Monitoring of soil water content and quality inside and outside the water curtain cultivation facility

Abstract:

Water curtain cultivation system is an energy saving technique for winter season by splashing groundwater on the inner roof of green house. Artificial groundwater recharge application to the water curtain cultivation facilities was adopted and tested to use groundwater sustainably in a rural region of Korea. The groundwater level in the test site shows natural trend corresponding rainfall pattern except during mid-November to early April when groundwater levels decline sharply due to groundwater abstraction for water curtain cultivation. Groundwater levels are also affected by surface water such as stream, small dams in the stream and agricultural ditches. Infiltration data were collected from lysimeter installation and monitoring inside and outside water cultivation facility and compared with each other. The infiltration data were well correlated with rainfall outside the facility, but the data in the facility showed very different from the other. The missing infiltration data were attributed to groundwater level rise and level sensor location below water table. Soil water contents in the unsaturated zone indicated rainfall infiltration propagation at depth and with time outside the facility. According to rainfall amount and water condition at the initial stage of a rainfall event, the variation of soil water content was shown differently. Soil water contents and electrical conductivities were closely correlated with each other, and they reflected rainfall infiltration through the soil and water quality changes. The monitoring results are useful to reveal the hydrological processes from the infiltration to groundwater recharge, and water management planning in the water cultivation areas.