BBAuthors: Zhu, W.; Advisor: -; Participants: Li, H.; Qu, H.; Wang, Y.; Misselbrook, T.; Li, X.; Jiang, R. (2018)
The soil water storage (SWS) decreased significantly during the early stage of the maize growing season, especially in 2014. The root depth and crop height were 20 cm deeper and 100 cm higher, respectively, in 2014 than in 2013 at the early stage. These results suggest that in the early stage of the maize growing season, pre‐seeding SWS can alleviate crop water stress effectively via deep roots. Model simulation showed that the plow pan layer (at a depth of 20–40 cm), with high soil bulk density and a lower soil water retention curve, significantly reduced infiltration. High evapotranspiration and low precipitation result in a temporary dry layer during the early stage, highlighting the plow pan as the sensitive layer for water stress during the drought period. Effective management ... 
