TITLE:
Effects of Different Gravel Mulching on Soil Moisture Status and Regression Model Prediction in Arid Regions
AUTHORS:
Lingli Zhao, Hu Zhao, Xia Zhao, Liping Xin
KEYWORDS:
Gravel Mulched, Evaporation, Thickness, Particle Size, Mulching Years, Regression Fitting
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.10 No.9,
September
26,
2022
ABSTRACT: Drought is one of the main factors limiting the
agricultural planting and production; gravel mulching is an effective
inhibiting evaporation and water-saving
planting pattern in the arid regions. In this study, experiments were
conducted to study soil moisture effect and regression model with different
gravel mulching, the soil moisture content and evaporation were compared that
gravel mulched with different particle sizes, different thickness layer and different mulched
years. The results showed that: 1) The cumulative soil evaporation of gravel
mulched was only 29.3% of that bare fields. Mulching gravel could significantly
reduce soil moisture evaporation. 2) The effects of inhibiting soil moisture
evaporation are the best when mulch gravel thickness is 10 - 15 cm. 3) The particle size of gravel mulched is
smaller, the evaporation inhibition effect will be better. Considering the
water holding capacity and material economy, it is the most suitable to mulch
gravel with the particle size of 3 - 5 cm. 4)
Mulching gravel on the soil surface for 1 - 3 years can improve the soil moisture content.
However, the gravel was mulched for more than five years, the soil moisture
content decreased significantly. 5) The quadratic polynomial regression fitting model
can better simulate and predict the cumulative evaporation on different gravel
mulched, and the regression fitting degree R2 is more than
0.98.