Extended HYDRUS-1D freezing module emphasizes thermal conductivity schemes for simulation of soil hydrothermal dynamics

• 24 soil thermal conductivity ( λ ) schemes are evaluated by incorporating into the HYDRUS-1D freezing module. • Eight λ schemes performed better than the built-in λ schemes in HYDRUS-1D. • Importance of choosing appropriate λ schemes for soil water and heat simulations. Soil thermal conductivity (λ) is required to investigate coupled heat and water transport in disciplines such as agriculture, hydrology and engineering. Parameterization schemes or models of λ are also the critical input parameter for various numerical simulation programs like the widely used HYDRUS, one of the most commonly used models for mimicking water, heat, and solute transport. However, λ has not received enough attention in HYDRUS, and it remains unclear how different λ schemes affect the simulated soil water and thermal regimes. Thus, we programmed 24 λ schemes (including two built-in schemes) used in mainstream land surface, hydrological, and soil–vegetation–atmosphere transfer models into HYDRUS-1D (freezing module) to assess the effects of different λ schemes on soil temperature and water content simulations under freezing–thawing. The results showed that the 24 λ schemes performed differently in the simulation of soil temperature within 1 m below ground, with eight λ schemes, i.e., de Vries 1963 scheme/DV1963 (R=0.99), Camillo and Schmugge 1981 /CS1981 scheme (R=0.98), Desborough and Pitman 1998 /DP1998 scheme (R=0.97), Cass et al. 1984 /CS1984 scheme (R=0.96), Shmakin 1998 /SA1998 scheme (R=0.95), Dharssi et al. 2009 /DI2009 scheme (R=0.95), Becker et al. 1992 /BB1992 scheme (R=0.95), Hubrechts 1998 /HL1998 scheme (R=0.94), performing superiorly to the built-in λ schemes. This study highlights the importance of choosing appropriate λ schemes in soil water and heat simulations.