceptibility of different drip tube to clogging by soluble iron under two water qualities (with and without organic load) and in phase 2 it was assessed the susceptibility of different drip tube for clogging by the application of soluble iron, organic load (phytoplankton / algae) and suspended solids with emitters outlet positioned up and down, still in phase 2 it was applied a concentrated solution in T1 and T4, with a concentration relation 1:30, directly to drip tubes, without passing through the filter, this procedure was adopted to simulate the amount of material sedimented in a lateral line of drip tubes installed in the field, of approximately 300 meters. Experiment B carried out two treatments (T5 and T6) which evaluated the susceptibility of different used drip tube for clogging by soluble iron, organic load (phytoplankton / algae) and suspended solids (soil particles). The experimental design was completely randomized, with the test \"F\" for variance analysis and Tuckey test at 5% of significance to comparison of means. The results showed that applying suspended solids and high content of iron, without passing through the filtering system (T1 and T4/Fase 2/experiment A) intensified the clogging process and the addition of soil particles to treatments through the filtering system (T2 and T3/Fase 2/experiment A) presented no significant change in the scenario of the most different types of drip tubes tested. The positioning of emitters outlet down was more susceptible to clogging. The treatments performed in experiment A showed that the models A, C and L presented the better performance, maintaining their nearly constant flow rate even when subjected to more aggressive treatments (T1 and T4/Fase 2/experiment A). The treatments implemented in experiment A showed that the models E, F, G and P were those that suffered more obstruction. Models E and F also showed the worst performance when subjected to the tests T5 treatment (iron hydroxide + water LAB) of the experiment B.

Os principais poluentes dos mananciais hídricos nas áreas rurais são a matéria orgânica, os sedimentos, os nutrientes e os pesticidas, transportados principalmente pelo escoamento da água oriunda das terras agricultadas. Devido a esse fato, faz-se necessário o desenvolvimento e aplicação de tecnologias que venham a reduzir descargas de resíduos indesejáveis. Nesse sentido, conduziu-se um experimento na área experimental do Departamento de Engenharia Rural - ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba - SP, com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes coberturas do solo, (feijão, capim e solo nu) e diferentes práticas de controle de erosão (sulco de infiltração, terraço de infiltração e rampa (sem práticas de controle de erosão)), buscando-se estimar a capacidade de infiltração de água e perdas de solo por escoamento superficial. O delineamento estatístico adotado foi o de blocos aleatorizados, em esquema fatorial 3x3 (práticas de controle de erosão x cobertura do solo), perfazendo 9 tratamentos com 3 repetições, sendo considerado cada bloco uma repetição. O período de coleta de dados pluviométricos foi de 06 de dezembro de 2007 a 11 de abril de 2008, para tal, utilizou-se um pluviômetro, com 21,1 cm de diâmetro, instalado dentro da área experimental. Observando-se as perdas de solo, em relação às estruturas, tem-se em ordem decrescente de eficiência: Terraço, Sulco e Rampa; e em relação às coberturas, tem-se em ordem decrescente de eficiência: Capim, Feijão e Solo Nu. Observando-se as perdas de água, em relação às estruturas, tem-se em ordem decrescente de eficiência: Terraço, Sulco e Rampa; e com relação às coberturas, tem-se em ordem decrescente de eficiência: Feijão, Capim e Solo Nu. Calculou-se um coeficiente de escoamento (C) corrigido para cada tratamento e foram obtidos os seguintes valores para os respectivos tratamentos: 0,18 (Terraço Feijão); 0,18 (Terraço Capim); 0,24 (Sulco Feijão); 0,26 (Sulco Capim); 0,29 (Rampa Capim); 0,31 (Rampa Feijão); 0,42 (Terraço Solo Nu); 0,44 (Sulco Solo Nu) e 0,52 (Rampa Solo Nu). Devido ao replantio do feijão, houve uma maior movimentação de terra nas parcelas com esta cobertura de solo, favorecendo assim a um aumento na desagregação de solo, conseqüentemente, um aumento no arraste de partículas de solo e uma maior infiltração de água. / The main pollutants of water resources from agricultural areas are organic matter, sediments, nutrients and pesticides, carried out mainly by runoff from farming lands. Considering this fact, it is very important the development and application of technologies to reduce such undesirable residues discharges, that were analyzed in this study. The experiment was carried out in the experimental area at ESALQ / USP, Piracicaba - SP, Brazil, with the objective to evaluate the effect of different ground coverings, wide base terraces and infiltration furrows in slopes, searching esteem the water infiltration capacity and soil losses by run-off. The adopted statistical delineation in the experiment was randomized blocks, in 3x3 factorial diagram (torrent containment structures x ground covering), making 9 treatments with 3 repetitions, being considered each block a repetition. The torrent containment structures have been: infiltration furrows, infiltration terrace and slope (without containment structure) and the ground coverings have been: bean, grass and naked ground (without ground covering). The pluviometric data collection began in December, 06, 2007 and finished in April, 11, 2008, for such, was used a rain gauge, with 21.1 cm of diameter, installed inside of the experimental area. Observing the ground losses, with relationship to the structures, we have in sequence of decreasing efficiency: Terrace, Furrow and Slope; and with relationship to the covering: Grass, Bean and Naked Ground. Observing the water losses, with relationship to the structures, we have in sequence of decreasing efficiency: Terrace, Furrow and Slope; and with relationship to the covering: Bean, Grass and Naked Ground. A draining coefficient average (C) was calculated for each treatment that is for the respective treatments: 0.18 (Bean Terrace), 0.18 (Grass Terrace), 0.24 (Bean Furrow), 0.26 (Grass Furrow), 0.29 (Grass Slope), 0.31 (Bean Slope), 0.42 (Naked Ground Terrace), 0.44 (Naked Ground Furrow) and 0.52 (Naked Ground Slope). Had to the replant of the beans, it had a bigger land movement in the parcels with this ground covering, thus favoring to an increase in the ground disaggregation, consequently, an increase in it drags of ground particles and a bigger water infiltration.

A produção de rosas em ambiente protegido sob fertirrigação é uma técnica bastante utilizada pelos produtores e vem se expandindo consideravelmente, principalmente no Estado de São Paulo; cultivo este antes restrito a região Sudeste, hoje se encontra em todas as regiões do País. O manejo adequado da irrigação associado à fertirrigação nitrogenada é um fator relevante nos parâmetros de produtividade e de qualidade das rosas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a produtividade e a qualidade das hastes florais na cultura da roseira, variedade Samourai® Meikatana, submetida a diferentes níveis de depleção da água no solo e doses de nitrogênio aplicadas via fertirrigação sob cultivo em ambiente protegido. O experimento foi conduzido na área experimental do Departamento de Engenharia Biossistemas da Escola Superior de Agricultura \"Luiz de Queiroz\", em Piracicaba, SP. O delineamento estatístico foi em blocos casualizados, em esquema fatorial 4 x 4, totalizando 16 tratamentos, com 4 repetições, sendo a unidade experimental representada por uma parcela com dimensões de 0,4 x 0,5 x 2,0 m. Os tratamentos foram compostos pela combinação de quatro doses de nitrogênio (N1 = 5, N2 = 10, N3 = 15 e N4 = 20 g planta-1 ano-1) e quatro níveis de depleção da água no solo (F1 = 0,15; F2 = 0,30; F3 = 0,45 e F4 = 0,60). O sistema de irrigação utilizado foi o gotejamento, adotando manejo de irrigação com tensiômetros providos de transdutores de pressão. Ao longo do ciclo da cultura foi realizado o monitoramento da condutividade elétrica (CE), potencial hidrogeniônico (pH) e a concentração de nitrato (NO3-) e potássio (K) na solução coletada. Foram avaliados a produtividade, os parâmetros qualitativos das hastes e botões, a temperatura e o potencial da água na folha, o consumo hídrico, a produtividade da água, o teor de nutrientes no tecido vegetal e a renda bruta. Os resultados demostram que a dose de N que maximiza a produção comercial de hastes decresce à medida que se prolongam as colheitas. O estresse hídrico temporário (depleção) afeta negativamente os parâmetros quantitativos e qualitativos das hastes de rosas. A produção e a qualidade das hastes são mais afetadas pelas doses de nitrogênio do que pelos níveis de depleção da água no solo. A temperatura foliar e o potencial da água na folha são afetados pelos níveis de depleção e não são influenciados pelas doses de nitrogênio. O consumo hídrico é afetado por ambos os fatores estudados. A produtividade da água em hastes aumenta em função dos fatores doses de N e depleção da água no solo. Os tratamentos promoveram diferenças significativas na fitomassa e no teor de N > K > Ca > Mg > P > S no tecido vegetal das hastes florais de rosas. / The production of roses in protected environment under fertigation is a technique used by farmers and has expanded considerably, especially in the state of São Paulo, Brazil; this culture, previously limited to the Southeast region of Brazil, today is found in all regions of the country. Proper management of irrigation associated to nitrogenated fertigation is an important factor in productivity parameters and quality of cut roses. The aims of this study was to evaluate the productivity and quality of the flowers in the rose bush, \"Samourai® Meikatana\", variety, under different soil water depletion factors and nitrogen levels applied through fertigation under cultivation in protected environment. The experiment was carried in the experimental area of the Biosystems Engineering Department, School of Agriculture \"Luiz de Queiroz\", in Piracicaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Experimental design was a randomized blocks in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme, totaling 16 treatments, with four replications and plot with dimensions of 0.4 x 0.5 x 2.0 m. The treatments consisted of combinations of four nitrogen levels (N1 = 5, N2 = 10, N3 = 15 and N4 = 20 g plant-1 year-1) and four levels of soil water depletion (F1 = 0.15 ; F2 = 0.30, F3 = 0.45 and F4 = 0.60). The application of water and nutrients (fertigation) was performed when the soil water availability reached these percentages. The irrigation system used was drip irrigation adopting management with tensiometers equipped with pressure transducers. Throughout the crop cycle was performed monitoring of electrical conductivity (EC), potential hydrogen (pH) and concentration of nitrate (NO3-) and potassium (K) in the soil solution. The yield, the qualitative parameters of the stems and buds of cut roses, leaf temperature and water potential, water consumption, water productivity, nutrient content in plant tissue and gross income was evaluated. The dose of N which maximizes the commercial production of cut flowers decreases as it extends harvest. The temporary water stress (depletion) negatively affects the quantitative and qualitative parameters of cut roses. The production and quality of cut roses are more affected by nitrogen levels than by the soil water depletion. Leaf temperature and leaf water potential are affected by levels of depletion and are not influenced by the nitrogen levels. The water consumption is affected by both studied factors. Water productivity in cut roses increases due to the N levels and soil water depletion factors. The treatments promoted significant differences in phytomass and content of N > K > Ca > Mg > P > S in plant tissue of the roses floral stems.

- Einleitung: Projektvorstellung 3D – Saat - Material und Methode zur Einflussermittlung von Bodenparametern auf die Ergebnisse der Feuchtemessung - Präsentation und Diskussion der Ergebnisse - Zusammenfassung und Ausblick

Crop growth simulation models can address a variety of agricultural problems, but their use to directly assist in-season irrigation management decisions is less common. Confidence in model reliability can be increased if models are shown to provide improved in-season management recommendations, which are explicitly tested in the field. The objective of this study was to compare the CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton model (with recently updated ET routines) to a well-tested FAO-56 irrigation scheduling spreadsheet by (1) using both tools to schedule cotton irrigation during 2014 and 2015 in central Arizona and (2) conducting a post-hoc simulation study to further compare outputs from these tools. Two replications of each irrigation scheduling treatment and a water-stressed treatment were established on a 2.6 ha field. Irrigation schedules were developed on a weekly basis and administered via an overhead lateral-move sprinkler irrigation system. Neutron moisture meters were used weekly to estimate soil moisture status and crop water use, and destructive plant samples were routinely collected to estimate cotton leaf area index (LAI) and canopy weight. Cotton yield was estimated using two mechanical cotton pickers with differing capabilities: (1) a two-row picker that facilitated manual collection of yield samples from 32 m(2) areas and (2) a four-row picker equipped with a sensor-based cotton yield monitoring system. In addition to statistical testing of field data via mixed models, the data were used for post-hoc reparameterization and fine-tuning of the irrigation scheduling tools. Post-hoc simulations were conducted to compare measured and simulated evapotranspiration, crop coefficients, root zone soil moisture depletion, cotton growth metrics, and yield for each irrigation treatment. While total seasonal irrigation amounts were similar among the two scheduling tools, the crop model recommended more water during anthesis and less during the early season, which led to higher cotton fiber yield in both seasons (p < 0.05). The tools calculated cumulative evapotranspiration similarly, with root mean squared errors (RMSEs) less than 13%; however, FAO-56 crop coefficient (K-c) plots demonstrated subtle differences in daily evapotranspiration calculations. Root zone soil moisture depletion was better calculated by CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton, perhaps due to its more complex soil profile simulation; however, RMSEs for depletion always exceeded 20% for both tools and reached 149% for the FAO-56 spreadsheet in 2014. CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton simulated cotton LAI, canopy weight, canopy height, and yield with RMSEs less than 21%, while the FAO-56 spreadsheet had no capability for such outputs. Through field verification and thorough post-hoc data analysis, the results demonstrated that the CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton model with updated FAO-56 ET routines could match or exceed the accuracy and capability of an FAO-56 spreadsheet tool for cotton water use calculations and irrigation scheduling.

Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Cette thèse étudie l'évaporation et l'humidité du sol, deux paramètres clefs du cycle hydrologique et du système climatique.L'évaporation potentielle (ETP) est un paramètre clef pour les modèles hydrologiques et agronomiques qui décrit les interactions entre la surface et l'atmosphère. Il constitue la base des estimations de l'évaporation réelle. Nous avons évalué, à l'échelle globale et pour le climat actuel ainsi que pour les changements attendus, des estimations de l'ETP basées sur des principes physiques ainsi que des approches empiriques. La méthode d'estimation du flux potentiel conseillée par la Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) montre une sous évaluation par rapport au schéma de surface, ce qui a pu être relié à certaines hypothèses faites. Ceci implique aussi une sensibilité plus faible au changement climatique de la formulation proposée par la FAO. Nous avons aussi constaté que les méthodes empiriques ne représentent pas correctement l'impact du changement climatique sur l'ETP.L'humidité du sol est analysée du point de vue de la température de brillance en Bande-L (TB). Cette mesure du rayonnement émis par la surface dans une bande spectrale sensible à l'eau dans les premiers centimètres du sol, constitue une des pistes pour l'estimation de l'humidité de surface depuis l'espace. Des mesures de TB ont été comparées, au dessus de la Péninsule Ibérique, à des données simulées par deux schémas de surface. Un bon accord a été trouvé entre les observations et les simulations sur l'évolution temporelle des signaux. Par contre, les structures spatiales peuvent être très différentes au cours de l'automne et l'hiver à cause de cycles annuels très contrastés. / This thesis deals with the study of evaporation and soil moisture, t wo main parameters of the hydrological cycle, and thus the climate system. First, potential evaporation (ET P ) is analysed. It is an important input to hydrological and agronomic models, key to describe the interactions between the surface e and the atmosphere, and the basis of most of the estimations of actual evapora tion. Physically-based and empirical methods to estimate ET P are evaluated, at a global scale, under current climate conditions and in a changing climate. The former methods correspond to those implemented in land surface models (LSM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (F AO) reference evapotranspiration equation. The assumptions made in FAO's method underest imate ET P if compared to LSM methods. They also result in a lower sensitive ty of ET P to climate change. In addition, empirical equations are not able to reproduce the impact of climate change on ET P if compared to that from LSM methods. Soil moisture is the second aim of this thesis. It is treated t hrough the analysis of brightness temperatures (TB). These are a measure of the radiation emitted by the surface , and thus an optimum parameter to use in remote sensing techniques for soi l moisture retrieval. Measured TB from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission are compared, over the Iberian Peninsula, to two sets of TB modelled estimates from two LSM. There is a good agreement in the temporal evolution between them. However, discrepancy es are found regarding the spatial structures, which become more evident during fall and winter and are mainly explained by differences in the annual cycle of measured and modelled TB.

Most soils in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa are shallow and are low in organic matter. Therefore these soils are structurally fragile and highly susceptible to inherent degradative processes like hardsetting. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of cattle manure, scalping and soil wetness on aggregate stability, penetration resistance and early maize growth in hardsetting soils. Glasshouse and field studies were conducted to determine the effect of cattle manure on aggregate stability and penetration resistance of freshly exposed topsoils by scalping at 0, 10 and 20 cm depths. In the glasshouse cattle manure was applied at 0 and 20 Mg/ha and matric suction was kept at ~ 30 and ~ 400 kPa; contrasting high and low soil wetness. Three soils were put in pots and arranged in a randomized complete block 3 2 2 factorial design. The field study was done at the University of Fort Hare research farm and the treatments were arranged in a split-plot complete randomized design with three replications. Scalping treatment was the main plot whilst the quantity of the cattle manure applied was the sub plot. Cattle manure increased mean weight diameter (MWD) by between 48% and 71% under glasshouse and between 18% and 33% under field conditions, depending on the soil wetting rate. Cattle manure reduced MWD when the soil under field condition was subjected to mechanical shaking. Soil penetration resistance decreased linearly, with increasing soil wetness but it rapidly increased with increase in matric suction up to ~200 kPa and thereafter the rate of increase reduced. In the glasshouse, all treatments had no significant effects on shoot dry weight but low matric suction increased root dry weight by 133%. Interaction of cattle manure and low matric suction reduced shoot length by 6%, shoot fresh weight by 25%, root surface area by 36%, root length by 5% and root fresh weight by 29% compared to the control. In contrast, application of cattle manure and high matric suction increased shoot length by 37%, shoot fresh weight by 136%, root surface area by 159%, root length by 94% and root fresh weight by 119%. In the field, cattle manure application increased root length density and shoot dry matter by 26% and 30% respectively. Cattle manure improved the stability of aggregates of the hardsetting soil under rapid or slow water intake conditions experienced during rainfall or irrigation. However, under field conditions cattle manure acted as a deflocculant and decreased the stability of aggregates when mechanical stress was applied. The effectiveness of cattle manure in improving maize growth in hardsetting soils was determined by matric suction.

Numerical models often fail to accurately simulate and forecast a hydrological state in operation due to its inherent uncertainties. Data Assimilation (DA) is a promising technology that uses real-time observations to modify a model's parameters and internal variables to make it more representative of the actual state of the system it describes. In this thesis, hydrological DA is first reviewed from the perspective of its objective, scope, applications and the challenges it faces. Special attention is then given to nonlinear Kalman filters such as the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Based on a review of the existing studies, it is found that the potential of EKF has not been fully exploited. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a semi-distributed rainfall-runoff model that is widely used in agricultural water management and flood forecasting. However, studies of hydrological DA that are based on distributed models are relatively rare because hydrological DA is still in its infancy, with many issues to be resolved, and linear statistical models and lumped rainfall-runoff models are often used for the sake of simplicity. This study aims to fill this gap by assimilating streamflow and surface soil moisture observations into the SWAT model to improve its state simulation and forecasting capability. Unless specifically defined, all ‘forecasts’ in Italic font are based on the assumption of a perfect knowledge of the meteorological forecast. EKF is chosen as the DA method for its solid theoretical basis and parsimonious implementation procedures. Given the large number of parameters and storage variables in SWAT, only the watershed scale variables are included in the state vector, and the Hydrological Response Unit (HRU) scale variables are updated with the a posteriori/a priori ratio of their watershed scale counterparts. The Jacobian matrix is calculated numerically by perturbing the state variables. Two case studies are carried out with real observation data in order to verify the effectiveness of EKF assimilation. The upstream section of the Senegal River (above Bakel station) in western Africa is chosen for the streamflow assimilation, and the USDA ARS Little Washita experimental watershed is chosen to examine surface soil moisture assimilation. In the case of streamflow assimilation, a spinoff study is conducted to compare EKF state-parameter assimilation with a linear autoregressive (AR) output assimilation to improve SWAT’s flood forecasting capability. The influence of precipitation forecast uncertainty on the effectiveness of EKF assimilation is discussed in the context of surface soil moisture assimilation. In streamflow assimilation, EKF was found to be effective mostly in the wet season due to the weak connection between runoff, soil moisture and the curve number (CN2) in dry seasons. Both soil moisture and CN2 were significantly updated in the wet season despite having opposite update patterns. The flood forecast is moderately improved for up to seven days, especially in the flood period by applying the EKF subsequent open loop (EKFsOL) scheme. The forecast is further improved with a newly designed quasi-error update scheme. Comparison between EKF and AR output assimilation in flood forecasting reveals that while both methods can improve forecast accuracy, their performance is influenced by the hydrological regime of the particular year. EKF outperformed the AR model in dry years, while AR outperformed the EKF in wet years. Compared to AR, EKF is more robust and less sensitive to the length of the forecast lead time. A combined EKF-AR method provides satisfying results in both dry and wet years. The assimilation of surface soil moisture is proved effective in improving the full profile soil moisture and streamflow estimate. The setting of state and observation vector has a great impact on the assimilation results. The state vector with streamflow and all-layer soil moisture outperforms other, more complicated state vectors, including those augmented with intermediate variables and model parameters. The joint assimilation of surface soil moisture and streamflow observation provides a much better estimate of soil moisture compared to assimilating the streamflow only. The updated SWAT model is sufficiently robust to issue improved forecasts of soil moisture and streamflow after the assimilation is ‘unplugged’. The error quantification is found to be critical to the performance of EKF assimilation. Nevertheless, the application of an adaptive EKF shows no advantages over using the trial and error method in determining time-invariant model errors. The robustness of EKF assimilation is further verified by explicitly perturbing the precipitation ‘forecast’ in the EKF subsequent forecasts. The open loop model without previous EKF update is more vulnerable to erroneous precipitation estimates. Compared to streamflow forecasting, soil moisture forecasting is found to be more resilient to erroneous precipitation input.

A computer model was developed in order to determine the effects of drainage practices on nutrient losses from level agricultural soils. The model performs a daily simulation of the vertical flow of water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and heat, and of the growth of crops. A water flow submodel calculates the depth of the water table based on daily predictions of evaporation, transpiration, flow to drains and ditches, and deep percolation. An original saturated-unsaturated flow algorithm is used to determine moisture infiltration, redistribution, and upward flow in the soil matrix, as well as bypassing flow in the soil macropores and horizontal flux between the soil matrix and the macropores, and surface runoff. Nutrient movement occurs by mass flow. Heat flow, nutrient biochemical transformations, and crop growth are determined by using well established relations. Field tests were carried out for a period of two years on an experimental site in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia. The water table depth was measured on a continuous basis. Grab samples of drainwater and observation wells were obtained periodically and analyzed for nitrogen (N0₃-N, NH₄-N, and TKN) and phosphorus (P0₄-P and TP). The field results show a decrease in the concentration of all nutrients over the sampling period, and provide evidence that denitrification and bypassing flow are important mechanisms affecting the nutrient balance of this soil. These results were used to calibrate the model. An excellent fit of the observed water table profile and an adequate fit of the observed drain concentration of nitrate were obtained. The simulation revealed that bypassing flow is a very important transfer mechanism in this soil and must be included in order to obtain a satisfactory fit of the experimental data. A sensitivity analysis of the model showed that the patterns of moisture flow have a predominant influence on the rate of nutrient leaching. In particular, it was found that the nutrient concentration in drain water is a strong function of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil matrix and of the horizontal distance between the soil macropores, which control the ratio of moisture flow in the soil matrix to the macropore flow and the lateral diffusion of nutrients between the soil matrix and the macropores. The effects of four different drainage designs on nutrient losses were simulated over a period of two years for three different soils and two different nutrient distributions in the soil. It was found that there is a large difference between the amount of nutrients leached from drainage systems using different drainage coefficients. There was also a large difference in the response of two drainage designs based on the same drainage coefficient but using different depth and spacing of drains. Transient effects, as determined by the initial vertical distribution of the nutrients, were seen to remain dominant over the two year duration of the simulation. The model was found to be useful in explaining the apparent contradictions found in the literature assessing the effects of subsurface drainage on nutrient losses. The results from the model show these effects to be strongly site and condition specific. Furthermore, the model shows that soils and drainage designs that produce similar volumes of drain flow may exhibit very different leaching responses, and that drainage designs equivalent from a hydraulic standpoint can be very dissimilar in their potential for leaching nutrients. The model provides a tool which can be used to determine the appropriateness of different drainage designs in soils where minimizing nutrient losses is critical. / Science, Faculty of / Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for / Graduate