Experimental and numerical evaluation of the two-dimensional dynamics of water and nitrogen within a vegetated filter strip in the Daihai Basin, China

Bokai Yang, Xianyue Li, Fanfan Song, Delong Tian, Jianwen Yan and Ning Chen

Agricultural Water Management, 2025, vol. 318, issue C

Abstract: Vegetative filter strips (VFS) are effective agricultural management practices for mitigating nitrogen pollution. While hydrological and nitrogen retention behavior of VFS under varying configurations has been widely investigated, vertical nitrogen losses remain less studied. VFSMOD and HYDRUS-1D models can simulate surface runoff and deep percolation of water and nitrogen within VFS, respectively. However, few studies have examined their combined application, and the two-dimensional transport dynamics of water and nitrogen remain unclear. In this study, VFSMOD and HYDRUS-1D were coupled via runoff depth linkage and validated using experimental data from the Daihai Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. The model was then applied to assess the runoff depth, outflow, and NO-3-N dynamics under three inflow rates—low (0.76 L/s), medium (0.90 L/s), and high (1.08 L/s)—and three stem spacings—low (0.9 cm), medium (1.2 cm), and high (1.7 cm). The coupled model produced average RMSE, NSE, and R² values for runoff of 0.09 m³, 0.92, and 0.86, respectively, and for soil NO-3-N of 0.03 mg/cm3, 0.79, and 0.85. Runoff depth increased by 47.3 % and 21.2 % with a 20 % increase in inflow rate and stem spacing, respectively. Higher inflow rates and wider spacing increased cumulative runoff, sediment, and NO-3-N export. Scenario results showed the proportion of NO-3-N exported via runoff decreased, whereas leaching increased with higher inflow rates and low stem spacing. A 1.7 cm spacing was found to be a threshold for reducing NO-3-N outflow and construction cost.

Keywords: Vegetative filter strips (VFS); VFSMOD-HYDRUS-1D coupled model; Water and nitrogen dynamics; Pollutant interception; Vertical and horizontal pollutant transport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:318:y:2025:i:c:s037837742500397x

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109683

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