Water uptake by roots in cracks and water movement in clayey subsoil
1987
Hasegawa, Shuichi | SATO, TAIICHIROW
We evaluated the magnitude of soil water uptake by roots growing in cracks, using a simple crack model, and compared it with upward soil water flux in a clayey soil. The physical quantities used in the model are crack spacing (D), depth of the cracks (H), water uptake rate per unit length of root (q), and root length density in the cracks (L). These values, except for q, were obtained from an upland field converted from a paddy field. Daily water uptakes per unit of ground surface by the model were 0.7–1.3 mm d when q was 0.01–0.02 cm. cm.d and D was 15 cm, whereas, upward soil water fluxes calculated by hydraulic conductivities and soil water pressures were of the order of 0.01 mm.d 1 wk after a heavy rain (143 mm). Roots growing in the subsoil through the cracks, therefore, are very important for water consumption by crops.
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