MODELING OF ROOT SOIL WATER UPTAKE BY A MULTI-SPECIES PLANT SYSTEM APPLIED TO THE CAATINGA BIOME

• Grant number: 13/08967-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: October 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agricultural Engineering - Soil and Water Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Quirijn de Jong van Lier
• Grantee: Everton Alves Rodrigues Pinheiro
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/06084-4 - Caatinga hydrology simulated with coupled SWAP scenarios and with ecological models, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Modeling is a powerful tool in studies to elucidate details about the root water uptake from soil. Models for this purpose generally apply to the condition of monoculture, however, in many real situations the soil is explored by more than one plant species, for example, when weeds interfere with agricultural crops, in agroforestry systems, or in natural ecosystems. The Caatinga biome is an example of a natural ecosystem that shows wide variety of plant components. The Caatinga is the only exclusively Brazilian biome, nonetheless, there are few studies available about its hydrology. This proposal aims to fill this gap by, adapting a monoculture root water uptake model to a multi-species condition, and applying it for the boundary conditions of the Caatinga biome. The experimental area consists of a watershed of 12 km² located in the state of Ceará, integrally-preserved, with 10 years of monitoring of hydrological variables, among them soil water content. To parameterize the model, we will carry out the characterization of the hydraulic properties of the layers of representative soils of the area, besides inclusion of data about vegetation available in the literature. The main expected results are: (i) to represent satisfactorily through of modeling the root soil water uptake by a plant multi-species system, (ii) to model the dynamics of the root soil water uptake of the Caatinga biome and (iii) to evaluate the relative importance of the root soil water uptake by the Caatinga biome on the semiarid hydrology.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RODRIGUES PINHEIRO, EVERTON ALVES; VAN LIER, QUIRIJN DE JONG; FREIRE BEZERRA, ANDRE HERMAN. Hydrology of a Water-Limited Forest under Climate Change Scenarios: The Case of the Caatinga Biome, Brazil. FORESTS, v. 8, n. 3, MAR 2017. (13/08967-8)

RODRIGUES PINHEIRO, EVERTON ALVES; VAN LIER, QUIRIJN DE JONG; METSELAAR, KLAAS. A Matric Flux Potential Approach to Assess Plant Water Availability in Two Climate Zones in Brazil. VADOSE ZONE JOURNAL, v. 17, n. 1, FEB 2018. (13/08967-8)

RODRIGUES PINHEIRO, EVERTON ALVES; METSELAAR, KLAAS; VAN LIER, QUIRIJN DE JONG; DE ARAUJO, JOSE CARLOS. Importance of soil-water to the Caatinga biome, Brazil. ECOHYDROLOGY, v. 9, n. 7, p. 1313-1327, OCT 2016. (13/08967-8, 14/06084-4)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PINHEIRO, Everton Alves Rodrigues. Hydrological modeling of soil-water availability in the Caatinga biome. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) Piracicaba.