Abstract
In this paper, we analyse the combined effect of wetted area and irrigation volume and its impact on olive tree transpiration (E p) after validating a multi-compartment SPAC model in a drip-irrigated hedgerow olive tree plantation. Modelled E p is compared with 2 years of calibrated sap flow records under two different irrigation treatments: a control (C) that was watered using a crop coefficient (K c) of 0.75 and a regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) in which applied irrigation was gradually reduced in relation to the K c of the control (50, 25 and 20% from June to August). The simulated midday leaf water potential (Ψ l) was also compared with measurements performed twice a month in each treatment and for both years. The model accurately predicted E p in both years for the two treatments (R 2 = 0.81 and RMSE = 0.29 mm/day), while midday Ψ l was slightly underestimated. Simulation analysis showed that (a) the use of drip irrigation systems always limits the maximum attainable E p for a given environment; and (b) irrigation design should depend on available water. If irrigation water is limited, the wetted area should be minimized to reduce losses from soil evaporation, thus maximizing the water devoted to E p; by contrast, if water is available, the maximum E p would be reached when wetting at least 30–40% of tree space. The model was accurate enough to capture the trends in E p and Ψ l of trees submitted to different irrigation regimes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexandratos N, Bruinsma J (2012) World agriculture towards 2030/2050: the 2012 revision. ESA Working paper no 12-03. FAO, Rome
Andreu L, Hopmans JW, Schwankl LJ (1997) Spatial and temporal distribution of soil water balance for a drip-irrigated almond tree. Agric Water Manag 35:123–146
Bonachela S, Orgaz F, Villalobos FJ, Fereres E (2001) Soil evaporation from drip-irrigated olive orchards. Irrig Sci 20:65–71
Bristow KL, Campbell GS, Calissendorff C (1984) The effects of texture on the resistance to water-movement within the rhizosphere. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48:266–270
Campbell GS, Norman JM (1998) Introduction to environmental biophysics, 2nd edn. Springer, New York
Clothier BE, Green SR (1997) Roots: the big movers or water and chemical in soil. Soil Sci 162:534–543
Dasberg S, Or D (1999) Practical applications of drip irrigation. Drip irrigation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 125–138
De Wit CT (1958) Transpiration and crop yields. Institute of Biological and Chemical Research on Field Crops and Herbage, Wageningen
dePury DGG, Farquhar GD (1997) Simple scaling of photosynthesis from leaves to canopies without the errors of big-leaf models. Plant Cell Environ 20:537–557
Diaz-Espejo A, Walcroft AS, Fernandez JE, Hafridi B, Palomo MJ, Giron IF (2006) Modeling photosynthesis in olive leaves under drought conditions. Tree Physiol 26:1445–1456
Dyson T (1999) World food trends and prospects to 2025. Proc Natl Acad Sci 96:5929–5936
Farquhar GD, von Caemmerer S, Berry JA (1980) A biochemical model of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in leaves of C3 species. Planta 149:78–90
Fereres E, Soriano MA (2007) Deficit irrigation for reducing agricultural water use. J Exp Bot 58:147–159
Fereres E, Goldhamer DA, Parsons LR (2004) Irrigation water management of horticultural crops (vol 38, pg 1040). HortScience 39:201
Fereres E, Orgaz F, Gonzalez-Dugo V, Testi L, Villalobos FJ (2014) Balancing crop yield and water productivity tradeoffs in herbaceous and woody crops. Funct Plant Biol 41:1009–1018
Fernández JE, Moreno F, Cabrera F, Arrue JL, Martín-Aranda J (1991) Drip irrigation, soil characteristics and the root distribution and root activity of olive trees. Plant Soil 133:239–251
Fernández JE, Martín Aranda J, Moreno Lucas F, Fereres Castiel E (1992) Olive-tree root dynamics under different soil water regimes. AgrMed 122:225–235
Garcia-Tejera O, Lopez-Bernal A, Villalobos FJ, Orgaz F, Testi L (2016) Effect of soil temperature on root resistance: implications for different trees under Mediterranean conditions. Tree Physiol 36:469–478
García-Tejera O, López-Bernal Á, Testi L, Villalobos FJ (2017) A soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) model for simulating tree transpiration with a soil multi-compartment solution. Plant Soil 412:215–233
Gardner WR (1960) Dynamic aspects of water availability to plants. Soil Sci 89:63–73
Green S, Clothier B, Jardine B (2003) Theory and practical application of heat pulse to measure sap flow. Agron J 95:1371–1379
Hacke UG, Sperry JS, Wheeler JK, Castro L (2006) Scaling of angiosperm xylem structure with safety and efficiency. Tree Physiol 26:689–701
Iniesta F, Testi L, Orgaz F, Villalobos FJ (2009) The effects of regulated and continuous deficit irrigation on the water use, growth and yield of olive trees. Eur J Agron 30:258–265
Keller J, Karmeli D (1974) Trickle irrigation design parameters. Trans ASAE 17:678–684
Klepper B (1991) Crop root system response to irrigation. Irrig Sci 12:105–108
Loomis RS, Connor DJ (2002) Ecología de cultivos: Productividad y manejo en sistemas agrarios. Mundi-Prensa, Madrid
López-Bernal Á, Alcántara E, Testi L, Villalobos FJ (2010) Spatial sap flow and xylem anatomical characteristics in olive trees under different irrigation regimes. Tree Physiol 30:1536–1544
Mariscal MJ, Orgaz F, Villalobos FJ (2000) Modelling and measurement of radiation interception by olive canopies. Agric For Meteorol 100:183–197
Michelakis N, Vougioucalou E, Clapaki G (1993) Water use, wetted soil volume, root distribution and yield of avocado under drip irrigation. Agric Water Manag 24:119–131
Moriana A, Villalobos FJ, Fereres E (2002) Stomatal and photosynthetic responses of olive (Olea europaea L.) leaves to water deficits. Plant Cell Environ 25:395–405
Nash JE, Sutcliffe JV (1970) River flow forecasting through conceptual models part I—a discussion of principles. J Hydrol 10:282–290
Orgaz F, Villalobos FJ, Testi L, Fereres E (2007) A model of daily mean canopy conductance for calculating transpiration of olive canopies. Funct Plant Biol 34:178–188
Passioura JB (1977) Grain-yield harvest index, and water-use of wheat. J Aust Inst Agric Sci 43:117–120
Strutt JW (1871) LVIII. On the scattering of light by small particles. Philos Mag 41:447–454
Ritchie JT (1998) Soil water balance and plant water stress. In: Tsuji GY, Hoogenboom G, Thornton PK (eds) Understanding options for agricultural production. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 41–54
Sperry JS, Adler FR, Campbell GS, Comstock JP (1998) Limitation of plant water use by rhizosphere and xylem conductance: results from a model. Plant Cell Environ 21:347–359
Spitters CJT, Toussaint HAJM, Goudriaan J (1986) Separating the diffuse and direct component of global radiation and its implications for modeling canopy photosynthesis Part I. Compon Incoming Radiat Agric For Meteorol 38:217–229
Stratton JA (1941) Electromagnetic theory. McGraw-Hill, New York
Swanson RH, Whitfield DWA (1981) A Numerical Analysis of Heat Pulse Velocity Theory and Practice. J Exp Bot 32:221–239
Tanji KK, Hanson BR (1990) Drainage and return flow in relation to irrigation management. In: Stewart BA, Nielsen DR (eds) Irrigation of agricultural crops. Agronomy monographs, vol 30. ASA, Madison
Tanner CB, Sinclair TR (1983) Efficient water use in crop production research or re-search. In: Taylor HM, Jordan WR, Sinclair TR (eds) Limitations to efficient water use in crop production. ASA, CSSA, SSSA, Madison, pp 1–27
Testi L, Villalobos FJ (2009) New approach for measuring low sap velocities in trees. Agric For Meteorol 149:730–734
Tuzet A, Perrier A, Leuning R (2003) A coupled model of stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration. Plant Cell Environ 26:1097–1116
Tyree MT, Ewers FW (1991) The hydraulic architecture of trees and other woody plants. New Phytol 119:345–360
Tyree MT, Zimmermann MH (2002) Hydraulic architecture of whole plants and plant performance. Xylem structure and the ascent of sap, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 175–205
Villalobos FJ, Orgaz F, Testi L, Fereres E (2000) Measurement and modeling of evapotranspiration of olive (Olea europaea L.) orchards. Eur J Agron 13:155–163
Villalobos FJ et al (2013) Modelling canopy conductance and transpiration of fruit trees in Mediterranean areas: a simplified approach. Agric For Meteorol 171–172:93–103
Wallace JS (2000) Increasing agricultural water use efficiency to meet future food production agriculture. Ecosyst Environ 82:105–119
Wheeler JK, Sperry JS, Hacke UG, Hoang N (2005) Inter-vessel pitting and cavitation in woody Rosaceae and other vesselled plants: a basis for a safety versus efficiency trade-off in xylem transport Plant. Cell Environ 28:800–812
Williams M et al (1996) Modelling the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum in a Quercus–Acer stand at Harvard forest: the regulation of stomatal conductance by light, nitrogen and soil/plant hydraulic properties. Plant Cell Environ 19:911–927
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Projects AGL2010-20766 and AGL2015-69822 of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (former Ministry of Science and Innovation), by the European Community’s Seven Framework Programme-FP7 (KBBE.2013.1.4-09) under Grant Agreement No. 613817 (MODEXTREME, modextreme.org) and by the Programme ERA-NET FACCE SURPLUS “OLIVE MIRACLE” call 2015, ID 118. We wish to thank the “FPI” programme of the aforementioned ministry for providing the Ph.D. scholarships for Omar Garcia-Tejera. We also thank Manolo Gonzalez, Jose Luis Vazquez, Ignacio Calatrava, Rafael del Río, Rafael Luque and Marcos Orgaz for the excellent technical assistance provided.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest.
Additional information
Communicated by A. Ben-Gal.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
García-Tejera, O., López-Bernal, Á., Orgaz, F. et al. Analysing the combined effect of wetted area and irrigation volume on olive tree transpiration using a SPAC model with a multi-compartment soil solution. Irrig Sci 35, 409–423 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-017-0549-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-017-0549-5