3.3.1. Irrigation and Soil Moisture Response

The cumulative irrigation in Figure 8, and the fluctuation of the soil moisture depletion in Figure 9, reflect the interaction between irrigation frequency and amount of water applied.

**Figure 8.** Irrigation accumulation response to different scenarios: (**a**) varied RAW threshold irrigation scenarios at site S1 (sand soil); (**b**) varied field capacity threshold irrigation scenarios at site S1; (**c**) varied RAW threshold irrigation scenarios at site S2 (loam soil); (**d**) varied field capacity threshold irrigation scenarios at site S2. RAW is readily available water content, S0RAW-S200RAW refers to irrigation scenarios with irrigation at 0–200% of RAW for sand soil. L0RAW-L200RAW refers to irrigation scenarios with irrigation at 0–200% of RAW for loam soil. S40FC-S100FC refers to deficit irrigation at 40–100% of field capacity for sand soil. L40FC-L100FC refers to deficit irrigation at 40–100% of field capacity for loam soil.

In both varied RAW and field capacity threshold irrigation scenarios, the irrigation frequency decreased together with decreasing the amount of water applied per irrigation event.

In varied RAW threshold irrigation scenarios, the simulation of irrigation resulted in irrigation depths which ranged from 57 to 104 mm in site S1 (sand soil) and 46–82 mm in site S2 (loam soil) (Figure 8a,c). In varied field capacity threshold irrigation scenarios, irrigation depths ranged from 81–201 mm in site S1 and 83–209 mm in site S2 (Figure 8b,d).

**Figure 9.** Daily soil moisture (VWC) response to different scenarios: (**a**) varied RAW threshold irrigation scenarios at site S1 (sand soil); (**b**) varied field capacity threshold irrigation scenarios at site S1; (**c**) varied RAW threshold irrigation scenarios at site S2 (loam soil); (**d**) varied field capacity threshold irrigation scenarios at site S2. RAW is readily available water content, S0RAW-S200RAW refers to irrigation scenarios with irrigation at 0–200% of RAW for sand soil. L0RAW-L200RAW refers to irrigation scenarios with irrigation at 0–200% of RAW for loam soil. S40FC-S100FC refers to deficit irrigation at 40–100% of field capacity for sand soil. L40FC-L100FC refers to deficit irrigation at 40–100% of field capacity for loam soil.
