Lysimeter
Device that calculates the amount of water dispersed by plants / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Lysimeter?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
A field lysimeter (from Greek λύσις (loosening) and the suffix -meter) is a cylindrical container filled with soil, which can be used to study the transport of water and material through the soil. This type of lysimeter can be equipped with different measuring probes at different depth (e.g., soil temperature, tensiometer for measuring water tension). The soil contained in the field lysimeter can either be collected as a monolith (i.e., in one piece) or be reconstructed from the different layers present at the sampling site. Most lysimeters contain an opening at the bottom allowing the leachate to be collected and analyzed over time.
Lysimeters can be used to measure the amount of actual evapotranspiration which is released by plants (usually crops or trees). By recording the amount of precipitation that an area receives and the amount lost through the soil, the amount of water lost to evapotranspiration can be calculated. [1] There are multiple types of lysimeters, with each designed for specific purposes; the choice of lysimeter depends on project objectives, parameters to be measured, and the environmental conditions under investigation. Some types of lysimeters include:
- Weighing Lysimeters
- Principle: Measures changes in the weight of the lysimeter to determine water balance
- Operation: The lysimeter is placed on a scale and changes in weight are recorded over time, allowing for the calculation of evaporation, transpiration, and drainage
- Suction Lysimeters
- Principle: Used negative pressure (suction) to extract soil water for analysis
- Operation: A porous cup is buried in the soil and a vacuum is applied to extract water from the surrounding soil; collected water can be analyzed for nutrients, contaminants, or other parameters
- Drainage Lysimeters
- Principle: Collects water that drains through the soil profile
- Operation: These lysimeters have a collection system to capture water that moved through the soil; collected water is analyzed to study leaching and nutrient transport
- Field Lysimeters
- Principle: Installed directly in the field to simulate natural soil-plant interaction
- Operation: The system mimics natural conditions, allowing researchers to study the impact of various factors on soil water movement, nutrient cycling, and plant growth; field lysimeters can be installed with weighted systems to determine water balance
- Greenhouse Lysimeters
- Principle: Similar to field lysimeters but installed in controlled greenhouse environments
- Operation: A controlled setting is provided to studying soil-water interactions, allowing researchers to manipulate environmental conditions and monitor plan responses
- Zero Tension Lysimeters
- Principle: Measured drainage under zero tension conditions
- Operation: The system is designed to collect water from the soil without the application of suction, allowing researchers to study natural drainage patterns
- Capillary Lysimeters
- Principle: Utilizes capillary action to collect soil water
- Operation: Capillary forces draw water into the lysimeter; this type of lysimeter is often used to study water movement in the vadose zone (above the water table)
- Pressure Plate Lysimeters
- Principle: Measured soil water retention characteristics
- Operation: Pressure is applied to the soil to extract water at different tension settings, this helps to characterize the soil's ability to retain water
The list above is not comprehensive; there are many types of lysimeters and many ways that lysimetry can be utilized to understand soil-porewater relationships.
For the rest of this article, "lysimeter" refers to a field lysimeter for understanding interaction between soil-plant interactions.