Modeling Soil Water Dynamics and Hydrogel Doses Optimization Loam Soil under Varying Bulk Densities.

SÃO PAULO STATE UNIVERSITY, 18610-307 BOTUCATU, SP, BRAZILEDNALDO JOSE FERREIRA, CNPDIASÃO PAULO STATE UNIVERSITY, 18610-307 BOTUCATU, SP, BRAZILJOSE MANOEL MARCONCINI, CNPDIACARLOS MANOEL PEDRO VAZ, CNPDIALUIS HENRIQUE BASSOI, CNPDIA.2026-07-07http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/463261Climatechangehas intensifieddroughts inBrazil, threateningagriculture throughalteredrainfall andtemperature patterns.Apromisingapproachtomitigatingthesoilwaterdeficitistheadditionofbiodegradablehydrophilicpolymers(hydrogels). However,waterdynamicsinsoilhydrogelsystemsremaincomplexanddependonsoiltype,bulkdensity,andhydrogeldosage.The hydrophilicpropertiesofthematrixmaypersistovertime,highlightingtheimportanceofhydrogelresidualeffects.Theinfluenceof bulkdensityonpolymerdosagedynamicsremainsunderexplored, andnorapidanalyticalmethodcurrentlyexists toestimatethe doseequivalenceof activehydrogels foragriculturalpracticeswithaccuracyandwithoutexcessivetimeconsumption.Thisstudy addresses twomaingoals: (1) toevaluate theeffectivenessof hydrogel dosages insandyclay loamsoil at varyingdensities for enhancedwater retentionand(2)todevelopamachine learning-basedanalyticalmethodfor rapidestimationof activehydrogel doses fromshortsoilwatercontent timeseries.Resultsshowedasignificant increaseinsoilwaterretentionat the3gL−1dosage. Theproposedmethod,usingalocallyweightedregressionmodel,achievedahighcorrelation(0.875)andlowerror(0.749gL−1)in cross-validationwithoutrequiringdensityinformation,offeringapractical tool foragriculturalapplications.Thesefindingssupport theefficientandsustainableuseofhydrogels,providingapractical frameworkthat facilitates theirmanagementandenablesrapid field-scale interventions toimprovewateruse inagriculture.58306−58316openAccessOxisol in U S Soil TaxonomyHydrogelsModeling Soil Water Dynamics and Hydrogel Doses Optimization Loam Soil under Varying Bulk Densities.Artigo de periódico