<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Mathematical models are effective tools for evaluating the impact of predicted climate change on agricultural production, but it is difficult to test their applicability to future weather conditions. We applied the SWAP model to assess its applicability to climate conditions, differing from those, for which the model was developed. We used a database obtained from a winter wheat drought stress experiment. Winter wheat was grown in six soil columns, three having optimal water supply (NS), while three were kept under drought-stressed conditions (S). The SWAP model was successfully calibrated against measured values of potential evapotranspiration (PET), potential evaporation (PE) and total amount of water (TSW) in the soil columns. The Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (N-S) for TWS for the stressed columns was 0.92. For the NS treatment, we applied temporally variable soil hydraulic properties because of soil consolidation caused by regular irrigation. This approach improved the N-S values for the wetting-drying cycle from -1.77 to 0.54. We concluded that the model could be used for assessing the effects of climate change on soil water regime. Our results indicate that soil water balance studies should put more focus on the time variability of structuredependent soil properties.</p></abstract>

Mathematical models are effective tools for evaluating the impact of predicted climate change on agricultural production, but it is difficult to test their applicability to future weather conditions. We applied the SWAP model to assess its applicability to climate conditions, differing from those, for which the model was developed. We used a database obtained from a winter wheat drought stress experiment. Winter wheat was grown in six soil columns, three having optimal water supply (NS), while three were kept under drought-stressed conditions (S). The SWAP model was successfully calibrated against measured values of potential evapotranspiration (PET), potential evaporation (PE) and total amount of water (TSW) in the soil columns. The Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (N-S) for TWS for the stressed columns was 0.92. For the NS treatment, we applied temporally variable soil hydraulic properties because of soil consolidation caused by regular irrigation. This approach improved the N-S values for the wetting-drying cycle from -1.77 to 0.54. We concluded that the model could be used for assessing the effects of climate change on soil water regime. Our results indicate that soil water balance studies should put more focus on the time variability of structuredependent soil properties.

Modelling soil water content variations under drought stress on soil column cropped with winter wheat

Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1, Gödöllő 2100, Hungary

Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, Budapest 1117, Hungary.

Institute for Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman O. u. 15, Budapest 1022, Hungary.

Institute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 81302 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Bioforsk, Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, Fr. A. Dahlsvei 20, Ås 1430, Norway

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mathematical models are effective tools for evaluating the impact of predicted climate change on agricultural production, but it is difficult to test their...

Modelling soil water content variations under drought stress on soil column cropped with winter wheat

Published Online: Nov 15, 2014

Page range: 269 - 276

Received: Jun 12, 2014

Accepted: Sep 01, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/johh-2014-0036

© 2014

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.