Numerical simulation of convective-dispersive equation for soil-root nutrient transfer using MATLAB

An improved method for the numerical simulation of convective-dispersive equation(CDE) by using MATLAB language was developed.The program d0201.m was applied to implement basic CDE model for the numerical simulation.Compared with the professional Uptake software,the newly developed method rendered relative errors on the total N,P and K absorptions to be +2.94%,-1.35% and +2.83%,respectively.This program can produce attractive two-dimensional illustrations.It employs finite element method,which overcomes the Uptake's low convergence rate associated with the finite differentiation method,as well as the inconsistent accuracy at the nodes of integral interval.The new program was simple,efficient,and easy to use and maintain.Furthermore,with slight modification,the program could be applied to solve diverse CDE models for amelioration and water movement in soil.The MATLAB language simplifies complex mathematic calculations and makes the modeling process more user friendly than the Uptake.