Evaluation of the CRITERIA Irrigation Scheme Soil Water Balance Model in Texas Rio Grande Basin Initiative

摘要

The CRITERIA model was created in the 1990s in Italy, and is based on the soil water balance computation procedures developed at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands in the 1980s. CRITERIA has been used as an analysis and regional water planning tool (e.g seasonal crop yield and water use predictions, impact of climate change scenarios), and is currently used in Northern Italy to update the regional water balance on a weekly base. The model can handle a multilayered soils and computes daily average values related to the soil water balance (actual evaporation and transpiration, water flow between layers, deep percolation, surface runoff, and subsurface runoff). Automatic algorithms allow for calculation and scaling of data which may not be available such as detailed meteorological data and soil-water properties. Outputs can be readily used in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The required inputs are precipitation, air temperature, soil texture, and crop management data (planting and harvesting dates, irrigation method and applied volumes). The model allows for input of additional data such as actual ET, soil conductivity, and soil-water characteristics. If this data is not available, the model can estimate them. The model requires calibration using a combination of measured soil moisture and actual ET. The purpose of the study was to: Evaluate the performances of CRITERIA in predicting soil water moisture and evaluate its potential for predicting crop water requirement in real time within irrigation schemes using minimal input data.