Modeling Soil Water–Heat Dynamic Changes in Seed-Maize Fields under Film Mulching and Deficit Irrigation Conditions

Abstract

The Soil–Water–Atmosphere–Plant (SWAP) model does not have a mulching module to simulate the effect of film mulching on soil water, heat dynamics and crop growth. In this study, SWAP model parameters were selected to simulate the soil water–heat process and crop growth, taking into account the effect of film mulching on soil evaporation, temperature, and crop growth, in order to predict the influence of future climate change on crop growth and evapotranspiration (ET). A most suitable scheme for high yield and water use efficiency (WUE) was studied by an experiment conducted in the Shiyang River Basin of Northwest China during 2017 and 2018. The experiment included mulching (M1) and non-mulching (M0) under three drip irrigation treatments, including full (WF), medium (WM), low (WL) water irrigation. Results demonstrated that SWAP simulated soil water storage (SWS) well, soil temperature at various depths, leaf area index (LAI) and aboveground dry biomass (ADB) with the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of 16.2%, 7.5%, 16.1% and 16.4%, respectively; and yield, ET, and WUE with the mean relative error (MRE) of 10.5%, 12.4% and 14.8%, respectively, under different treatments on average. The measured and simulated results showed film mulching could increase soil temperature, promote LAI during the early growth period, and ultimately improve ADB, yield and WUE. Among the treatments, M1WM treatment with moderate water deficit and film mulching could achieve the target of more WUE, higher yield, less irrigation water. Changes in atmospheric temperature, precipitation, and CO2 concentration are of worldwide concern. Three Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) showed a negative effect on LAI, ADB and yield of seed-maize. The yield of seed-maize on an average decreased by 33.2%, 13.9% under the three RCPs scenarios for film mulching and non-mulching, respectively. Predicted yields under film mulching were lower than that under non-mulching for the next 30 years demonstrating that current film mulching management might not be suitable for this area to improve crop production under the future climate scenarios.

Effect of soil and water salinity on dry season boro rice production in the south-central coastal area of Bangladesh

“…The integrated SWAP-WOFOST model has emerged as a valuable tool for simulating soil salinity dynamics and their impact on crop yield [ 13 ]. SWAP, a one-dimensional agro-hydrological model, simulates the transport of solutes, water, and heat in the saturated and unsaturated zones [ 13 , 14 ], while WOFOST is a dynamic model that captures daily crop growth and production [ 15 , 16 ]. The combined SWAP-WOFOST model has been successfully used to simulate crop performance in various agricultural systems, including dry and semi-dry regions [ 13 , 17 ].…”

Simulation of Soil Water and Heat Flow under Plastic Mulching and Different Ridge Patterns

“…Plastic film mulching is usually coordinated with other measures [5]. Its combination with a ridge and furrow system (MRFS) has been shown to be beneficial to increase crop yields and water use efficiency [6][7][8][9] and has been verified in the planting of corn [10], wheat [11], potato [12] and other crops [13]; using this in combination with insufficient irrigation has been confirmed to achieve the dual purpose of saving water and increasing production [14,15], and a moderate water deficit under mulching can result in higher water content, higher yields Agriculture 2021, 11, 1099 2 of 20 and reduced irrigation water [15]. Under the condition of full-film double-ridge planting, the planting holes in the furrow are used for the aeration and infiltration of rainfall or irrigation [16]; the soil micro-topography and mulching result in uneven distributions of water and heat, which affect crop physiology activity and in turn impact soil water and heat transfer [17].…”