Garré, Sarah [Université de Liège - ULiège Sciences et technologie de l'environnement Systèmes Sol-Eau
Furman, Alex - Technion IIT,civil & Env, Engineering, Haifa, Israel
Günther, Thomas - Libniz institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover,Germany
Root uptake and its relation to environmental factors, and primarily soil water content, are perhaps the least understood component in terrestrial water balance and is of high importance for water resources management, ecology and agriculture. In this research we explore the spatial and temporal distribution of soil water in high resolution using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT).
Bell peppers were planted in a chamber and irrigated in two different schemes, differing only in irrigation frequency (daily and eight-daily irrigation, where the daily dose is equal for both treatments). This irrigation difference results in very different spatio-temporal distribution of the soil water in the root zone, which in turn derives spatio-temporal differences in root uptake. Experiment was conducted under a screen-house in Mediterranean summer conditions, i.e. very high evapotranspiration.
Resistivity surveys, using 96 electrodes placed around the growth chamber and at soil surface (Figure 1) were taken over 10 times daily.
Plants subjected to high frequency irrigation generally were faster in growth and matured about a week earlier. This is primarily attributed to the higher water content that exists in the root zone, and primarily during the climatically stressing noon hours. Inverted images (e.g. Figure 2) provide an interesting insight into the spatio-temporal distribution of the root uptake. This in turn can now be correlated to the spatial location of the roots, and to the soil induced water content dynamics.
AGU Chapman conference BIOSPHERE II
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