Fig. 5.
Rainwater distribution patterns in the vertical soil section (20 cm deep, from the soil surface in FP or from the bottom of furrows in RF and FMRF) parallel to crop lines were illustrated by Brilliant Blue FCF dye-tracing under different cropping systems, 24 h after simulated rain for 2, 4, and 6 min, respectively. FP: flat plot; RF: ridge–furrow; FMRF: film fully mulched ridge–furrow. Each of 9 pictures was overlapped by using three images from respective triplicate plots. The assumed maize densely-rooted zone was circled in each of 9 pictures, which had a radius of 10 cm, with the location of seed placement (5 cm in depth) as the center.