A review of the methods available for estimating soil moisture and its implications for water resource management

Dobriyal, Pariva; Qureshi, Ashi; Badola, Ruchi; Hussain, Syed Ainul

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.06.021

Cited by 395 publications

(215 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(104 reference statements)

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“…Soil samples were taken by a drill stored in sealed aluminum cases, and were analyzed for soil moisture content in the laboratory using gravimetric approach (Dobriyal et al, 2012). The soil moisture content was determined using the oven-dry method (24 h at 105°C).…”

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Yang

Wei

Chen

et al. 2012

Journal of Hydrology

210

126

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s u m m a r ySoil moisture is an effective water source for plant growth in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Characterizing the response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation is important for the sustainability of vegetation restoration in this region. In this paper, the dynamics of soil moisture were quantified to evaluate the effect of land use on soil moisture at a depth of 2 m. Specifically, the gravimetric soil moisture content was measured in the soil layer between 0 and 8 m for five land use types in the Longtan catchment of the western Loess Plateau. The land use types included traditional farmland, native grassland, and lands converted from traditional farmland (pasture grassland, shrubland and forestland). Results indicate that the deep soil moisture content decreased more than 35% after land use conversion, and a soil moisture deficit appeared in all types of land with introduced vegetation. The introduced vegetation decreased the soil moisture content to levels lower than the reference value representing no human impact in the entire 0-8 m soil profile. No significant differences appeared between different land use types and introduced vegetation covers, especially in deeper soil layers, regardless of which plant species were introduced. High planting density was found to be the main reason for the severe deficit of soil moisture. Landscape management activities such as tillage activities, micro-topography reconstruction, and fallowed farmland affected soil moisture in both shallow and deep soil layers. Tillage and micro-topography reconstruction can be used as effective countermeasures to reduce the soil moisture deficit due to their ability to increase soil moisture content. For sustainable vegetation restoration in a vulnerable semi-arid region, the plant density should be optimized with local soil moisture conditions and appropriate landscape management practices.

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Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Yang

Wei

Chen

et al. 2012

Journal of Hydrology

210

126

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“…The importance of this work consists in providing continuous time series of SM maps at the catchment scale. The main advantages of the methodology are that it avoids some basic problems reported in SM mapping with remote sensing, such as the bias of dense vegetation and surface roughness of microwave images, and the influence of surface reflectance variability of the visible and near-infrared images [40,41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Soil Moisture at the Catchment Scale Using Remotely-Sensed Energy Fluxes

Alexandridis

Cherif

Bilas

et al. 2016

Water

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Despite playing a critical role in the division of precipitation between runoff and infiltration, soil moisture (SM) is difficult to estimate at the catchment scale and at frequent time steps, as is required by many hydrological, erosion and flood simulation models. In this work, an integrated methodology is described to estimate SM at the root zone, based on the remotely-sensed evaporative fraction (Λ) and ancillary information on soil and meteorology. A time series of Terra MODIS satellite images was used to estimate SM maps with an eight-day time step at a 250-m spatial resolution for three diverse catchments in Europe. The study of the resulting SM maps shows that their spatial variability follows the pattern of land cover types and the main geomorphological features of the catchment, and their temporal pattern follows the distribution of rain events, with the exception of irrigated land. Field surveys provided in situ measurements to validate the SM maps' accuracy, which proved to be variable according to site and season. In addition, several factors were analyzed in order to explain the variation in the accuracy, and it was shown that the land cover type, the soil texture class, the temporal difference between the datasets' acquisition and the presence of rain events during the measurements played a significant role, rather than the often referred to scale difference between in situ and satellite observations. Therefore, the proposed methodology can be used operationally to estimate SM maps at the catchment scale, with a 250-m spatial resolution and an eight-day time step.

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“…The latitude and longitude of each soil sampling point was recorded using a global positioning system. Soils within vegetated areas were mixed by soil layer, and stored in a bag for measurement of soil water content (SWC) using the classical method of drying and weighing (Dobriyal et al 2012). Precipitation data from the meteorological station of the Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, located approximately 6 km from the study site, were used in this study.…”

Section: Measurement Of Vegetation Parameters and Soil Water Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological mechanism for the reduction in soil water in poplar (Populus deltoides) plantations in Dongting Lake wetlands

Qin

Xie

et al. 2013

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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The use of large-scale tree plantations has provoked increasing concern regarding the negative effects on local environments in different ecosystems. However, the physiological mechanism underlying the reduction in soil water by tree plantations in wetlands is not clear. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of poplar (Populus deltoides) plantations on soil water content and to elucidate the underlying physiological mechanisms. To this end, we conducted a 1-year fixed-plot investigation of soil water content (SWC), plant photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), and water-use efficiency (WUE) of individual leaves of 11-and 5-year-old poplars and of reed (Triarrherca sacchariflora, a native herbaceous plant) in the Dongting Lake wetlands, China. SWC was highest in reed, intermediate in 11-year-old poplar, and lowest in 5-year-old poplar, suggesting that poplar plantations produce a lower soil water content in wetlands. From May to July, Pn was significantly higher in reed than in the two poplar stands, but did not differ between the different-aged poplars. As a whole, Gs and Tr were higher, but WUE was lower, in the poplar stands than in reed during the growing season, indicating that Gs and Tr are the key physiological mechanisms associated with the lower soil water in poplar stands. Relationships among Pn, Gs, and Tr showed positive correlations (P \ 0.01) for each type of vegetation. These data suggest that poplar plantations may cause the transformation of wetlands into dry land due to a lower WUE leading to a massive water loss from soil. This, in turn, would have an influence on community composition and ecosystem function after establishment of the plantations.

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A review of the methods available for estimating soil moisture and its implications for water resource management

Cited by 395 publications

References 92 publications

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Soil Moisture at the Catchment Scale Using Remotely-Sensed Energy Fluxes

Physiological mechanism for the reduction in soil water in poplar (Populus deltoides) plantations in Dongting Lake wetlands

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