Daily Dynamics of Soil Moisture and Root Surface Area

(Reference: Schymanski, Sivapalan, Roderick, Beringer & Hutley, An Optimality-Based Model of the Coupled Soil Moisture and Root Dynamics, submitted to Hydrology and Earth System Sciences)

The animated graphics below show an example of the simulated below-ground conditions, based on a prescribed rooting depth of 5 m and observed canopy water use. The top left plot gives the daily root water uptake in each soil layer, the top right plot the root surface area distribution in the soil profile and the bottom left plot the soil moisture distribution at midnight of every day. The plot on the bottom right shows the observed and modelled surface soil moisture, with a wandering dot marking the position in time of each frame.