Soil temperature under different surface managements: testing a simulation model

• Published in: Agricultural and forest meteorology Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 89 - 113
• Main Authors: Grant, R.F., Izaurralde, R.C., Chanasyk, D.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.1995; Oxford Elsevier; New York, NY
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; CONSERVATION TILLAGE; CONTENIDO DE AGUA EN EL SUELO; CROP RESIDUES; ECHANGE D'ENERGIE; ENERGY EXCHANGE; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; INTERCAMBIO DE ENERGIA; LABRANZA DE CONSERVACION; MODELE DE SIMULATION; MODELOS DE SIMULACION; Physical properties; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; RESIDU DE RECOLTE; RESIDUOS DE COSECHAS; SIMULATION MODELS; Soil science; SOIL TEMPERATURE; SOIL WATER CONTENT; Structure, texture, density, mechanical behavior. Heat and gas exchanges; TEMPERATURA DEL SUELO; TEMPERATURE DU SOL; TENEUR EN EAU DU SOL; TRAVAIL DU SOL DE CONSERVATION; Canada; Alberta; North America; America; Soil drying; Experimental test; Agricultural soils; Cultivated soil; Field experiment; Soil climate; Water loss; Ground surface; Water content; Plant cover; Simulation model; Warming; Validation; Soil tillage; Soil moisture; Classical system; Water transfer; Mass transfer; Soil management; Vegetal waste; Soils; Applied mathematics; Residue; Conservation tillage; Agrometeorology; Air ground interface; Mathematical simulation; Energy transfer; Soil temperature; Heat transfer; Applied physics
• ISSN: 0168-1923; 1873-2240
• DOI: 10.1016/0168-1923(94)02173-H

Conservation tillage is known to change the temperature and water content of the soils on which it is practised, largely through its effect upon crop residue cover and consequently upon energy exchange between the atmosphere and the soil surface. If simulation models are to be used to estimate these changes, then the processes by which temperature and water content are controlled must be explicitly represented using basic theories of energy and water transfer. A simulation model was constructed to represent processes of energy and water transfer among the atmosphere, plant canopies, surface residues, and soil. Estimation of energy and water transfer from hourly meteorological data and basic plant and soil properties allowed the model to reproduce a delay of about 1 week in soil warming and drving under reduced vs. conventional tillage during March and April in central Alberta. Estimation of these transfers also allowed the model to reproduce soil temperatures that were as much as 10°C cooler under grass vs. fallow during June and July. The hourly behavior of the model was found to be consistent with diurnal trends in water and energy transfer observed elsewhere. Covariance analyses indicated that 50–60% of differences in soil temperatures measured under different surface covers were reproduced by the model. These results support the hypothesis that differences in soil temperatures under different surface covers may be largely attributed to the effects of surface cover on energy transfer between the atmosphere and the soil surface.