Modeling and measurement of tile drain controls in intensively managed landscapes

Tile drains are widely used in the Midwestern United States to improve the productivity of poorly drained agricultural fields. Since a tile drain reduces vadose zone soil moisture by lowering the water table, and its outlets feed directly into streams and ditches, tile flow can affect various hydrologic, biotic and biogeochemical processes in the watershed the streams. However, the effects of spatially resolved micro-topographic variability, such depressions and roadside ditches, on tile flow and their accumulated impact on ecohydrologic and nutrient dynamics remain poorly understood. Here we present an explicit model of tile flow and incorporated into the integrated ecohydrologic-flow model, MLCan-GCSFlow, to investigate the impacts of tile drain on ecohydrologic and nutrient dynamics in intensively managed agricultural fields at lidar-resolution scales. Explicit coupling between subsurface and tile flow is obtained by modifications of variably saturated Richards equation to capture the impacts of tile drain on soil moisture. The coupling between subsurface and overland flow is obtained by prescribing a boundary condition switching approach at the top surface of the computational domain. Model results for study sites in Critical Zone Observatory for Intensively Managed Landscapes (IMLCZO) show the significance of tile drain flow on the vertical and spatial soil moisture distribution and coupled surface - sub-surface flow dynamics.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Environ Engr in Civil Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Wagner, Derek Christopher

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kumar, Praveen

• Tile Drains
• Intensively Managed Landscape

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Derek Wagner

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90823

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/90823