Evaporation from a Clay Soil Covered with a Surface Mulch - Three Lysimeter Studies

Cultivation systems with mulching have been successfully tested in spring cereals for several years in Sweden. The water conserving effect of the mulch was considered to be important in these field experiments. Three experiments with lysimeters were conducted in this study to investigate the effect on evaporation of a) different amounts of mulch, b) different types of mulch and c) different frequencies of rain in combination with mulching. The lysimeters contained undisturbed soil cores from a heavy clay soil. The protection against evaporation was largest at the beginning of soil drying. It increased with increasing amounts of mulch, but there were no differences in protection between the various kinds of mulch tested. Accumulated evaporation was 12, 14 and 30% lower in the mulched compared to bare soil after 28 days with no rain, infrequent rain and frequent rain respectively. The implications for designing a cultivation system with mulching are discussed as well as its potential in different weathers.