The role of soil hydraulic properties in crop water supply: a physical approach at agroecosystem scale

• Grant number: 16/16128-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2016
• End date: August 20, 2019
• 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): 17/17793-4 - Integrating soil hydraulic properties with crops and climate to assess soil suitability for rainfed and irrigated agricultural productivity, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Soil hydraulic properties control soil water storage as well as the rate of water flow towards plant roots, therefore, they play a fundamental role in hydrological processes that drive the functioning of natural and agricultural ecosystems. Although several studies on plant water availability have been carried out, most of them are based on empirical approaches, therefore unable to represent the dynamic processes that take place in the soil under changing scenarios of climate and vegetation. The aim of the current proposal is to analyze limiting soil hydraulic conditions for crop growth under current and future climate conditions using a physical approach allowing to predict the limiting matric flux potential as function of root length density, evapotranspiration and soil hydraulic properties. Representative soils used for the main crops of São Paulo State (sugar cane, soybean and maize), grown in the three main climatic zones of the state, will be physically investigated for their ability to supply water to plants. The impact of climate pattern alterations on soil hydraulic behavior of the studied agroecosystems will be evaluated through crop yield temporal trend to be simulated using the SWAP model. Expected results include: (i) extended-range soil hydraulic parameterization and simulations of the onset of limiting conditions for crop growth; (ii) modeling of soil hydraulic strengths and vulnerabilities in relation to climate change and analysis of its effect on crop yield; (iii) soil-crop combination strategies to optimize water use. (AU)

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; SIMUNEK, JIRKA. The role of soil hydraulic properties in crop water use efficiency: A process-based analysis for some Brazilian scenarios. AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, v. 173, p. 364-377, JUL 2019. (17/17793-4, 16/16128-4)

VAN LIER, QUIRIJN DE JONG; RODRIGUES PINHEIRO, EVERTON ALVES; INFORSATO, LEONARDO. Hydrostatic Equilibrium between Soil Samples and Pressure Plates Used in Soil Water Retention Determination: Consequences of a Questionable Assumption. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, v. 43, 2019. (17/17793-4, 16/16128-4)

RODRIGUES PINHEIRO, EVERTON ALVES; VAN LIER, QUIRIJN DE JONG; INFORSATO, LEONARDO; SIMUNEK, JIRKA. Measuring full-range soil hydraulic properties for the prediction of crop water availability using gamma-ray attenuation and inverse modeling. Agricultural Water Management, v. 216, p. 294-305, MAY 1 2019. (17/17793-4, 16/16128-4)