Zhen et al. (2026) Coupled water–carbon flux processes of date palms under lysimeter-based saline irrigation: CoupModel validation and water productivity optimization

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-11
• Authors: Jingbo Zhen, Effi Tripler, Tao Jiang, Haiming Peng, Tianyu Ma, Naftali Lazarovitch
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110635

Research Groups

• Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of the Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
• French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Dryland, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 8499000, Israel
• Central and Northern Arava Research and Development, Sapir Center, Central Arava 86825, Israel

Short Summary

This study aimed to further validate the ability of CoupModel to simulate daily evapotranspiration and annual yield across various cropping systems using independent data sets, and optimize the irrigation water productivity (IWP) of date palms under different irrigation regimes and salinity conditions.

Objective

• To evaluate the performance of CoupModel in simulating daily evapotranspiration and annual yield of date palms under saline irrigation conditions.
• To optimize IWP of date palms using well-calibrated and validated CoupModel parameterization.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Local scale, focusing on date palm cultivation in the Arava Valley, Israel.
• Temporal Scale: Long-term study (2006-2019) with multiple experiments conducted at different times.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: CoupModel version 6.
• Data sources: Experimental measurements from lysimeter salinity experiment, lysimeter irrigation experiment, and conventional orchard experiment.

Main Results

• The study found that CoupModel accurately simulated daily evapotranspiration and annual yield of date palms under certain conditions, but underestimated these values in other cases.
• The IWP of date palms was optimized using CoupModel parameterization, with the maximum IWP achieved at different irrigation amount ratios depending on the salinity level and growth period.

Contributions

• This study contributes to the understanding of the effects of interplay between irrigation amount and salinity on IWP of date palm cultivation.
• The findings provide insights for optimizing IWP of date palms under different irrigation regimes and salinity conditions using CoupModel parameterization.

Funding

• This research was supported by the Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of the Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University.
• The study also received funding from the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Dryland, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.

Citation

@article{Zhen2026Coupled,
  author = {Zhen, Jingbo and Tripler, Effi and Jiang, Tao and Peng, Haiming and Ma, Tianyu and Lazarovitch, Naftali},
  title = {Coupled water–carbon flux processes of date palms under lysimeter-based saline irrigation: CoupModel validation and water productivity optimization},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110635},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110635}
}