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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #112054
Title: SIMULATION OF WATER AND PESTICIDE MOVEMENT THROUGH MACROPORES USING THE ROOT ZONE WATER QUALITY MODEL (RZWQM)

Author
item Malone, Robert - Rob
item Shipitalo, Martin
item Ma, Liwang
item Ahuja, Lajpat
item Rojas, Kenneth

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/9/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In Ohio's glacial till soils, evidence suggests that water and chemicals may be transported to groundwater via fractures and macropores (worm holes, root channels, etc.). When water is transmitted this way, it bypasses much of the soil matrix leading to increased chances of groundwater contamination. Simulation models have been developed to help us understand dand predict these processes because performing field tests can be excessively difficult and expensive. The RZWQM is process oriented and simulates macropore and fracture flow, crop growth, pesticide processes, evapotranspiration (ET), management conditions (conventional tillage, no-till, etc.), water infiltration and redistribution, irrigation, climatic conditions, tile drainage, heat transport, organic matter and nitrogen cycling, pesticide processes, and chemical transfer to runoff and overland flow. This presentation briefly discusses the methods that RZWQM simulates swater and chemical movement through macropores; effective parameterization of the model; and the accuracy of the model compared to real data from undisturbed soil blocks with natural macropores. Due to the complexity of macropore flow, this component of RZWQM is difficult to parameterize, therefore a strategy has been proposed. Comparing model simulations to real data indicates that the model can accurately simulate water and chemical movement through macropores.