Simulating temperature variations of soil different depths and study of some effective atmospheric parameters (case study-Yazd synoptic station)

Soil temperature is one of the most important and effective factors influencing the establishment of vegetation in arid regions. Soil temperature is affected by several meteorological parameters. The study of air temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours can be useful to understand the variation of soil temperature. Soil temperature changes and rate of heat transport in soil profile are helpful for evaluating the amount of evaporation, plants water requirements, decomposition rate of materials, biological activities and the time of seed planting. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of atmospheric factors in determination of the soil temperature. For this purpose, after collecting daily temperatures data of different soil depths (5, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 cm) in Yazd synoptic station for 2006, firstly, the effective meteorological parameters were analyzed and then soil temperature at this station was simulated by using sinusoidal changes pattern during the year. Finally, soil temperature variation curve at any depth was plotted and evaluated using the models obtained. Primary results showed that there was a significant relationship between precipitation, air temperature and sunshine hours. Measured and predicted values were evaluated in a coordinate system. The results showed that with increasing depth, the sinusoidal model predicted values underestimate. The results of calculating coefficients of Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (RNS2) showed that the estimated values by model for the different depths (5, 10, 20, 30, 50 and 100 cm), compared to the measured ones had efficiency coefficients as 0.92, 0.91, 0.93, 0.92, 0.94 and 0.96, respectively. Since (RNS2) value varies between- ∞ to 1, and when its value is equal to 1, the model has maximum efficiency, so, sinusoidal equations have good capability for predicting temperature variations in soil different depths.