Zeolites are recommended to utilize in agricultural sector due to their water holding and cation exchange capacity. Effect of zeolite on the hydraulic parameters of sandy loam soil was investigated and HYDRUS-2D was used to simulate the movement of water in the soil. Data needed were collected by conducting laboratory experiments. The studied treatments included four levels (zero, 5, 10, and 15 gr kg-1 of soil) to determine the effect of zeolite on hydraulic parameters including saturation moisture (θs) residual moisture (θr), shape parameter (n), point Check air permeability (α) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) of the soil. Four rounds of irrigation were done based on readily soil moisture and the soil moisture values before and after irrigation were measured using the Wet sensor in the depth and radial directions and recorded for 45 days. The initial value of hydraulic parameters including θs, θr, α, n and Ks were determined using Rosetta. Results showed that with increasing in the amount of zeolite, the parameters θs, θr and n increased and the value of α decreased, which indicated a decrease in the rate of water discharge from the soil. While the values of Ks tended to decrease. In fact, the mixing zeolite with soil causes to hold more water because of micro-pore structure of zeolites. The HYDRUS-2D model with the efficiency coefficient (EF), which shows the quality and how to fit the observed and estimated data, varied between 0.82 and 0.97, which shows the high efficiency of model in simulating humidity.
Article Type:
Original Research |
Subject:
Irrigation and Drainage Received: 2023/11/21 | Accepted: 2024/01/1