Soil Evaporation and its Affecting Factors under Crop Canopy

Abstract Based on field experiments, changing patterns and affecting factors of soil evaporation and energy balance under crop canopy were studied. Soil evaporation under crop canopy was measured directly using the microlysimetry technique. The main factors affecting soil evaporation under crop canopy including surface net radiation, leaf area index, soil water content, and crop growth period were analyzed to give scientific proof for the soil evaporation control. The results showed that no soil evaporation occurred under the crop canopy when net radiation was reduced to a threshold of 230.57 w/m2. Under crop cover conditions, evaporation/evapotranspiration (E/ET) reduced with increases of crop leaf area index, followed by an exponential function to a leaf area index (LAI) threshold of 4. The cumulative evapotranspiration, transpiration, and evaporation under crop canopy conditions during the winter wheat growing season were 443.9 mm, 272.2 mm, and 171.7 mm, respectively, with E/ET having a relatively high value of 38.7%.