6
E. Yetbarek and R. Ojha
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Effect of Root Water Uptake and Soil Heterogeneity
on Soil Moisture Dynamics
Mean soil moisture increases with increasing soil heterogeneity, and root water
uptake significantly reduced soil moisture content. When root water uptake was
not considered, as shown in Fig. 1a, c, and e, soil moisture dynamics was mainly
active in the top 1.5 m depth only, the minimum soil water content on the profile
was observed at 0.5 m depth from the surface, and the moisture pattern was almost
similar under all soil conditions. Root water uptake effect on soil moisture distribution was more pronounced under homogenous soils than in heterogeneous soils. The
depth range where root water uptake effect on soil moisture pattern was observed
Fig. 1 Mean soil moisture profile for six successive days after irrigation (64th day of the simulation)
in homogeneous (σ 2 = 0) and heterogeneous sandy clay soil (σ 2 = 0.3 and σ 2 = 0.6) with (a, c,
e) and without (b, d, f) root water uptake