Evaporation studies on Themeda triandra under field conditions: a study in Lysimeter methodology

Abstract

In the semi-arid regions of South Africa, the efficiency of water use by natural grazing plants is important and can be used to evaluate the production potentially of comparative grasses. Hydraulic non-floating lysimeters were designed and tested under field conditions and indicated that with accurate calibration for temperature and moisture, dependable data on the evaportranspiration of a cover of Themeda triandra could be recorded over long periods. Under a Themeda grass cover an average of 1,26 l of water was lost be evapotranspiration for each 1 g dry matter produced over the period December 1972 to May 1973.

Keywords: evapotranspiration|methodologies|lysimeters (ill)|water use efficiencies|semi arid grasslands|grazing|plants|production|grasses|hydraulics|calibrations|temperatures|moisture|equipment|soils|veld|Orange Free State