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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359096
Research Project: Response of Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Watersheds to Changes in Water Availability, Land Use, Management, and Climate

Location: Water Management and Systems Research

Title: Integration of distributed measurements and simulations to explore spatial complexity in a field-scale agricultural watershed.

Author
item Green, Timothy
item Erskine, Robert - Rob
item KIPKA, HOLM - Colorad0 State University
item LIGHTHART, NATHAN - Colorad0 State University
item Edmunds, Debora
item McMaster, Gregory
item DAVID, OLAF - Colorad0 State University
item CRUZ, PATRICIA - Embrapa
item FIGUEIREDO, RICARDO - Embrapa

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2019
Publication Date: 1/6/2020
Citation: Green, T.R., Erskine, R.H., Kipka, H., Lighthart, N., Edmunds, D.A., Mcmaster, G.S., David, O., Cruz, P.P., Figueiredo, R.O. 2020. Integration of distributed measurements and simulations to explore spatial complexity in a field-scale agricultural watershed. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts.

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: Long-term measurements of high-resolution soil moisture across rolling terrain facilitate complex simulations of surface hydrology and soil moisture dynamics. Soil hydraulic properties that control water storage flow rates can vary markedly in space, and surface layers may vary temporally due to management events, reconsolidation and biological activity. Field measurements are expensive to collect and generally reveal complex variability that is difficult to fully characterize. Yet, these soil properties are represented using model parameters that may strongly affect simulated flows and the distribution of soil water in space and time. Thus model calibration using available measurements of soil moisture and surface runoff is essential. Here, we address the model spatial resolution and calibration detail needed to estimate available data by using five levels of spatial complexity from homogeneous to fully three-dimensional calibrated soil parameters. Issues of spatial scaling are also explored. Furthermore, a new model component of temporal changes in soil porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity is tested to simulate effects of tillage and soil consolidation related to rainfall. Interactions between spatial and temporal parameters and processes will be discussed in terms of their influences on simulated soil moisture patterns and surface runoff.