Analysis of Temporal and Spatial Variations of Water Requirement for Puddling in Paddy Fields of Sefidrood Irrigation Network Using SMAP Satellite Soil Moisture Information

In order to analyze the temporal and spatial changes in the amount of water required for puddling in rice fields of the Sapidroud Network, daily soil moisture data from the SMAP satellite was obtained and used in a seven-year period (2015 to 2021). The puddling stage (from April 20 to June 10) was analyzed after grouping based on different probability of occurrence (1%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 90% and 99%) and using raster calculations. In addition, in order to validate the calculations, the predicted values were compared with the saturated soil moisture values of 321 soil samples with specific geographic coordinates that had been measured by the Rice Research Institute of Iran. The comparison was conducted by using the mean absolute error (MAE), mean bias error (MBE), and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE). The results showed that in all moisture scenarios (from the wettest to driest), the foothills had less moisture than the plain and, especially, the low lands, and the soil moisture showed a decreasing trend during the growing period. The rate of this reduction increased gradually and in some areas it reached 2% per day at the end of the puddling period (May 22 to 31). The amount of gross water required for puddling increased from the wettest to the driest year and in the middle of the season (May 3 to 5) it was from 1693 to 2983 square meters per hectare and at the end of the season from 2496 to 3602 m3/ha, respectively. The validation results showed that the calculated MAE, MBE, and NRMSE values were 4.26%, 1.59%, and 15%, respectively, indicating that the accuracy is acceptable. The findings showed that the delay in the start of the puddling operation increases the water required for puddling operation (1.34 m3/ha for each day delay in a normal year). Therefore, in the lands of this network, in all circumstances, especially in dry years, to save water, it is better to release/supply water required for puddling from local reservoirs, wells, or from the Sepidroud Dam in early May.