Evaluation of Transpiration and Water Uptake Models in Olive Tree Using Lysimeter

Different root water uptake models have recently been used. In this article, we use evapotranspiration data and soil water content data obtained from lysimeter measurements and root distribution in soil data obtained from olive tree to evaluate the accuracy of root water uptake models in predicting the soil water content profiles. Depth of lysimeter was 120 cm which was filled with clay-loam. Lysimeter recorded values of input and output of water and accurate value of evapotranspiration was also calculated. Soil water content distribution was measured using a TDR probe in lysimeter during the experiment. Feddes model with the root length density was used to account for the role of root distribution in soil. The flow equations were solved numerically with the measured evapotranspiration data as input, and the predicted soil water content profiles were compared with the measured profiles to evaluate the validity of the root water uptake models. The comparison showed that the average of relative error index for Feddes model was 10 %. Based on the results, about 90% of root uptake in olive tree happened at the depth of 40 centimeter.