Estimation of Soil Evaporation During Fallow Seasons to Assess Water Balances for No-Tillage Crop Rotations

Estimates of soil evaporation and available soil water of no-tillage fields under farm conditions are important to assess soil water status at sowing of rainfed grain crops. The objective of this study was to predict stored soil water of no-tillage fields during the fallow periods following soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) and maize (Zea mays L.) crops by accounting for decreased soil evaporation as a result of the residues left on the soil surface. Three simple phenomenological models were used to simulate stored soil water under field conditions at seven locations in Argentina. Two models calculated decreased soil evaporation based on crop residue mass, and the third assumed a constant fractional decrease in bare soil evaporation. All models gave good estimates of soil water content during the fallow periods following a soybean crop. In cases with large quantities of maize residue, however, the models resulted in more water retention in the soil than observed as a consequence of underprediction of soil evaporation. These results indicate that full benefit of crop residue was not being achieved in these fields, probably due to a failure to finely chop and uniformly distribute the crop material on the soil surface.