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Soil evaporation and its associated processes are vital for agricultural production and ecosystems in seasonal frozen regions. However, soil evaporation and its impact on salt accumulation in different landscapes during freeze–thaw periods have not been well elucidated. In this study, field experiments were carried out to investigate soil evaporation and salt accumulation patterns in three typical landscapes—namely, cropland, woodland, and natural land—in an arid seasonal frozen region located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River basin from November 2018 to April 2019. The results indicated the highest soil evaporation occurred on natural land with a total amount of 148.5 mm during the freeze–thaw period from 2018 to 2019, whereas woodland had the smallest soil evaporation of 56.9 mm. Over 75% of soil evaporation occurred during the thawing stage for all three landscapes. The average daily evaporation was below 1 mm d–1 for the whole freeze–thaw period and was 0.1 mm d–1 for the stable freezing stage. Compared with humidity and wind speed, temperature and soil water content had a greater impact on soil evaporation. At the end of the thawing stage, the salt content in the topsoil (0–10 cm) layer increased significantly with an increasing rate of 70–225%. Salt concentrations in the topsoil were significantly and linearly related to the cumulative soil evaporation during the freeze–thaw period. The current research is expected to provide implications for water management and salinity control in the upper reaches of the Yellow River basin and in other arid regions with similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A coupled model was developed for water and solute transport in furrow irrigation. • The surface and subsurface processes were coupled with the iterative method. • The model was validated by comparing its simulated results with measured data. • Numerical tests were conducted for evaluating the accuracy and efficiency of the model performance. Abstract For optimal water and fertilizer management under furrow irrigation, it is important to understand the water and solute dynamics on the land surface and in the subsurface. An efficient mathematical tool is required to describe these dynamic processes. We propose a coupled model in which surface water flow and solute transport are described using the zero-inertia equation and the average cross-sectional convection-dispersion equation, respectively, while the two-dimensional Richards equation and the convection-dispersion equation are used to simulate water flow and solute transport in soils, respectively. Solutions are computed numerically using finite differences for surface water flow and finite volumes for solute transports in furrow. Subsurface water flow and solute transport equations are solved using the CHAIN_2D code. An iterative method is used to couple computations of surface and subsurface processes. Both surface and subsurface water flow and solute transport modules are coded in program subroutines and functions in the Intel FORTRAN environment. The coupled model was validated by comparing its simulation results with measured data. Results showed that simulated water front advances in the furrow and water contents in the soil agreed with the observations reasonably well. Good simulations can be achieved with a relatively fine temporal resolution. Numerical oscillations can be eliminated by adopting appropriate time steps. As compared with the traditional furrow irrigation model, the proposed model can better quantify soil water and solute dynamics by considering interactions between surface and subsurface water flow and solute transport processes. The proposed model can be used as a decision tool to design and manage furrow irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • HYDRUS-dualKc model was extended to be used in the regional scale. • Model was validated using experimental data and remote sensing ET. • Hydrological complexities caused by fragmented land covers were discussed. • New insights were provided for agro-hydrological modelling. Abstract Hydrological effects caused by fragmented land cover types in human-dominated agro-ecosystems are poorly understood. In this study, based on visual interpreted high-resolution land cover map, an agro-hydrological model (HYDRUS-dualKc) was used in a distributed manner to investigate the hydrological complexities caused by fragmented land cover types and shallow groundwater. An irrigation system located in the upper Yellow River basin was chosen as a case study area, where field observations were conducted in 2012 and 2013. Combined effects of vegetation, soil, irrigation and groundwater were considered. Simulations of soil moisture and soil salinity fitted well with field observations; evapotranspiration (ET a) was also comparable with remote sensing data. Results showed that the growing season ET a varied from 162 to 567 mm among the different vegetation covers with the values for crop fields usually higher than those for natural lands. The soil evaporation was obviously larger in natural land and the natural vegetation growth was seriously stressed. Through lateral groundwater exchange, the cropland functioned as a stable groundwater recharge zone while the natural land functioned as a discharge zone during the growing season. As a result, 21% of the total water diverted to Jiyuan migrated to natural lands through groundwater due to field percolation and canal seepage, along with 50–75% of the total salt introduced. The fragmented land covers and complex hydrological processes bring many challenges to remote sensing and model simulation. Future land planning and water resources management should consider the hydrological effects caused by the fragmented land cover types and the associated management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]