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- Soil hydraulic properties
- Root water uptake functions
- Plant available water
- Crop models: calibration/validation/use
- SWAP and DSSAT models
- PEST and PEST++ suites
Marina de Melo
soil physics - root water uptake - plant available water -soil hydraulic properties - crop growth modeling
SUMMARY
MSc. and Ph.D. in Soils and Plant Nutrition by the University of São Paulo, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture (USP-ESALQ), Brazil. Agronomist by the Federal University of São João del-Rei, Brazil. I have conducted research in Soil Physics, Crop Growth Modeling, and Soil-Water-Plant Interactions. I am especially interested in the field of Soil Physics, with an emphasis on agro-hydrological modeling.
EDUCATION
- 2020-2024
Ph.D. Agronomy (Soils and Plant Nutrition)
University of São Paulo, USP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Title: Process-based modeling of root water uptake and plant available water at the field scale
Advisor: Dr. Quirijn de Jong van Lier
- 2018-2020
MSc. Agronomy (Soils and Plant Nutrition)
University of São Paulo, USP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Title: Limiting hydraulic condition related to drought stress in sugarcane
Advisor: Dr. Quirijn de Jong van Lier
- 2013-2018
BSc. Agronomy
Federal University of São João del-Rei, UFSJ, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Title: Sensitivity of the CSM-CERES-Maize model to soil water availability for rainfed maize in Sete Lagoas, MG
Advisor: Dr. Camilo de Lelis Teixeira de Andrade
Co-advisor: Dr. João Carlos Ferreira Borges Júnior
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
1. de Melo, M. L. A.; de Jong van Lier, Q.; Silva, E. H. F. M.; Pereira, R. A. A.; vam Dam, J.; Heinen, M.; Marin, F. R. Field-scale modeling of root water uptake and crop growth in a tropical scenario. Field Crops Research, v.322, p.109749, 2025. (doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2025.109749)
2. Pereira, R. A. A.; de Melo, M. L. A.; dos Santos, M. V.; de Jong van Lier, Q.; Brunetti, H. B.; Marin, F. R. Key genotype and soil parameters for sugarcane growth: A sensitivity analysis of the SAMUCA model in Brazilian agroecosystems. Field Crops Research, v.322, p.109754, 2025. (doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2025.109754)
3. de Jong Van Lier, Q., de Melo, M. L. A.; Pinheiro, E. A. R. Stochastic analysis of plant available water estimates and soil water balance components simulated by a hydrological model. Vadose Zone Journal, p. n/a, 2024. (doi: 10.1002/vzj2.20306)
4. de Melo, M. L. A.; de Jong van Lier, Q.; Cichota, R.; Pollacco, J. A.; Fernández-Gálvez, J.; Pahlow, M Sensitivity analysis of land and water productivities predicted with an empirical and a process-based root water uptake function. Journal of Hydrology, p. 130241, 2023. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130241)
5. de Melo, M. L. A. and de Jong van Lier, Q. FluxPAW: A standalone software to calculate flux-based plant available water. Software Impacts, v. 15, p. 100464, 2023. (doi: 10.1016/j.simpa.2023.100464)
6. Gómez, A. M.; de Jong van Lier, Q.; Silvero, N. E.; Inforsato, L.; de Melo, M. L. A.; ... Demattê, J. A. Digital mapping of the soil available water capacity: tool for the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change. Science of The Total Environment, v. 882, p. 163572, 2023. (doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163572)
7. Pinto, V. M.; de Borja Reis, A. F.; de Melo, M. L. A.; Reichardt, K.; Santos, D.; de Jong van Lier, Q. Sustainable irrigation management in tropical lowland rice in Brazil. Agricultural Water Management, 2023, v. 284, p. 108345. (doi: 10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108345)
8. de Melo, M. L. A.; Inforsato, L.; Pinheiro, E. A. R.; de Jong Van Lier, Q. Plant available water predicted by a flux-based approach. Geoderma, v. 429, p.116253, 2022. (doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.116253)
9. de Melo, M. L. A. and de Jong van Lier, Q. Revisiting the Feddes reduction function for modeling root water uptake and crop transpiration. Journal of Hydrology, p. 126952, 2021. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126952)
10. de Melo, M. L. A.; de Jong van Lier, Q.; Armindo, R. A. Conversion of soil water retention and conductivity parameters from van Genuchten–Mualem to Groenevelt and Grant model. Soil Research, v. 59, n. 8, p. 837-847, 2021. (doi: 10.1071/SR21051)
LANGUAGES
Portuguese (native), English (C1), Spanish (B1/B2), French (B1/B2)
GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) [grant numbers 131705/2018-0 and 141197/2020-0]
São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [grant numbers 2020/07294–3, 2022/03770-0, and 2024/02381-6]
São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in collaboration with the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) [grant number 2018/12663-8]
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
- Proverbs 4:23