DN Vidana Gamage

Investigation of crop water usage and soil hydrological dynamics of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) plantations in the low country wet of Sri Lanka.

The expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) cultivation in tropical countries has caused concern regarding its impact on the hydrological cycle. Increasingly, oil palm is being introduced into rubber plantations in the wet zone of Sri Lanka, due to its low cost and high profitability. Consequently, a comprehensive study is needed to determine the potential changes in hydrological fluxes such as transpiration and depletion of soil water levels in the oil palm-rubber cropping systems in Sri Lanka. To this end, this study aims to characterize and quantify crop water usage, soil hydrological dynamics and their dominant controls in the oil palm-rubber cropping system of the wet zone of Sri Lanka.