Simulating NO3-N Transport to Subsurface Drain Flows as Affected by Tillage Under Continuous Corn Using Modified RZWQM

Singh, Priyanka; Kanwar, Rameshwar S.

doi:10.13031/2013.27858

Cited by 35 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The earlier version of RZWQM was also used to simulate the effects of the four tillage practices on subsurface NO 3 ±N concentrations and losses (Singh and Kanwar, 1995b), but the model had not been previously used to compute an entire N balance for this research site.…”

Section: Simulation Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tillage system effects on 15-year carbon-based and simulated N budgets in a tile-drained Iowa field

Karlen¹

1998

Soil and Tillage Research

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Tillage influences N fate and transport by changing soil structure, aeration, macropore continuity, plantresidue placement, and organic-matter mineralization rates. Our objective was to use 15-year N budgets to compare four primary tillage treatments for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production on tile-drained Aquic Hapludolls (FAO: Haplic Phaeozems) in northeastern Iowa, USA. A carbon-based N budget used annual grain yield, grain-N concentrations measured in 1992, changes in surface-soil C content between 1977 and 1988 or 1992, surface-soil C : N ratios, and measurements of NO 3 -N lost in tile-drainage water. It accounted for 98, 104, 99, and 99% of the fertilizer N applied to moldboard-, chisel-, ridge-, and no-tillage-treatments, respectively. Averaged for 1977 through 1992, increased soil organic matter, harvested grain, and tile drainage accounted for ≈42, 45, and 13% of the N budget, respectively. Simulated N budgets were computed using version 3.25 of the root-zone water quality model (RZWQM). The best grain-yield predictions for 13 of the 15 years were 9% higher than the measured values, and if extreme outliers were eliminated, the predicted values were correlated (r 2 =0.75) with the average measured yield for the four tillage treatments. Simulations for 1988 and 1989 failed completely because RZWQM could not accurately describe hydrology associated with low rainfall seasons. Predicted total N accumulation was much higher than measured in 1990, 1991, or 1992. Estimates of profile NO 3 -N, mineralization, seepage loss, and denitrification were not satisfactory, presumably because the model failed to simulate an accurate hydrology for the different tillage practices. We conclude that the simulation results were not suitable for predicting the fate of fertilizer N. However, both approaches for computing N budgets suggested that adopting ridge tillage, without changing N rates and other management practices related to N application technology and crop sequencing, will not reduce the potential for off-site water quality degradation. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. AbstractTillage in¯uences N fate and transport by changing soil structure, aeration, macropore continuity, plant-residue placement, and organic-matter mineralization rates. Our objective was to use 15-year N budgets to compare four primary tillage treatments for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production on tile-drained Aquic Hapludolls (FAO: Haplic Phaeozems) in northeastern Iowa, USA. A carbon-based N budget used annual grain yield, grain-N concentrations measured in 1992, changes in surface-soil C content between 1977 and 1988 or 1992, surface-soil C : N ratios, and measurements of NO 3 ±N lost in tile-drainage water. It accounted for 98, 104, 99, and 99% of the fertilizer N applied to moldboard-, chisel-, ridge-, and no-tillage-treatments, respectively. Averaged for 1977 through 1992, increased...

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Section: Simulation Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tillage system effects on 15-year carbon-based and simulated N budgets in a tile-drained Iowa field

Karlen¹

1998

Soil and Tillage Research

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“…During the 4 years of RZWQM integration with MSEA field research, the model was tested for: 1) water and pesticide movement at the Minnesota MSEA site (Wu et al, 1999); 2) surface runoff, nitrate and pesticide losses to seepage and runoff, and crop yields at the Missouri MSEA site (Ghidey et al, 1999); 3) crop yield, and water, nitrate and pesticide movement at the Iowa MSEA site (Jaynes and Miller 1999); 4) crop yield, N uptake, plant biomass, leaf area index, soil water content, and soil N at the Nebraska MSEA site (Martin and Watts 1999); and 5) leaf, stem, and seed biomass of corn at the Ohio MSEA site (Landa et al, 1999). Although the model has been evaluated extensively under tiledrained conditions at Nashua, Iowa for estimating N loss and crop growth (Singh and Kanwar, 1995;Kumar et al, 1998;Bakhsh et al, 2004a,b), only a few years of data or a few treatments were used (Ma et al, 2007a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

RZWQM simulated effects of crop rotation, tillage, and controlled drainage on crop yield and nitrate-N loss in drain flow

Ma¹,

Malone²,

Heilman

et al. 2007

Geoderma

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Accurate simulation of agricultural management effects on N loss in tile drainage is vitally important for understanding hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. An experimental study was initiated in 1978 at Nashua, Iowa of the USA to study long-term effects of tillage, crop rotation, and N management practices on subsurface drainage flow and associated N losses. The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) was applied to evaluate various management effects in several previous studies. In this study, the simulation results were further analyzed for management effects (tillage, crop rotation, and controlled drainage) on crop production and N loss in drain flow. RZWQM simulated the observed increase in N concentration in drain flow with increasing tillage intensity from NT (no-till) to RT (ridge till) to CP (chisel plow) and to MP (moldboard plow). It also adequately simulated tillage effects on yearly drain flow and yearly N loss in drain flow. However, the model failed to simulate lower corn and soybean yields under NT than under MP, CP, and RT. On the other hand, RZWQM adequately simulated lower yearly drain flow and lower flow-weighted N concentration in drain flow under CS (corn-soybean) and SC (soybean-corn) than under CC (continuous corn). The model adequately simulated higher corn yield under CS and SC than under CC. Applying the newly suggested N management practice for the Midwest of controlled drainage, the model simulated a 30% reduction in drain flow and a 29% decrease in N losses in drain flow under controlled drainage (CD) compared to free drainage (FD). With most of the simulations in reasonably close agreement with observations, we concluded that RZWQM is a promising tool for quantifying the relative effects of tillage, crop rotation, and controlled drainage on N loss in drainage flow. Further improvements on simulated management effects on crop yield and N mineralization are needed, however. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. AbstractAccurate simulation of agricultural management effects on N loss in tile drainage is vitally important for understanding hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. An experimental study was initiated in 1978 at Nashua, Iowa of the USA to study long-term effects of tillage, crop rotation, and N management practices on subsurface drainage flow and associated N losses. The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) was applied to evaluate various management effects in several previous studies. In this study, the simulation results were further analyzed for management effects (tillage, crop rotation, and controlled drainage) on crop production and N loss in drain flow. RZWQM simulated the observed increase in N concentration in drain flow with increasing tillage intensity from NT (no-till) to RT (ridge till) to CP (chisel plow) and to MP (moldboard plow). It also adequately simulated tillage effects on yearly drain flow and yearly N loss in drain flow....

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“…The Brooks-Corey soil water retention parameters also affected only tile flow not yield in their study. For Iowa conditions, Kumar et al (1998Kumar et al ( , 1999 and Singh and Kanwar (1995) found that LK sat and drainable porosity (soil porosity -soil water content at 1/3 bar) were the most sensitive variables in simulating tile drainage flow.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity of tile drainage flow and crop yield on measured and calibrated soil hydraulic properties

Ma¹,

Malone²,

Heilman

et al. 2007

Geoderma

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Process-based agricultural system models require detailed description of soil hydraulic properties that are usually not available. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the sensitivity of model simulation results to variability in measured soil hydraulic properties and to compare simulation results using measured and default soil parameters. To do so, we measured soil water retention curves and saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (K sat ) from intact soil cores taken from a long-term experimental field near Nashua, Iowa for the Kenyon-Clyde-Floyd-Readlyn soil association. The soil water retention curves could be well described using the pore size distribution index (λ). Measured λ values from undisturbed soil cores ranged from 0.04 to 0.12 and the measured K sat values ranged from 1.8 to 14.5 cm/h. These hydraulic properties were then used to calibrate the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) for simulating soil water content, water table, tile drain flow, and crop yield (corn and soybean) by optimizing the lateral K sat (LK sat ) and hydraulic gradient (HG) for subsurface lateral flow. The measured soil parameters provided better simulations of soil water storage, water table, and N loss in tile flow than using the default soil parameters based on soil texture classes in RZWQM. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for λ, K sat , saturated soil water content (θ s ) or drainable porosity, LK sat , and HG using the Latin Hypercubic Sampling (LHS) and for LK sat and HG also using a single variable analysis. Results of sensitivity analyses showed that RZWQM-simulated yield and biomass were not sensitive to soil hydraulic properties. Simulated tile flow and N losses in tile flow were not sensitive to λ and K sat either, but they were sensitive to LK sat and HG. Further sensitivity analyses using a single variable showed that LK sat in the tile layer was a more sensitive parameter compared to LK sat in other soil layers, and HG was the most sensitive parameter for tile flow under the experimental soil and weather conditions. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. AbstractProcess-based agricultural system models require detailed description of soil hydraulic properties that are usually not available. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the sensitivity of model simulation results to variability in measured soil hydraulic properties and to compare simulation results using measured and default soil parameters. To do so, we measured soil water retention curves and saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (K sat ) from intact soil cores taken from a long-term experimental field near Nashua, Iowa for the Kenyon-Clyde-Floyd-Readlyn soil association. The soil water retention curves could be well described using the pore size distribution index (λ). Measured λ values from undisturbed soil cores ranged from 0.04 to 0.12 and the measured K sat values ranged from 1.8 to ...

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Simulating NO3-N Transport to Subsurface Drain Flows as Affected by Tillage Under Continuous Corn Using Modified RZWQM

Cited by 35 publications

References 6 publications

Tillage system effects on 15-year carbon-based and simulated N budgets in a tile-drained Iowa field

Tillage system effects on 15-year carbon-based and simulated N budgets in a tile-drained Iowa field

RZWQM simulated effects of crop rotation, tillage, and controlled drainage on crop yield and nitrate-N loss in drain flow

Sensitivity of tile drainage flow and crop yield on measured and calibrated soil hydraulic properties

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