Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Soil Water Content in Fields under Different Vegetation Conditions Based on TDR Measurements

Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly
ISSN 00213551
NII recode ID (NCID) AA0068709X
Full text
37-04-06.pdf726.75 KB

TDR (Time-domain reflectometry) is an advanced method for monitoring the water content in fields. TDR measurements can provide accurate information about vegetation effects on both spatial and temporal soil water distribution. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of vegetation conditions on the distribution of the soil water content. Soil water content was measured to express the spatial distribution in the surface layer (0-0.2 m) in grass, corn, and non-planted fields. Additionally, using the TDR method with multiple probes with different lengths, the measurements were conducted on a temporal basis at 4 depths (0-0.1, 0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3 and 0.3-0.5 m) to determine the soil-water content profiles in the 3 fields. A significantly higher water content in both the grass and cornfields was found, compared to the non-planted field. Moreover, in the cornfield, we observed that microtopographic features significantly affected the spatial water distribution. The lower the soil water content, the higher the coefficient of variation of the soil moisture content. These results indicated that the effects of the vegetation conditions on the soil water distribution in the fields were significant. From the observation of the temporal soil water profiles in the 3 fields, it was found that soil management, i.e. tillage or no-tillage, was a major factor affecting the profiles.

Date of issued
Creator MIYAMOTO Teruhito PUTISO Mahithon SHIONO Takahiro TARUYA Hiroyuki CHIKUSHI Jiro
Subject

electromagnetic wave

Andisol

multiple probes with different lengths

Publisher Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Available Online
NII resource type vocabulary Journal Article
Volume 37
Issue 4
spage 243
epage 248
DOI 10.6090/jarq.37.243
Rights Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Language eng

Related Publication