Influence of subsurface drainage on crop production and soil quality in a low-lying acid sulphate soil

Kuttanad, the low-lying tract in Kerala State of south-west India, is a place where drainage problems have caused the agricultural production to remain low. The problem is more severe in the acid sulphate soils of Kuttanad. Besides the problems inherent to acid sulphate soils, the area also experiences problems of flooding, lack of fresh water and intrusion of saline water from the Arabian Sea. A subsurface drainage system consisting of 10 cm diameter clay tiles, each of 60 cm length, was installed at a depth of 1 m with two different spacings of 15 and 30 m for evaluating its influence in improving soil quality and crop production. Many of the critical crop growth parameters in the subsurface drained area, particularly the grain yield and 100 grain weight, were significantly superior to that of the ill-drained areas. Drain spacings up to 30 m was found to significantly improve the productivity of the area. The overall increase in rice yield due to subsurface drainage was 1.36 t/ha. It was also found that subsurface drainage could remove the chemical heterogeneity of soil which is the root cause for patchy crop growth and uneven ripening of rice crop in the area. Acidity in the subsurface drained area was always lower throughout the cropping season. The salinity in the soil could be controlled considerably by subsurface drainage. The iron transformations were not serious enough to cause concern for rice cultivation when subsurface drainage was adopted. Accumulation of sulphates in insoluble form occurred during drainage due to the oxidation of pyrite. Subsurface drainage was also very efficient in leaching sodium, calcium and magnesium. Chloride content in soil decreased drastically during drainage.     

太阳能暗管排水对银北灌区油葵土壤环境及产量影响

针对土壤盐渍化严重影响了宁夏银北灌区土壤环境和作物产量的问题,通过太阳能暗管排水区和非暗管排水区对比试验方法,着重研究了2017和2018两年太阳能暗管长时间持续排水对土壤环境和油葵产量的影响。结果表明:太阳能暗管排水可以有效改善土壤环境,使两年的地下水平均埋深分别增加4.5%和6.4%,地下水平均矿化度分别降低7.9%和9.0%,两年土壤平均脱盐率分别为4.7%和8.2%,对表层土壤的脱盐效果最为明显。同时提高了油葵产量和水分生产效率,两年油葵产量分别提高13.8%和21.6%,灌溉水分生产效率分别增加13.3%和21.8%,作物水分生产效率分别增加16.4%和22.9%。综合试验结果和经济成本考虑,油葵生育期灌水2次、播前灌水1次、冬灌1次,生育期5-9月持续排水,这是适宜惠农当地太阳能暗管排水条件下油葵的灌排制度。     

Modeling the impact of alternative drainage practices in the northern Corn-belt with DRAINMOD-NII

The hydrologic and water quality impacts of subsurface drainage design and management practices are being investigated through field and simulation studies throughout the northern Corn-belt. Six years of data from an ongoing field study in south central Minnesota (Sands et al., 2008) were used to support a modeling effort with DRAINMOD-NII to investigate: (1) the performance of the model in a region where soils are subject to seasonal freeze-thaw and (2) the long-term hydrologic and water quality characteristics of conventional and alternative subsurface drainage practices. Post-calibration model prediction and efficiency were deemed satisfactory using standard model performance criteria. Prediction errors were primarily associated with early spring snowmelt hydrology and were attributed to the methods used for simulating snow accumulation and melting processes, in addition to potential sublimation effects on ET estimates. Long-term simulations with DRAINMOD-NII indicated that drainage design and/or management practices proposed as alternatives to conventional design may offer opportunities to reduce nitrate (NO₃)-nitrogen losses without significantly decreasing (and in some cases, increasing) crop yields for a Webster silty clay loam soil at Waseca, Minnesota. The simulation study indicated that both shallow drainage and controlled drainage may reduce annual drainage discharge and NO₃-nitrogen losses by 20-30%, while impacting crop yields from −3% (yield decrease) to 2%, depending on lateral drain spacing. The practice of increasing drainage intensity (decreasing drain spacing) beyond recommended values appears to not significantly affect crop yield but may substantially increase drainage discharge and nitrate-nitrogen losses to surface waters.     

Evaluation and application of DRAINMOD in an Australian sugarcane field

DRAINMOD is a water management model developed to simulate the performance of drainage and water table control systems for shallow water table soils, and it has been widely used in the United States over the last 20 years. This model has been evaluated and applied for predicting water table fluctuations in a sugarcane field for acid drainage management in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. The reliability of the model has been evaluated using 2-year experimental field data from water level recorders installed in a sugarcane field. Good agreement was found between the observed and simulated values with a standard error of about 0.07 m. However, the model is not readily applicable to daily water management in Australian soils since it requires extensive soil and climate data, which are normally not available for most Australian sugarcane areas. In this application, refinements have been attempted in evapotranspiration estimation and in soil input data preparation so that the model requires only easily obtainable input data but still retains acceptable accuracy. With these improvements, the model can be used as a practical tool for investigating drainage management options for different site conditions. This will assist decision-makers in providing appropriate subsurface drainage management policies, such as acid drainage management, in Australian estuarine sugarcane areas.     

农田不同排水措施地下排水效果模拟试验研究

在地下水位较高、地表易于形成积水的中国南方地区,通过农田排水措施可以及时排除多余地表积水,快速降低地下水位,以达到排涝降渍、协同调控的目的.文中基于室内砂槽试验,揭示暗管排水、明沟排水、不同反滤体高度的反滤体排水及改进暗管排水等措施的地下排水规律及效果.结果表明:将暗管周围土体置换为高渗透性土体介质的改进暗管排水可明显提高排水流量,当土体置换高度达2 cm时(对应于田间条件40 cm),其排水流量均高于相同埋深条件下的其他排水措施,达暗管排水的1.59~1.66倍;改进暗排在地表积水消失时仍保持较大的排水流量,可达相同埋深暗管流量的2倍以上,在积水层消失后,能迅速降低农田土壤水的渍害胁迫,将地下水位降低至暗管埋设高度;各种排水措施,在地表积水即将消失时,出现了流量与水头变化幅度较大的现象.相对于各种地下排水措施,改进暗管排水在除涝降渍中存在明显优势.研究结果可为涝渍灾害易发地区高效除涝降渍减灾工程设计和建设提供参考.     

Subsurface drainage to combat waterlogging and salinity in irrigated lands in India: Lessons learned in farmers’ fields

The introduction of irrigated agriculture in the arid and semi-arid regions of India has resulted in the development of the twin problem of waterlogging and soil salinization. It is estimated that nearly 8.4 million ha is affected by soil salinity and alkalinity, of which about 5.5 million ha is also waterlogged. Subsurface drainage is an effective tool to combat this twin problem of waterlogging and salinity and thus to protect capital investment in irrigated agriculture and increase its sustainability. In India, however, subsurface drainage has not been implemented on a large scale, in spite of numerous research activities that proved its potential. To develop strategies to implement subsurface drainage, applied research studies were set-up in five different agro-climatic sub-regions of India. Subsurface drainage systems, consisting of open and pipe drains with drain spacing varying between 45 and 150 m and drain depth between 0.90 and 1.20 m, were installed in farmers’ fields. The agro-climatic and soil conditions determine the most appropriate combination of drain depth and spacing, but the drain depths are considerably shallower than the 1.75 m traditionally recommended for the prevailing conditions in India. Crop yields in the drained fields increased significantly, e.g. rice with 69%, cotton with 64%, sugarcane with 54% and wheat with 136%. These increases were obtained because water table and soil salinity levels were, respectively, 25% and 50% lower than in the non-drained fields. An economic analysis shows that the subsurface drainage systems are highly cost-effective: cost-benefit ratios range from 1.2 to 3.2, internal rates of return from 20 to 58%, and the pay-back periods from 3 to 9 years. Despite these positive results, major challenges remain to introduce subsurface drainage at a larger scale. First of all, farmers, although they clearly see the benefits of drainage, are too poor to pay the full cost of drainage. Next, water users’ organisations, not only for drainage but also for irrigation, are not well established. Subsurface drainage in irrigated areas is a collective activity, thus appropriate institutional arrangements for farmers’ participation and organisation are needed. Thus, to assure that drainage gets the attention it deserves, policies have to be reformulated.     

改进暗管排水结构型式对排水性能的影响

提出一种占用耕地少、排水流量较常规暗排大且环境友好的改进暗排。基于室内土柱试验,分析改进暗排在地表积水、土体饱和条件下的排水除涝性能及其机理,提出地表积水土体饱和入渗条件下改进暗排排水流量的理论计算公式。结果表明,改进暗排可以有效提高暗管排水能力,试验条件下,反滤体宽度为2~6 cm的改进暗排在自由出流条件下的排水流量为常规暗排排水流量的2~3倍;积水层深度相同时,改进暗排排水性能随反滤体宽度的增加而增大,但增幅逐渐减小;土体介质和反滤体的渗透系数差别越大,改进暗排的排水作用越明显。理论方法计算结果与试验结果相吻合,证明提出的理论计算公式是合理可行的。     

外包滤料对暗管排水与土壤脱盐效果的影响

为了探究不同外包滤料条件下的暗管排水性能和土壤脱盐效果,基于室内试验研究成果,在田间设置4种暗管排水系统(各系统中暗管埋深均为80 cm,间距均为20 m),所用外包滤料分别为68 g/m²土工布(L)、砂滤料(S)、68 g/m²土工布+砂滤料(LS)和无外包滤料(W),以当地常规明沟排水(CK)作为对照,通过田间试验分析了春灌过程中各暗管系统的排水性能指标及土壤脱盐效率.结果表明:相比处理W,处理L,S和LS平均排水速率提升了7.44%,12.55%和15.75%,平均流量衰减度降低4.07%;处理S和LS累积排水量提高了5.11%和8.31%(P<0.05).各暗管处理春灌后平均土壤脱盐率均达47%以上,较CK提升显著,其中处理LS效果最优,为50.94%.综上,应优先选择处理LS作为河套灌区暗管排水系统外包滤料布设方案.该研究结果可为河套灌区暗管排盐技术的推广应用提供理论支撑和科学指导.     

Using drainage systems for supplementary irrigation

The use of drainage systems for supplementary irrigation is widespread in The Netherlands. One of the operating policies is to raise the surface water level during the growing season in order to reduce drainage (water conservation) or to create subsurface irrigation. This type of operation is based on practical experience, which can be far from optimal.To obtain better founded operational water management rules a total soil water/surface water model was built. In a case study the effects of using the drainage system in a dual-purpose manner on the arable crop production were simulated with the model. Also, the operational rules for managing this type of dual-purpose drainage systems were derived.The average annual simulated increase in crop transpiration due to water conservation and water supply for subsurface irrigation are 6.0 and 5.4 mm.y^–1, respectively. This is equivalent with 520 × 10³ and 460 × 10³ Dfl.y^–1 for the pilot region (2 Dfl 1 US $). The corresponding investments and operational costs are 600 × 10³ Dfl and 9 × 10³ Dfl.y^–1 for water conservation and 3200 × 10³ Dfl and 128 × 10³ Dfl.y^–1 for subsurface irrigation. Hence, water conservation is economically very profitable, whereas subsurface irrigation is less attractive.Comparing the management according to the model with current practice in a water-board during 1983 and 1986 learned that benefits can increase with some 50 and 500 Dfl per ha per year, respectively.     

Analytical Approximation of Subsurface Total Drainage Quantity in Non-Steady State Drainage Flow, and its Verification in Heavy Soils

The subsurface total drainagequantity is one of the most importantindicators for the drainage policy of watermanagement. The methods of estimationof the subsurface total drainage quantityunder unsteady state drainage flow maybe different in consideration of the timeduration of the process and in relation tothe type, quality and quantity of the data used.Simple analytical approximation of thesubsurface total drainage quantity, whichwas developed by the operation of asubsurface pipe drainage system insaturated soil under unsteady statedrainage flow, is viewed in this paper.Derivation of the formula for subsurfacetotal drainage quantity is based onthe subsurface flow to drains with anapproximately horizontal impervious layer,where the Dupuit's assumptions and Darcy'slaw are applied. It is assumed that duringthe drainage process there will be no rechargeto the groundwater table.This analytical approximation of thesubsurface total drainage quantity at acertain time t was formed into a singleexponential equation. The correctness andapplicability of the analyticalapproximation of the subsurface totaldrainage quantity was verified with the help ofthe field measurements on the heavy soilsof an experimental watershed area of theResearch Institute for Soil and WaterConservation (RISWC) Prague-Zbraslav, CzechRepublic. The shape and the parameters ofthis subsurface total drainage quantityequation were also proved by nonlinearregression analysis, with application of themethod of Marquardt.This analytical approximation should serveas an elementary tool of water engineeringpractice for an immediate estimation of thevalues of subsurface total drainagequantities from field pipe drainagesystems in saturated soils. It shouldalso serve as a tool with only a minimumamount of information (the basic soilhydrology data and drainage system basicdesign parameters) and its application to awide range of drainage policies ispossible.     

多阶段受涝渍综合影响的农田排水指标试验研究

通过对棉花2年(2003~2004年)的涝渍兼治农田排水试验,研究了作物在全生育阶段均受涝渍影响的农田排水指标,还对多阶段涝渍共同作用下的作物水分生产函数进行了研究。通过对2年的实测数据的分析可以看出:用涝渍共同作用下的农田排水指标与棉花的相对产量之间有较好的相关关系,并对各生育阶段对涝渍的敏感性进行了排序,可供涝渍综合影响下排水系统的设计与运行管理参考。     

油菜花果期以持续受渍为特征的排水控制指标试验研究

为了探索易涝易渍地区作物排水管理 ,以地下水动态指标 SEW3 0 反映作物的受渍程度 ,利用测坑和小区试验研究了油菜花果期持续受渍对产量和含油量的影响。研究表明 ,持续受渍对产量的影响远比含油量大 ,因此 ,宜以产量作为油菜排水控制指标的选择依据。统计分析表明 ,持续受渍程度 SEW3 0 与作物相对产量 Ry 之间有极显著的线性负相关关系。以 SEW3 0 作为评价作物持续受渍的指标 ,以作物减产 10 %～ 15 %作为选择排水指标的尺度 ,油菜花果持续受渍下的排水控制指标宜取 80～ 12 0 cm· d。     

Predicting effects of drainage water management in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes

Long-term hydrologic simulations are presented predicting the effects of drainage water management on subsurface drainage, surface runoff and crop production in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes. The deterministic hydrologic model, DRAINMOD was used to simulate Webster (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic) soil in a Continuous Corn rotation (WEBS_CC) with different drain depths from 0.75 to 1.20 m and drain spacing from 10 to 50 m in a combination of free and controlled drainage over a weather record of 60 (1945-2004) years. Shallow drainage is defined as drains installed at a drain depth of 0.75 m, and controlled drainage with a drain depth of 1.20 m restricts flow at the drain outlet to maintain a water table at 0.60 m below surface level during the winter (November-March) and summer (June-August) months. These drainage design and management modifications were evaluated against conventional drainage system installed at a drain depth of 1.20 m with free drainage at the drain outlet. The simulation results indicate the potential of a tradeoff between subsurface drainage and surface runoff as a pathway to remove excess water from the system. While a reduction of subsurface drainage may occur through the use of shallow and controlled drainage, these practices may increase surface runoff in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes. The simulations also indicate that shallow and controlled drainage might increase the excess water stress on crop production, and thereby result in slightly lower relative yields. Field experiments are needed to examine the pathways of water movement, total water balance, and crop production under shallow and controlled drainage in Iowa's subsurface drained landscapes.     

Comparative evaluation of phosphorus losses from subsurface and naturally drained agricultural fields in the Pike River watershed of Quebec, Canada

Phosphorus (P) is the limiting nutrient responsible for the development of algal blooms in freshwater bodies, adversely impacting the water quality of downstream lakes and rivers. Since agriculture is a major non-point source of P in southern Quebec, this study was carried out to investigate P transport under subsurface and naturally drained agricultural fields with two common soil types (clay loam and sandy loam). Monitoring stations were installed at four sites (A, B, C and D) in the Pike River watershed of southern Quebec. Sites A-B had subsurface drainage whereas sites C-D were naturally drained. In addition, sites A-C had clay loam soils whereas sites B-D had sandy loam soils. Analysis of data acquired over two hydrologic years (2004-2006) revealed that site A discharged 1.8 times more water than site B, 4 times more than site C and 3 times more than site D. The presence of subsurface drainage in sandy loam soils had a significant beneficial effect in minimizing surface runoff and total phosphorus (TP) losses from the field, but the contrary was observed in clay loam soils. This was attributed to the finding that P speciation as particulate phosphorus (PP) and dissolved phosphorus (DP) remained relatively independent of the hydrologic transport pathway, and was a strong function of soil texture. While 80% of TP occurred as PP at both clay loam sites, only 20% occurred as PP at both sandy loam sites. Moreover, P transport pathways in artificially drained soils were greatly influenced by the prevailing preferential and macropore flow conditions.     

暗管排水条件下微咸水灌溉对土壤盐分动态及夏玉米生长的影响

进行暗管排水条件下微咸水灌溉田间试验,设置3种暗管埋深,分别为80 cm(D1)、120 cm(D2)以及无暗管排水(D0),3种微咸水浓度,其电导率分别为0.78 dS/m(S1),3.75 dS/m(S2)和6.25 dS/m(S3),共9个处理,每个处理3组重复.试验结果表明:暗管排水措施可以有效排除微咸水灌溉过程中土壤中累积的盐分;在玉米全生育期内,暗管埋深D1条件下,3种浓度微咸水S1,S2和S3灌溉时根系土壤电导率分别下降了39.00%,31.56%和29.43%,暗管埋深D2条件下,根系土壤电导率则分别下降了31.91%,18.08%和7.44%;夏玉米干物质累积量、穗棒累积量和穗棒质量分配率及最终产量均随着微咸水浓度的升高而降低;在相同微咸水浓度下,不同暗管埋设条件下的夏玉米最终产量从大到小依次为D1,D2,D0;3种暗管埋设条件下的作物需水量从大到小依次为D0,D2,D1的规律;暗管埋深80 cm的处理(D1)下夏玉米水分利用效率最高,而未埋设暗管的处理(D0)水分利用效率最低;当暗管埋设条件一定时,夏玉米水分利用效率随微咸水浓度的升高呈逐渐降低的趋势.     

旱作物涝渍排水研究动态分析

在总结分析国内外有关研究的基础上 ,指出涝渍地旱作排水研究有 5大趋势 :1由重视农田排涝发展到重视农田排渍 ;2由静态排水指标研究发展到动态排水指标研究 ;3由涝、渍分别研究发展到涝渍综合研究 ;4从排水指标仅考虑作物产量发展到既考虑产量又重视品质 ;5由单一涝渍过程对作物的影响研究发展到多个涝渍过程对作物的复合影响研究。     

Time-dependent drainage from root zone and drainage coefficient under different irrigation management levels for subsurface drainage design in Egypt

Drainage water from the lower boundary of the root zone is an important factor in the irrigated agricultural lands for prediction of the water table behavior and understanding and modeling of water and chemical movement in the soil profile. The drainage coefficient is an important parameter for the design of subsurface drainage. On a 33,138 ha of the Nile Delta in Egypt, this study is conducted using 90 irrigation periods over a 3-year crop rotation to estimate the time-dependent drainage from the root zone and the design subsurface drainage coefficient with different cropping seasons and irrigation management levels.The results showed that the cropping seasons and the irrigation management levels as indicated by different irrigation efficiency are significantly affected the drainage rate from the root zone and the design value of subsurface drainage coefficient. Drainage rates from the root zone of 1.72 mm/d and 0.82 mm/d were estimated for summer and winter seasons, respectively. These rates significantly decreased in a range of 46% to 92% during summer season and 60% to 98% during winter season when the irrigation efficiency is increased in a range of 5% to 15%. The subsurface drainage coefficient was estimated to be 1.09 mm/d whereas the design drain pipe capacity was estimated to be 2.2 mm/d, based on the peak discharge of the most critical crop (maize), rather than 4.0 mm/d which is currently used. A significant decrease of the drainage coefficient and the drain pipe capacity ranges from 18% to 45% was found with the increase of irrigation efficiency in a range of 5% to 15%. The leaching requirement for each crop was also estimated.     

棉花花铃期以持续受渍为特征的排水控制指标试验研究

以地下水动态指标 SEWX 反映作物的受渍程度 ,利用田间小区试验研究了棉花花铃期持续受渍对产量与品质的影响。结果表明 :随着受渍程度加重 ,蕾铃脱落率上升 ,产量明显下降 ,此外 ,品质也受到一定影响。统计分析表明 :作物相对产量 RY与 SEW30 和 SEW50 之间有极显著的线性负相关关系 ,RY与 SEW50 之间的拟合优于 RY 与 SEW30 之间的拟合。考虑到持续受渍对作物产量的影响远比品质大 ,建议以产量作为作物排水指标选择的依据。如果以减产 1 0 %～ 1 5 %作为棉花排水控制指标选择的标准 ,则棉花花铃期的排渍控制指标 SEW30 应取 80～ 1 2 0 (cm· d)。     

新疆内陆干旱重盐碱地区暗管排水技术的应用

用两个试验区六年试验资料进行分析，以明沟排水为对照，论述了内陆干旱重盐碱地区暗管排水改良盐碱地的效果及社会、经济效益。提出了暗管排水的设计标准及技术参数，为类似地区推广暗管排水技术提供了依据。     

淮北平原砂姜黑土区涝渍兼治的组合排水形式

淮北平原地处我国南北过渡带，是我国涝渍灾害严重的典型区域之一。针对涝渍灾害在时间和空间上的相随性和连续性的特点，在本区进行的综合防御涝渍灾害的组合排水技术采用了统筹防御，连续控制的综合措施，实行涝渍兼治。经过二年的试验研究，提出了明沟与暗管、沟井洞、地下排灌、工程与生物措施等适宜于本区的组合排水形式，可因地制宜选择。