A split-pot experiment with sorghum to test a root water uptake partitioning model

作者：Faria Leandro Neves; Da Rocha Marlon Gomes; Van Lier Quirijn De Jong^*; Casaroli Derblai

来源：Plant and Soil, 2010, 331(1-2): 299-311.

DOI：10.1007/s11104-009-0254-0

• Root water uptake
• Split pot
• Root length density
• Matric flux potential

Correct modeling of root water uptake partitioning over depth is an important issue in hydrological and crop growth models. Recently a physically based model to describe root water uptake was developed at single root scale and upscaled to the root system scale considering a homogeneous distribution of roots per soil layer. Root water uptake partitioning is calculated over soil layers or compartments as a function of respective soil hydraulic conditions, specifically the soil matric flux potential, root characteristics and a root system efficiency factor to compensate for within-layer root system heterogeneities. The performance of this model was tested in an experiment performed in two-compartment split-pot lysimeters with sorghum plants. The compartments were submitted to different irrigation cycles resulting in contrasting water contents over time. The root system efficiency factor was determined to be about 0.05. Release of water from roots to soil was predicted and observed on several occasions during the experiment; however, model predictions suggested root water release to occur more often and at a higher rate than observed. This may be due to not considering internal root system resistances, thus overestimating the ease with which roots can act as conductors of water. Excluding these erroneous predictions from the dataset, statistical indices show model performance to be of good quality.

• 出版日期2010-6