Key Takeaways
- Improved Water Storage: The Rainwater Harvesting and Mulching system significantly enhances soil water storage in rain-fed orchards, making it more effective than traditional methods.
- Temperature Regulation: Soil temperatures under the RHM system are consistently higher compared to the control, potentially benefiting growth conditions.
- Enhanced Tree Growth: The RHM system improves the growth and water use efficiency of apricot trees, suggesting a valuable agricultural advancement for arid areas.
- Consistent Data Modeling: LSTM model predictions align closely with actual measurements, indicating high reliability in forecasting soil water content changes.
- Potential for Wider Use: The results suggest that the RHM system has significant potential for broader application in similar arid and semi-arid regions.
In the arid and semi-arid regions of China’s Loess Plateau, rainwater is a precious commodity that is often insufficient and underutilized during the critical growing seasons. To address this, Feng et al. (2024) introduced a novel Rainwater Harvesting and Mulching (RHM) system designed to optimize water use in rain-fed orchards. This study assesses the system’s effectiveness in maintaining adequate soil moisture levels and enhancing agricultural productivity.
Methodology and Implementation
The RHM system incorporates rainwater harvesting techniques, an infiltrator bucket featuring multiple holes for water distribution, and a mulching strategy to reduce evaporation. The study compared this system against traditional orchard water management practices (CK) to evaluate changes in soil moisture, temperature, and apricot tree growth dynamics.
Results
Soil Water Storage
The RHM treatment showed a remarkable improvement in soil water retention, with increases of 6.3-12% for light rainfall events and 12-25% for moderate rainfall events within the root zone of apricot trees. These enhancements were most pronounced at soil depths of 0-45 cm and at a horizontal distance of 40 cm from the tree trunk, which is critical for optimal root development.
Soil Temperature
Under the RHM system, the soil temperature at various depths (5 cm, 20 cm, and 40 cm) was consistently higher than in traditional treatments. This increase in temperature could help improve metabolic activities and nutrient uptake in apricot trees.
Tree Growth and Physiology
The study also highlighted significant improvements in the growth and water use efficiency of apricot trees under the RHM system compared to the control. These improvements are crucial for sustaining agricultural productivity in arid environments where water scarcity can severely limit plant development.
Model Accuracy
Using the LSTM model to predict changes in soil moisture proved highly accurate, with a minimal error margin (0.65). This suggests that such models can be effectively used to manage irrigation practices and predict agricultural outcomes in similar environments.
Read the complete study here.
