engleski

Can We Improve Agricultural (Environmental) Management By Using Novel Numerical Modeling Approaches?

Plant agricultural production primarily takes place in soil critical (vadose) zone which represents one of the most complex terrestrial systems due to a wide range of processes occurring within its boundaries. As the human population is exponentially rising, large pressure is projected on soil and water resources, as well as on food production in agroecosystems. Numerical modeling can be used as a predicting tool for estimation of various agricultural management systems (e.g., water management, tillage) leading towards more environmentally sustainable production. Simulations can be exploited in designing irrigation or drainage systems, estimating the benefits of various compost addition or implementing biodegradable mulch and assessing its effects on agrochemicals fate (nutrients, trace elements or pesticides). The approach of combining numerical simulations with laboratory analytics and field observations has been proven to be very efficient. In homogeneous soil, vadose zone modeling is commonly based on Richards equation for describing water flow, and advection-dispersion equations for solute transport ; which usually works quite well in describing physical processes. However, there is still difficulty in estimation and modelling of preferential flow and nonuniform solute transport in structured soils found in agroecosystems. The issue of non-linearity in vadose zone is mainly connected to heterogeneity in soil properties (chemical, physical, biological) which is difficult to incorporate into numerical models. Challenges like upscaling issues, model complexity and soil biotic processes/non-linearity quantification still remains, and improvements in modeling tools are a step toward the solution.

vadose zone, transport processes, agroecosystems, numerical modeling

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