Coppola et al. (2026) FLOWS: a model to simulate water and solutes fluxes in agricultural and environmental systems. 1. Theory and applications with intercode benchmarking

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Engineering With Computers
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-10-26
• Authors: Antonio Coppola, Angelo Basile, Alessandro Comegna, Caterina Fenu, Anna Concas, Fabio Pili, Shawkat Basel Mostafa Hassan
• DOI: 10.1007/s00366-026-02428-9

Research Groups

Not specified in the abstract.

Short Summary

FLOWS is a dynamic, physically-based MATLAB model designed to simulate one-dimensional vertical water flow and solute transport in the soil–plant–atmosphere system, uniquely integrating carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transformations, and offering advanced features like multi-site simulations and optimized irrigation management.

Objective

• To simulate one-dimensional vertical transient water flow and solute transport in the soil–plant–atmosphere system, incorporating carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transformations, and providing tools for irrigation management and spatially distributed simulations.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: One-dimensional vertical (soil profile); capable of multi-site simulations for spatially distributed applications.
• Temporal Scale: Dynamic, transient.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: FLOWS (a dynamic physically-based model written in MATLAB); numerically solves the 1D Richards equation (for water flow) using an implicit, backward, finite differences scheme with explicit linearization; solves the 1D Advection Dispersion equation (for solute transport) by an explicit, central difference scheme.
• Data sources: Not specified in the abstract.

Main Results

• The FLOWS model simulates the time evolution of soil water contents and pressure potentials in the soil profile.
• It calculates solute concentrations (tracers, adsorbed, volatile, reactive) in the soil profile.
• The model determines water and solute uptake, actual evapotranspiration for simulated crops, and deep percolation water and solute fluxes.
• It accounts for root uptake of water and solutes, even in the presence of water and osmotic stresses.
• Water and related solute fluxes to runoff and drainage are computed.
• The model calculates irrigation fluxes and temperature in the soil profile.
• It integrates the simulation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transformations and transport alongside water dynamics.
• Features include macroscopic root uptake, optimized irrigation management, multi-site simulation capabilities, and an interactive graphical user interface.

Contributions

• Integrated simulation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transformations and transport contextually with water contents and fluxes.
• Implementation of macroscopic root uptake.
• Advanced irrigation management capabilities, allowing optimization of time scheduling and volumes based on the average pressure head in the root zone.
• The possibility of running multi-site simulations, which is particularly valuable for spatially distributed applications.
• An interactive graphical user interface designed for easy handling of large input files and graphical display of main output variables.

Funding

Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Coppola2026FLOWS,
  author = {Coppola, Antonio and Basile, Angelo and Comegna, Alessandro and Fenu, Caterina and Concas, Anna and Pili, Fabio and Hassan, Shawkat Basel Mostafa},
  title = {FLOWS: a model to simulate water and solutes fluxes in agricultural and environmental systems. 1. Theory and applications with intercode benchmarking},
  journal = {Engineering With Computers},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1007/s00366-026-02428-9},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00366-026-02428-9}
}