0000000000309708
AUTHOR
Amro Negm
Bridging Mediterranean cultures in the International Year of Soils 2015: A documentary exhibition on irrigation techniques in water scarcity conditions
The paper presents the activity performed at the University of Brescia by students and researchers, belonging to different Mediterranean cultures and different disciplines, to prepare a documentary exhibition on irrigation techniques in water scarcity conditions, on the occasion of the International Year of Soils 2015. Traditional irrigation techniques were identified as a key aspect of soil conservation and agricultural practices, to build living and autopoietic ecosystems, also in adverse climatic conditions, and to adapt to climatic changes. Being a structural source of ecosystem survival, and being based on long-lasting observation of the climate and of the environment, they have deep r…
Assessing the performance of thermal inertia and Hydrus models to estimate surface soil water content
The knowledge of soil water content (SWC) dynamics in the upper soil layer is important for several hydrological processes. Due to the difficulty of assessing the spatial and temporal SWC dynamics in the field, some model-based approaches have been proposed during the last decade. The main objective of this work was to assess the performance of two approaches to estimate SWC in the upper soil layer under field conditions: the physically-based thermal inertia and the Hydrus model. Their validity was firstly assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. Thermal inertia was firstly validated in laboratory conditions using the transient line heat source (TLHS) method. Then, it was applied in…
Downscaling of American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) daily air temperature in Sicily, Italy, and effects on crop reference evapotranspiration
Abstract Air temperature (Ta) is one of the key factors in agro-hydrological studies including estimation of crop reference evapotranspiration (ET0), which is crucial for irrigation water management and sustainability of agro-ecosystem productivity. Because direct measurements of ET0 are difficult, expensive and time consuming, the use of physically based or empirical approaches linked to meteorological information is often preferred. The Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource project developed by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (POWER-NASA) provides daily meteorological information on a 1° latitude by 1° longitude grid. Despite the poor spatial resolution charac…
Assessing the suitability of American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) agro-climatology archive to predict daily meteorological variables and reference evapotranspiration in Sicily, Italy
Abstract For decades, the importance of evapotranspiration processes has been recognized in many disciplines, including hydrologic and drainage studies, irrigation systems design and management. In this research, the suitability of the Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resource database published by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (POWER-NASA), to estimate daily meteorological variables and ET 0 was assessed in Sicily, Italy, for the period 2006–2014, based on ground data measured by a network of climate stations belonging to the regional Agro-meteorological Information Service (SIAS). After comparing the climate data (minimum, T min , maximum, T max , and average, T…
Assessing the performance of different model-based techniques to estimate water content in the upper soil layer
he knowledge of soil water content (SWC) of the upper soil layer is important for most hydrological processes occurring over vegetated areas and under dry climate. Because direct field measurements of SWC are difficult, the use of different type of sensors and model-based approaches have been proposed and extensively used during the last decade. The main objective of this work is to assess the performance of two models estimating SWC of the upper soil layer: the transient line heat source method and the physically based Hydrus-1D model. The models' performance is assessed using field measurements acquired through a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR). The experiment was carried out on an olive …