Simulation of soil moisture dynamics on irrigated cotton in semi-arid climates

A simulation study of the soil moisture under cotton was carried out in two areas of Central and North Greece during the 1990 and 1994 growing periods. The soil moisture dynamics were evaluated using a one-dimensional model based on the Galerkin finite element method. The model was applied to simulate the state of a cotton crop-soil system under dynamic environmental conditions and irrigation schedules in the two areas. Three different cases of maximum extraction rate were examined. The simulated results were compared with available measurements of water content at different depths in the soil. The qualitative and quantitative procedures for model evaluation showed that there was a good agreement between the simulated and the measured values of water content at different depths of soil. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.