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Implications of rainfall temporal resolution for soil-moisture and transpiration modeling

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Abstract

Dimensionless groups of parameters characterizing an ecosystem are valuable indicators for the a priori assessment of the effect of rainfall data resolution on predictions of soil moisture and transpiration. Knowledge of these dimensionless groups enables identification of appropriate levels of rainfall data resolution, when using historical rainfall directly or when using it to derive rainfall model parameters for use in models of soil–plant–climate systems. Detailed simulation studies of the soil, plant, and climate systems in Colorado and Texas, highly resolved in time and vertical space, show that historical rainfall data resolved at the daily level allow accurate prediction of soil-moisture and transpiration dynamics for smaller time resolutions. These results support inferences based on the dimensionless groups. Furthermore, no significant improvement in the prediction of soil-moisture and transpiration dynamics is attained, when representing rainfall through a more complex Neyman–Scott model rather than the simple rectangular pulses Poisson model.

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Abbreviations

A e & B e :

Parameters of evaporation weighting function [–]

A r & B r :

Parameters of root weighting function [–]

b :

Soil retention parameter [–]

C r :

Root resistance coefficient [days/cm]

C s :

Soil resistance coefficient [–]

D I :

Index of dryness [–]

〈E max〉1 day :

Maximum daily evaporation rate [cm/day]

〈ET max〉1 day :

Maximum daily evapotranspiration rate [cm/day]

I I,t :

Temporal infiltration index [–]

K sat :

Saturated hydraulic conductivity [cm/day]

L :

Duration of a rainfall pulse [days]

R I :

Runoff index [–]

S h :

Hygroscopic saturation [–]

S w :

Saturation at wilting [–]

S*:

Saturation at incipient stomatal closure [–]

X :

Intensity of a rainfall pulse [days]

Y :

Precipitation intensity [cm/day]

Z e :

Evaporation depth [cm]

Δ:

Depth of interception [cm]

ϕ:

Porosity [–]

γ:

Plant compensation factor [–]

η:

Parameter of exponential distribution for rainfall-pulse duration [day−1]

λ:

Arrival rate of rainfall pulse or storm event [day−1]

μ c :

Mean number of cells per storm [cell/storm]

μ L :

Mean duration of a rainfall pulse [days]

μ X :

Mean intensity of a rainfall pulse [cm/day]

ξ:

Parameter of exponential distribution for rainfall-pulse intensity [days/cm]

Ψ e :

Entry pressure head [cm]

Ψ w :

Plant fluid potential at wilting [cm]

Ψ *:

Plant fluid potential at incipient stomatal closure [cm]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Michael J. Puma, Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe & Michael A. Celia

  2. Picker Engineering Program, Smith College, 51 College Lane, Northampton, MA, 01060, USA

    Andrew J. Guswa

Authors
  1. Michael J. Puma
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  2. Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe
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  3. Michael A. Celia
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  4. Andrew J. Guswa
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Correspondence to Michael J. Puma.

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Puma, M.J., Rodriguez-Iturbe, I., Celia, M.A. et al. Implications of rainfall temporal resolution for soil-moisture and transpiration modeling. Transp Porous Med 68, 37–67 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-006-9057-4

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