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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #290874
Title: A review on temporal stability of soil water contents

Author
item VANDERLINDEN, KARL - Venta Del Llano Ifapa Center
item VEREECKEN, HARRY - Julich Research Center
item HARDELAUF, HORST - Julich Research Center
item HERBST, MICHAEL - Julich Research Center
item MARTINEZ, GONZALO - Universidad De Cordoba
item Cosh, Michael
item Pachepsky, Yakov

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/10/2013
Publication Date: 4/4/2013
Citation: Vanderlinden, K., Vereecken, H., Hardelauf, H., Herbst, M., Martinez, G., Cosh, M.H., Pachepsky, Y.A. 2013. A review on temporal stability of soil water contents [abstract]. Geophysical Research Abstracts. 15:EGU2013-2864.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Temporal stability of soil water content (TS SWC) has been observed across a wide range of soil types, landscapes, climates and scales. A better understanding of TS SWC controls and their interactions needs to be developed. The objective of this work is to develop a comprehensive inventory of published data on TC SWC and to determine knowledge gaps. Mean relative difference (MRD) values and associated standard deviations (SDRD) were digitized from 157 graphs in 37 publications and analyzed. The MRD generally followed a Gaussian distribution with a coefficient of determination (R2) greater than 0.84. The standard deviation of MRD (SDMRD) showed an increasing trend with scale. No relationship between SDMRD and R2 was observed. The smallest R2 values were associated with negatively skewed and platykurtic MRD distributions. An analysis of seven land surface controls for TS SWC (land surface parameters related to measurement method, terrain, climate) suggested strong interactions and showed that combined effects are typically observed. Many of the existing datasets on TS WCS are mostly byproducts of soil water dynamics studies in agronomic or environmental projects. Future research should include more focused TS SWC studies tailored to understand interactions of controls and the underlying mechanisms of soil water distribution and dynamics.