Modeling soil-water-plant relationships in the cerrado soils of Brasil: the case of maize (Zea mays L.).

Abstract

A soil-water balance simulation model developed for the Cerrado soils of central Brazil is presented. The model calculates daily soil water evaporation, plant transpiration and soil-water balance for fourteen soil layers of 15 mm each. The model includes a subroutine to calculated capillary water movement. Computer simulations of daily soil water levels at five soil depths (15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 cm) for a field of maize are compared with actual field measurements over an-8--day period. Results indicated that the developed model can, in general, estimate the soil-water balance of the various depths within +/- 10% of actual measurements

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