Soil water content temporal-spatial variability of the surface layer of a Loess Plateau hillside in China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-90162008000300008Keywords:
surface soil moisture, coefficient of variation, correlation length, temporal stabilityAbstract
Surface soil moisture exhibits an important variability in terms of spatial and temporal domains, which may result in critical uncertainties for agricultural water management. The purposes of this study were (i) to characterize the temporal dynamics and stability of the spatial variability of the surface 0-6 cm soil water content θon a hill-slope; (ii) to investigate issues related to soil moisture conditions including dominating factors on soil moisture and to the estimation of the mean θ. During a period of more than one month θwas measured on thirteen days by Frequency Domain Reflectometry using a 10 x 10 m grid of measurement points covering a 60 x 280 m domain within a hill-slope of the Loess Plateau in China. Soil water content exhibited a moderate variability for each measurement date, and the correlation length (l) for θranged from 8.4 to 27.7 m. With the soil becoming drier, l decreased, the CV% and the sampling number for accurate mean θestimation increased. Aspect, elevation, organic matter content, clay content, and bulk density were the main influencing factors, whose extent of influence weakened with decreasing θ. Based on time stability analysis and on the correlation of mean relative difference of θwith the relative difference of dominating factors, mean q values were well estimated, with a better accuracy under wetter conditions.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Downloads
Published
2008-01-01
Issue
Section
Soils and Plant Nutrition
License
All content of the journal, except where identified, is licensed under a Creative Common attribution-type BY-NC.How to Cite
Soil water content temporal-spatial variability of the surface layer of a Loess Plateau hillside in China . (2008). Scientia Agricola, 65(3), 277-289. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-90162008000300008