Soil Moisture and Temperature Changes Affected by an Isolated Plant Shadow

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Abstract

The solar radiation incident on the soil surface below a plant canopy varies temporally and spatially, because the shadow of the canopy intercepts the light. The complicated solar radiation environment, brought by the plant shadow, affects the surrounding environment, including the soil moisture, soil temperature, energy balance on the soil surface, and so on. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an isolated plant on the surrounding environment. To clarify the complicated solar radiation environment on the soil surface, the shadow tracks of the isolated plant are described using the geometry of plant structure and sun locations. The soil surface temperature was measured instantaneously using an infrared thermal imaging camera to evaluate the effect of the spatial distribution of the solar radiation on the thermal environment. Observation results indicated that the spatial distribution of the soil surface temperature is generated by the shadow of the isolated plant. To evaluate the shadow effect on the soil moisture and temperature, a numerical model for soil moisture and heat transfer was introduced. The simulation result indicated that soil moisture and temperature change spatially and temporally, affected by the complicated solar radiation environment. The daily soil surface evaporation was quantified using the numerical model. The results indicate that the soil surface evaporation changed spatially because of the irradiance distribution generated by the plant shadow.

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