AGENDA

This event was designed to enhance your skills and building the capacities in optimizing crop irrigation and water management, particularly in the face of salinization challenges, utilizing the HYDRUS-1D computer model. The workshop will consist of three sessions (three days) focusing on:

Introduction to webinar series on modelling | Jorge Batlle-Sales

• Learn how models simulate reactive transport in soils, including the interactions between the atmosphere, plants, and groundwater

Session 1: Understanding reactive transport models in soils | Meisam Rezaei 

• Description of the Hydrus-1D model and its possibilities. An overview on the menu for data entry and data output. Preparing a basic study case.

Session 2: Practical application and data sharing | Meisam Rezaei

• Various examples of irrigation optimization in soils under risk of salinization.
• Hands-on learning with HYDRUS-1D with soil, water, crop, and meteorological data

Session 3: Presentation of trainee study cases | Meisam Rezaei/Jorge Batlle-Sales

• Interactive session where participants will present their own study cases simulated using HYDRUS-1D.

The webinar is the sixth in a series of webinars organized by the International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS) of the Global Soil Partnership, an initiative which is aimed at raising awareness on sustainable management of salt-affected soils for food security, agricultural sustainability, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation.

Trainers: 

• Meisam Rezaei, INSAS Vice-Chair, Soil & Water Research Institute, Iran
• Jorge Batlle-Sales, INSAS Chair, Spain

Keynote speaker: Dr. Meisam Rezaei

Dr. Meisam Rezaei holds a B.Sc. degree in Agricultural Engineering / Soil Sciences, from Ferdowsi university of Mashhad, Iran; a M.Sc. degree in soil physical chemistry from Gorgan University of Agricultural and Natural resources, Iran; and a Ph.D. degree in Applied Biological Sciences / Land and water management, from Ghent University (UGent) joint with Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Belgium. He finished three postdocs at i) Antwerpen University in collaboration with VITO; ii) UGent (voluntary); and iii) SWRI in collaboration with Iranian national elite foundation and UGhent, focusing on water flow, nutrient and solute transport modelling and optimization.

He is an Assistant Professor at soil and water research institute (SWRI) since 2018. His main expertise is in monitoring, assessing and modelling of soil and water resources, hydro-physical characterization of soils at various temporal and spatial scales, modelling of water and solute/contaminant transport in the unsaturated (vadose) zone of the soil, and implementing and evaluating various soil-improving cropping systems and sustainable land management practices. He has published several scientific articles in soil science, agricultural science and water resources journals. He has authored books, reports, and national and international conferences contributions.

He has been active in various soil-water research projects nationally and internationally; and has been involved and also directed scientific research related to salt-affected soils. In 2020, he was elected as a Vice-Chair of the FAO International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS). He is enthusiastic to have further scientific collaboration with scientists and also stakeholders all over the world to promote sustainable land management and food production.

For more details on research output, see: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Meisam-Rezaei-3