Yaser Ostovari; shoja ghorbani; Hosseinali Bahrami; Mahdi Naderi; mozhgan abasi
Abstract
Introduction: Soil erodibility (K factor) is generally considered as soil sensitivity to erosion and is highly affected by different climatic, physical, hydrological, chemical, mineralogical and biological properties. This factor can be directly determined as the mean rate of soil loss from standard ...
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Introduction: Soil erodibility (K factor) is generally considered as soil sensitivity to erosion and is highly affected by different climatic, physical, hydrological, chemical, mineralogical and biological properties. This factor can be directly determined as the mean rate of soil loss from standard plots divided by erosivity factor. Since measuring the erodibility factor in the field especially watershed scale is time-consuming and costly, this factor is commonly estimated by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) using readily available soil properties. Wischmeier and Smith (1978) developed an equation using multiple linear regressions (MLR) to estimate erodibility factor of the USA using some readily available soil properties. This equation has been used to estimate K based on soil properties in many studies. As using PTFs in large sales is limited due to cost and time of collecting samples, recently soil spectroscopy technique has been widely used to predict certain soil properties using Point SpectroTransfer Functions (PSTFs). PSTFs use the correlation between soil spectra in Vis-NIR (350-2500 nm) and certain soil properties. The objective of this study was to develop PSTFs and PTFs for soil erodibility factor prediction in the Simakan watershed Fars, Iran.
Materials and Methods: The Semikan watershed, which mainly has calcareous soil with more than 40% lime (total carbonates), is located in the central of Fars province, between 30°06'-30°18'N and 53°05'-53°18'E (WGS′ 1984, zone 39°N) with an area of about 350 km2. For this study, 40 standard plots, which are 22.1×1.83 m with a uniform ploughed slope of 9% in the upslope/downslope direction, were installed in the slopes of 8-10% and the deposit of each plot was collected after rainfall. From each plot three samples were sampled and some physicochemical properties including soil texture, organic matter, water aggregate stability, soil permeability, pH, EC were analyzed Spectra of the air-dried and sieved soil samples were recorded in the Vis-NIR-SWIR (350 to 2500 nm) range at 1.4- to 2-nm sampling intervals in a standard and controlled dark laboratory environment using a portable spectroradiometer apparatus (FieldSpec 3, Analytical Spectral Device, ASD Inc.). Some bands which had the highest correlation with K factor were chosen as input parameter for developing PSTFs. A stepwise multiple linear regression method was used for developing PTFs and SPTFs. R2, RMSE and ME were used for comparing PTFs and SPTFs.
Results and Discussion: The K values varied from 0.005 to 0.023 t h MJ−1 mm−1 with an average standard deviation of 0.014 and of 0.003 t h MJ−1 mm−1, respectively. The K estimated by Wischmeier and Smith (1978) equation varied from 0.015 to 0.045 t h MJ−1 mm−1 with an average of 0.030 t h MJ−1 mm−1. There was a significant difference (p
hojjat ghorbani vaghei; Hosseinali Bahrami; R. Mazhari; A. Heshmatpour
Abstract
Introduction: Maintaining soil moisture content at about field capacity and reducing water loss in near root zone plays a key role for developing soil and water management programs. Clay pot or porous pipe is a traditional sub-irrigation method and is ideal for many farms in the world’s dry land with ...
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Introduction: Maintaining soil moisture content at about field capacity and reducing water loss in near root zone plays a key role for developing soil and water management programs. Clay pot or porous pipe is a traditional sub-irrigation method and is ideal for many farms in the world’s dry land with small and medium sized farms and gardens and is still used limitedly in dry lands of India, Iran, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Latin-America. Clay capsule is one of porous pipes in sub irrigation that is able to release water in near root zone with self- regulative capacity. Watering occurs only in amounts that the plants actually need (this amount is equal to field capacity) and released water in near root zone without electricity or use of an automatic dispenser.
Materials and Methods: A study was carried out in 2013 on the experimental field of agriculture faculty of Tarbiat Modares University, to study the effect of two irrigation types on qualitative and quantitative characters in grape production (Vitis vinifera L.). In order to provide the water requirement of grape plant were used porous clay capsules for sub irrigation with height and diameter of 12 cm and 3.5 cm and dripper with Neta film type for drip irrigation, respectively. Porous clay capsules provided from soil science group at Tarbiat Modares University. In this research, the volume of water delivered to grape plants during entire growth period in two different irrigation methods was measured separately with water-meters installed at all laterals. The water consumption, yield production and water use efficiency were evaluated and compared in two drip and porous clay irrigation systems at veraison phonological stages. In the veraison stages, cluster weight, cluster length, solid solution and pH content were measured in grape fruits. Leaf chlorophyll content and leaf water content were also measured in two irrigation systems.
Results and Discussion: The results of fruit quality characteristics showed that cluster weight, cluster length, solid solution and pH content has not significant different at 5% level in two system irrigation. Also, the foliar analysis showed that chlorophyll content and relative humidity of leaf has not been affected in two irrigation systems. Meanwhile, irrigation types were significantly effect on water consumption and water use efficiency. The average water consumption and yield production with buried clay capsules and drip irrigation methods on grapevine plant were 4050 and 6668 M3.ha-1 and 14.2 and 14.8 Ton.ha-1 respectively. The reducing water consumption with buried clay capsules irrigation method in related to drip irrigation was 39% on grapevine plants. Meanwhile, the average yield production with buried clay capsules and drip irrigation methods on grapevine plant was 14.2 and 14.8 Ton.ha-1 respectively. Also, the statistics analysis show that the yield and component yield have not significant different at 5% level in the surface and subsurface irrigation. According to the water consumption and yield production, using buried porous clay capsules created a better water use efficiency than drip irrigation method. In other words, Iran has been localized at arid and semi arid and have huge water consumption in agriculture, and therefore it is necessary to optimize water consumption especially in agriculture using new technology. According to the results of this research, using buried porous clay capsules is recommended in order to optimize water consumption for grape plants in different place in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran.
Conclusion: The purpose of an efficient irrigation system is to apply the water in such a way that the largest fraction thereof is available for beneficial use by the plant. According to the experimental results reported here, it could be concluded that the reducing water consumption with buried clay capsules irrigation method in related to drip irrigation was 39% on grapevine plants. Meanwhile, the average yield production with buried clay capsules and drip irrigation methods on grapevine plant was 14.2 and 14.8 Ton.ha-1 respectively. Also, the statistics analysis show that the yield and component yield have not significant different at 5% level in the surface and subsurface irrigation. The final result, it could be concluded that the porous clay capsules have a good ability to providing water requirement of grape plant. The grape irrigation in huge area of Iran is doing with a traditional method and the authors of this work believe that porous clay capsules have a high water saving potential and good capability for irrigation of various types of crops.
Keywords: Grape plant, Porous pipe, Soil moisture, Water use efficiency, Yield
R. Khalili-Rad; Kh. Mirnia; H.A. Bahrami
Abstract
Abstract
Plant roots absorb water and minerals from soil solution. Plant production is a function of root distribution and its activity in soil. By increasing root density in soil unit volume, roots absorb more water and minerals. This implies that knowledge of root development is an important factor ...
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Abstract
Plant roots absorb water and minerals from soil solution. Plant production is a function of root distribution and its activity in soil. By increasing root density in soil unit volume, roots absorb more water and minerals. This implies that knowledge of root development is an important factor for crop production. To determine the most suitable amount of water for the maximum development of corn (Zea mays L.) root, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in 2006-07. Water was applied in 55, 70, 85, 100 and 110 percent of water demand. The total corn roots were taken from the all pots in three stages: i.e. 8-9 leaves, the silk production and the dough. Wet and dry weights, volume, surface area and length of roots were measured in all three stages. In addition, ratio of root by dry matter of stem was calculated. The results revealed that weight, volume, surface area and length of roots were increased by increasing in the amount of water applied up to 100% water demand. A significant difference (5%) was found between treatments 85, 100, and 110% water demand with treatment 55% water demand, By an increase in the amount of water applied, the ratio of root to stem was decreased. It means, when water use is in optimum level, the root growth is stimulated, otherwise it is limited. It is concluded that optimum efficiency of water is taken with using 70 percent of water demand instead of 100 or 110 percent.
Keywords: Corn (Zea mays L.), Root development, Water demand, Water stress
A.R. Vaezi; H.A. Bahrami; S.H.R. Sadeghi; M.H. Mahdian
Abstract
Abstract
In the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), soil erodibility factor K can be estimated by using a regression equation that has been presented based on field erosion plots in relatively non-calcareous soils. Therefore, it seems necessary to determine the estimating error of the regression equation ...
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Abstract
In the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), soil erodibility factor K can be estimated by using a regression equation that has been presented based on field erosion plots in relatively non-calcareous soils. Therefore, it seems necessary to determine the estimating error of the regression equation in calcareous soils of Iran. This study was conducted in an agricultural area with a dimension of 30 km in Hashtrood province, northwest of Iran during March 2005-2006. The studied soils had about 1.1% organic matter and 13% lime (TNV). In order to investigate the soil erodibility, 36 regular grids of 5×5 km were considered on the study area. On each grid, three standard plots with 1.2 m intervals were established in dryland farming area having a 9% south hill slope. The actual soil erodibility value of the plots was determined as the annual soil loss per annual rain erosivity factor under natural rainfall events. The K value was estimated using the USLE regression equation. Soil physical and chemical properties were measured in samples taken from 0 to 30 cm depth. The results indicated that mean actual value of the soil erodibility factor in the study area was 0.004258 Mg.h.MJ-1.mm-1 which is 10.75 times smaller than the estimated K-factor. There was a poor correlation (R2= 0.16) between the actual and estimated soil erodibility factor. The estimating error values of the soil erodibility varied from 3.173 to 39.298 with a mean error of 9.984. There was a significant correlation between the calcareous soil erodibility and the amount of coarse sand, silt, organic matter and lime (TNV) of the soil. Regression analysis showed that the calcareous soil erodibility significantly (R2= 0.80, p
