The purpose of this study was monitoring spatio-temporal distributions of water and salt during an infiltration process at plot-scale. Monitoring of the temporal wetting front during water and salt infiltration into soil was done by using Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique. The main aim was to develop a practical and relatively simple methodology to regulate farm practices for salinity management based on coupling: 1) field data of water contents and salinity concentrations observed in a soil plot irrigated with saline water by using TDR sensors; 2) a physically based agro-hydrological model (FLOWS-HAGES) for simulating water flow and solute transport in the soil-plant-atmosphere system.
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Simultaneous Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR) readings of bulk electrical conductivity (σb) and water content were used for converting TDR measurements to soil water electrical conductivity (σw) estimations to be used for assessing salt leaching and the actual distribution of salts with depth along the whole soil profile for calibration of the model. Once the model has been properly calibrated and validated, it may be used extensively to simulate field conditions for understanding both the actual and long-term effects of various management and application alternatives on the distribution of salts at either farm or district-scale.
