Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field

Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural fields have been recognised as one of the most important sources of P causing eutrophication in water bodies. Water transport in soil plays an important role in P leaching from drained fields. In this study, the ICECREAM model was employed to simulate 15-year...

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Main Author: Liu, Jian
Format: Second cycle, A2E
Language:Swedish
Inglés
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/1113/
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author Liu, Jian
author_browse Liu, Jian
author_facet Liu, Jian
author_sort Liu, Jian
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural fields have been recognised as one of the most important sources of P causing eutrophication in water bodies. Water transport in soil plays an important role in P leaching from drained fields. In this study, the ICECREAM model was employed to simulate 15-year drainage and P leaching from a sandy loam soil at the Mellby experimental site in south-western Sweden. The results were compared with measured data in order to test the applicability of the model at the Mellby site, identify important processes controlling drainage and P leaching at Mellby, and suggest potential future improvements to the model to better suit the Mellby soil. Sensitivity analysis showed that parameters related to soil physical properties (soil texture, soil porosity, field capacity, wilting point and saturated conductivity), infiltration capacity (CN2) in connection with field management practices and macropore flow moderately or significantly affected the total amount of drainage. These parameters also indirectly affected P leaching, which was closely correlated to drainage. Soluble P leaching was also greatly sensitive to base saturation, while particle P leaching was greatly affected by parameters related to particle generation for macropore transport (detachability and particle extraction depth). The model accurately simulated total drainage and drainage dynamics for the 15-year study period when the drainage partition coefficients for deep percolation (K1 and K2) and the parameters related to macropore flow (tresh_watin and frac) were calibrated. The simulation showed that considerable amounts of drainage water (17%) bypassed tile drains and that water was able to move very fast along preferential flow paths in this sandy soil. The model accurately simulated the transport dynamics of soluble PO4 3--P and total P, but failed to simulate total amounts and concentrations. Leaching of both soluble P and total P was overestimated. One clear conclusion from this work was that new parameters are greatly needed in the model to better describe sorption-desorption processes for P to Fe-oxides or (and) Al-oxides in the soil. This would allow P leaching from a soil like this to be simulated with higher precision. It was also concluded that parameters related to particle generation need careful calibration in future simulations. The simulations for the Mellby site showed that when the soil P pools were large, it was difficult to distinguish the effects of reduced P fertilisation on leaching. They also showed that management practices such as crop type, tillage practices, etc. can influence P losses. The model should be further tested on field data to determine the accuracy of such estimations.
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spelling RepoSLU11132012-04-20T14:12:29Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/1113/ Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field Liu, Jian Soil science and management Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural fields have been recognised as one of the most important sources of P causing eutrophication in water bodies. Water transport in soil plays an important role in P leaching from drained fields. In this study, the ICECREAM model was employed to simulate 15-year drainage and P leaching from a sandy loam soil at the Mellby experimental site in south-western Sweden. The results were compared with measured data in order to test the applicability of the model at the Mellby site, identify important processes controlling drainage and P leaching at Mellby, and suggest potential future improvements to the model to better suit the Mellby soil. Sensitivity analysis showed that parameters related to soil physical properties (soil texture, soil porosity, field capacity, wilting point and saturated conductivity), infiltration capacity (CN2) in connection with field management practices and macropore flow moderately or significantly affected the total amount of drainage. These parameters also indirectly affected P leaching, which was closely correlated to drainage. Soluble P leaching was also greatly sensitive to base saturation, while particle P leaching was greatly affected by parameters related to particle generation for macropore transport (detachability and particle extraction depth). The model accurately simulated total drainage and drainage dynamics for the 15-year study period when the drainage partition coefficients for deep percolation (K1 and K2) and the parameters related to macropore flow (tresh_watin and frac) were calibrated. The simulation showed that considerable amounts of drainage water (17%) bypassed tile drains and that water was able to move very fast along preferential flow paths in this sandy soil. The model accurately simulated the transport dynamics of soluble PO4 3--P and total P, but failed to simulate total amounts and concentrations. Leaching of both soluble P and total P was overestimated. One clear conclusion from this work was that new parameters are greatly needed in the model to better describe sorption-desorption processes for P to Fe-oxides or (and) Al-oxides in the soil. This would allow P leaching from a soil like this to be simulated with higher precision. It was also concluded that parameters related to particle generation need careful calibration in future simulations. The simulations for the Mellby site showed that when the soil P pools were large, it was difficult to distinguish the effects of reduced P fertilisation on leaching. They also showed that management practices such as crop type, tillage practices, etc. can influence P losses. The model should be further tested on field data to determine the accuracy of such estimations. 2010-04-28 Second cycle, A2E NonPeerReviewed application/pdf swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/1113/1/liu_j_100428.pdf Liu, Jian, 2010. Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field. Second cycle, A2E. Uppsala: (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Soil and Environment <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-435.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-8-486 eng
spellingShingle Soil science and management
Liu, Jian
Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field
title Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field
title_full Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field
title_fullStr Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field
title_full_unstemmed Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field
title_short Simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the ICECREAM model for 15 years at Mellby experimental field
title_sort simulations of drainage and phosphorus leaching with the icecream model for 15 years at mellby experimental field
topic Soil science and management
url https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/1113/
https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/1113/