Solute transport in soil and surface runoff: I - model development and simulation of soil water movement and surface runoff

摘要

A mathematical model was developed to simulate solute transport in both soil and in surface runoff. The differential equations that govern the transport processes are numerically solved through the finite difference method. For the evaluation of the proposed model a field experiment was planned with nine plots under three irrigation levels with different rainfall intensities. Soil was sampled before and after irrigation to obtain moisture content profiles. At the end of the plot runoff flow was collected by the direct method. The model-simulated results were compared with the experimental data through the mean relative error. The developed model was found to describe adequately water movement and surface runoff, showing a behavior similar to experimental observations, making possible the utilization of the model to simulate these processes, if the model input parameters are representative.