Bayesian fusion of active and passive microwave data for estimating bare soil water content

The state-space approach is used to describe surface soil water content and temperature behaviour, in a field experiment in which sugarcane is submitted to different management practices. The treatments consisted of harvest trash mulching, bare soil, and burned trash, all three in a ratoon crop, after first cane harvest. One transect of 84 points was sampled, meter by meter, covering all treatments and borders. The state-space approach is described in detail and the results show that soil water contents measured along the transect could successfully be estimated from water content and temperature observations made at the first neighbour.

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Impacts of grass removal on wetting and actual water repellency in a sandy soil

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics ◽

10.1515/johh-2016-0053 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 88-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Klaas Oostindie ◽

Louis W. Dekker ◽

Jan G. Wesseling ◽

Violette Geissen ◽

Coen J. Ritsema

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Soil Profile ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Soil Profiles ◽

The Impact ◽

Water Contents ◽

Soil Water Contents

Abstract Soil water content and actual water repellency were assessed for soil profiles at two sites in a bare and grasscovered plot of a sand pasture, to investigate the impact of the grass removal on both properties. The soil of the plots was sampled six times in vertical transects to a depth of 33 cm between 23 May and 7 October 2002. On each sampling date the soil water contents were measured and the persistence of actual water repellency was determined of field-moist samples. Considerably higher soil water contents were found in the bare versus the grass-covered plots. These alterations are caused by differences between evaporation and transpiration rates across the plots. Noteworthy are the often excessive differences in soil water content at depths of 10 to 30 cm between the bare and grass-covered plots. These differences are a consequence of water uptake by the roots in the grass-covered plots. The water storage in the upper 19 cm of the bare soil was at least two times greater than in the grass-covered soil during dry periods. A major part of the soil profile in the grass-covered plots exhibited extreme water repellency to a depth of 19 cm on all sampling dates, while the soil profile of the bare plots was completely wettable on eight of the twelve sampling dates. Significant differences in persistence of actual water repellency were found between the grass-covered and bare plots.

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Efficient organic mulch thickness for soil and water conservation in urban areas

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85343-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bing Wang ◽

Jianzhi Niu ◽

Ronny Berndtsson ◽

Linus Zhang ◽

Xiongwen Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Heavy Rainfall ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Rainfall Simulation ◽

Organic Mulch ◽

Arid And Semiarid

AbstractThe use of organic mulch is important for urban green applications. For urban areas in arid and semiarid regions receiving short high-intensive rainfall, rainfall characteristics, and soil slope play an important role for mulch functioning. These properties of mulch were studied. For this purpose, rainfall simulation experiments using organic mulching were conducted in Jiufeng National Forestry Park to analyze the influence of organic mulch under different slope and heavy rainfall events. The results showed that soil water content displayed a decreasing tendency with increasing mulch application. Compared to bare soil, a mulch application of 0.25 kg/m2 and 0.50 kg/m2 led to maximum soil water content and maximum runoff decrease occurred for 0.50 kg/m2 mulch. Higher application rate of mulch displayed less soil water content and greater runoff. The runoff amount and runoff generation rate decreased by 28–83% and 21–83%, respectively, as compared to bare soil. With a mulch application of 0.25–1.00 kg/m2, soil drainage accounted for 56–60% of total rainfall. Overall, an efficient mulch application was found to be 0.25–0.50 kg/m2. The results of this study are relevant for arid and semiarid urban regions that experience heavy rainfall.

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