Soil surface water evaporation under no‑tillage and conventional tillage systems

Abstract

This work aimed to quantify the evaporation of water on the soil surface under no‑tillage and conventional tillage systems, and to evaluate the microlysimeters use to measure this process. Measurements were performed in the field, during the summers of 2001/2002, 2002/2003 and 2004/2005, in experiments with and without irrigation. Completely randomized designs were used, with four repetitions. The treatments consisted of no‑tillage and conventional soil tillage systems, in the presence or absence of corn cultivation. Evaporation was measured daily, during drying periods between precipitations and consecutive irrigations. Without irrigation, accumulated evaporation was greater under no tillage system, in most measuring periods, irrespective of the presence of corn cultivation. In experiments with irrigation, evaporation was similar in both types of soil management systems. Normally, at the beginning of the measurement periods, within two to five days of drying, evaporation was higher in soil under conventional tillage and, subsequently, it became greater in soils under no tillage system. The use of microlysimeters proved to be efficient to measure the evaporation at the soil surface.