Quantify Ground Water Recharge Using Water Balance Over No-Tillage Farming.

The quantification of water fluxes such as evapotranspiration (ET), infiltration and groundwater recharge in different land covers is critical to understand the water balance. ET is regulated by soil moisture within the root zone. Soil moisture is a critical control on water and energy fluxes, particularly in agricultural land covers. The main focus of this study is to understand the crop water budget and its changes during a growing season. The study was conducted at the Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Station (34 54’ N, 86 32’ W) located at Hazel Green, AL. A micrometeorological station was installed at the center of the field (18 ha field, 400X400m) and included eddy covariance system, and open path gas analyzer were used to make long-term continuous measurements during two complete soybean and winter wheat growth cycle. The partitioning of precipitation between plant transpiration and recharge is estimated using ET and soil moisture data.