Pedosphere Research, vol. 2, 2022, no. 2: 86 – 105
Original paper
TRENDS IN THE SOIL WATER DYNAMICS IN THE PERIOD 1961 – 2020 IN AGRICULTURAL REGIONS OF SLOVAKIA
Jozef Takáč, Jaroslava Sobocká
National Agricultural and Food Centre – Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Corresponding author: RNDr. Jozef Takáč, PhD., National Agricultural and Food Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, Trenčianska 55, 821 09 Bratislava, Slovakia, e-mail: jozef.takac@nppc.sk; ORCID ID: 0000 – 0003-3923 – 4601
Citation: Takáč, J., Sobocká, J. (2022). Trends in the Soil Water Dynamics in the Period 1961 – 2020 in Agricultural Regions of Slovakia. Pedosphere Research, vol. 2, 2022, no. 2, pp. 86 – 105. NPPC – VÚPOP 2022. ISSN 2729–8728.
https://doi.org/10.64122/j.pedosres.2022.02.07
Abstract
An assessment of the trend in soil water dynamics in agricultural regions of Slovakia was carried out for the period 1961 – 2020. Simulations of water balance and crop water stress with the DAISY model were used for the assessment. Simulations were carried out for representative soil profiles of selected regions. Crop rotations including grain maize, spring barley, winter wheat, sugar beet and potatoes were simulated. According to the simulated values of soil water potential, in the 0 – 30 cm soil horizon thickness, according to the ecological classification of the water regime, soil moisture occurred in the arid interval almost every year on the Podunajská nížina in the southwest, and on the Východoslovenská nížina in the southeast in four out of five years. In the long term, the lowest soil water storage, expressed as percentage of available soil water capacity (ASWC), are in the west of the Záhorská nížina in the west and in the south-east of the Podunajská nížina. Changes in climatic conditions have had an impact on soil water storage. In the period 1991 – 2020 there was a slight decrease in the average soil water content in most of Slovakia compared to the period 1961 – 1990. On the contrary, an increase in soil water storage in the period 1991 – 2020 compared to the period 1961 – 1990 occurred in the south-east of the Podunajská nížina, in the Ipeľ Basin, in Spiš, and Šariš regions. The soil water deficit needed to meet the crop water requirements has increased in all southern regions except the south-east of the Podunajská nížina. The number of days with water stress can exceed 90 days in southern areas in dry years.
Keywords: soil moisture, available soil water capacity, point of decreased availability, crop water requirements, ecological classification of soil water regime