Nasr Cheaib

ABE 559, Assignment 1

Monday, August 27, 2018

The research paper studies the effect of three tillage practices, conventional vs. subsoiling vs. no

tillage on the soil water balance during the growing season of maize in northern China. A simulation

model with time-dependent parameter was used to predict the output. The performance measures of

interest were percolation, storage, transpiration, and evaporation of water. Overall, water balance was

found to be higher when subsoiling tillage was used compared to other tillage methods.

The model is definitely not a probabilistic model because it does not give a probability distribution

as the solution. This is more likely a deterministic model because the output of the model is fully

determined by the parameter values (equations used) and the initial conditions set by the researcher.

Methods used in this study included data collected at the experimental plot such as the soil’s

physical and hydraulic properties. In addition, the different soil horizons were depicted by van Genuchten

equations. Other initial parameters were computed by the FAO Penman–onteith method, such as

evapotranspiration. Putting it all together, the solution of the model is based on the finite difference

method.

The initial state of the system is described by rainfall, irrigation, reference evapo-transpiration,

and leaf area index and crop coefficients. Other state variables discussed helped simulate the effect of

different tillage practices on soil water conservation such as potential daily flux and evaporation.

The data collected from the simulation were fitted and graphed against previously collected data,

this was also a technique of model validation. The differences were calculated and analyzed most likely

by ANOVA and other statistical methods. There was no sensitivity analysis provided or measurements of

error.