Multi-Scale Validation of SMAP Soil Moisture Products over Cold and Arid Regions in Northwestern China Using Distributed Ground Observation Data

Although cambial reactivation is considered to be strongly dependent on temperature, the importance of water availability at the onset of xylogenesis in semi-arid regions still lacks sufficient evidences. In order to explore how environmental factors influence the initiation of cambial activity and wood formation, we monitored weekly cambial phenology in Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii) from a semi-arid high-elevation region of northwestern China. We collected microcores from 12 trees at two elevations during the growing seasons in 2013 and 2014, testing the hypothesis that rainfall limits cambial reactivation in spring. Cambium was reactivated from late April to mid-May, and completed cell division from late July to early August, lasting 70–100 days. Both sites suffered from severe drought from January to April 2013, receiving < 1 mm of rain in April. In contrast, rainfall from January to April 2014 was 5–6 times higher than that in 2013. However, cambial reactivation in 2014 was delayed by 10 days. In spring, soil moisture gradually increased with warming temperatures, reaching 0.15 m3/m3 before the onset of xylogenesis, which may have ensured water availability for tree growth during the rainless period. We were unable to confirm the hypothesis that rainfall is a limiting factor of cambial reactivation. Our results highlight the importance of soil moisture in semi-arid regions, which better describe the environmental conditions that are favorable for cambial reactivation in water-limited ecosystems.

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Evaluation of SMAP and SMOS Soil Moisture Products Using Distributed Ground Observation Network in Cold and Arid Regions in the Northwest of China

IGARSS 2020 - 2020 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium ◽

10.1109/igarss39084.2020.9323573 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Zengyan Wang ◽

Tao Che ◽

Liyun Dai

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Ground Observation ◽

Observation Network

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Retrieval and Multi-scale Validation of Soil Moisture from Multi-temporal SAR Data in a Semi-Arid Tropical Region

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs70608128 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 8128-8153 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Sat Tomer ◽

Ahmad Al Bitar ◽

Muddu Sekhar ◽

Mehrez Zribi ◽

S. Bandyopadhyay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Scale Validation ◽

Tropical Region ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Multi Temporal ◽

Sar Data ◽

Semi Arid

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Evaluation of SMAP, SMOS, and AMSR2 Soil Moisture Products Based on Distributed Ground Observation Network in Cold and Arid Regions of China

IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing ◽

10.1109/jstars.2021.3108432 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 8955-8970

Author(s):

Zengyan Wang ◽

Tao Che ◽

Tianjie Zhao ◽

Liyun Dai ◽

Xiaojun Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Ground Observation ◽

Observation Network

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Estimating Agricultural Soil Moisture Content through UAV-Based Hyperspectral Images in the Arid Region

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13081562 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1562

Author(s):

Xiangyu Ge ◽

Jianli Ding ◽

Xiuliang Jin ◽

Jingzhe Wang ◽

Xiangyue Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Data Mining ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Moisture Content ◽

Hyperspectral Imaging ◽

Fractional Order ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Soil Moisture Content ◽

Order Derivative ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Strategy I

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based hyperspectral remote sensing is an important monitoring technology for the soil moisture content (SMC) of agroecological systems in arid regions. This technology develops precision farming and agricultural informatization. However, hyperspectral data are generally used in data mining. In this study, UAV-based hyperspectral imaging data with a resolution o 4 cm and totaling 70 soil samples (0–10 cm) were collected from farmland (2.5 × 104 m2) near Fukang City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Four estimation strategies were tested: the original image (strategy I), first- and second-order derivative methods (strategy II), the fractional-order derivative (FOD) technique (strategy III), and the optimal fractional order combined with the optimal multiband indices (strategy IV). These strategies were based on the eXtreme Gradient Boost (XGBoost) algorithm, with the aim of building the best estimation model for agricultural SMC in arid regions. The results demonstrated that FOD technology could effectively mine information (with an absolute maximum correlation coefficient of 0.768). By comparison, strategy IV yielded the best estimates out of the methods tested (R2val = 0.921, RMSEP = 1.943, and RPD = 2.736) for the SMC. The model derived from the order of 0.4 within strategy IV worked relatively well among the different derivative methods (strategy I, II, and III). In conclusion, the combination of FOD technology and the optimal multiband indices generated a highly accurate model within the XGBoost algorithm for SMC estimation. This research provided a promising data mining approach for UAV-based hyperspectral imaging data.

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Detecting Forest Degradation in the Three-North Forest Shelterbelt in China from Multi-Scale Satellite Images

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13061131 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1131

Author(s):

Tao Yu ◽

Pengju Liu ◽

Qiang Zhang ◽

Yi Ren ◽

Jingning Yao

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Net Primary Production ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Observation Data ◽

Area Index ◽

Sensing Data ◽

Multi Scale

Detecting forest degradation from satellite observation data is of great significance in revealing the process of decreasing forest quality and giving a better understanding of regional or global carbon emissions and their feedbacks with climate changes. In this paper, a quick and applicable approach was developed for monitoring forest degradation in the Three-North Forest Shelterbelt in China from multi-scale remote sensing data. Firstly, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) and Net Primary Production (NPP) from remote sensing data were selected as the indicators to describe forest degradation. Then multi-scale forest degradation maps were obtained by adopting a new classification method using time series MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images, and were validated with ground survey data. At last, the criteria and indicators for monitoring forest degradation from remote sensing data were discussed, and the uncertainly of the method was analyzed. Results of this paper indicated that multi-scale remote sensing data have great potential in detecting regional forest degradation.

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A GNSS-IR Method for Retrieving Soil Moisture Content from Integrated Multi-Satellite Data That Accounts for the Impact of Vegetation Moisture Content

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13132442 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 2442

Author(s):

Jichao Lv ◽

Rui Zhang ◽

Jinsheng Tu ◽

Mingjie Liao ◽

Jiatai Pang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Moisture Content ◽

Satellite Data ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Soil Moisture Content ◽

Support Vector ◽

Observation Data ◽

Multipath Effect ◽

Mars Model ◽

The Impact

There are two problems with using global navigation satellite system-interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) to retrieve the soil moisture content (SMC) from single-satellite data: the difference between the reflection regions, and the difficulty in circumventing the impact of seasonal vegetation growth on reflected microwave signals. This study presents a multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) SMC retrieval model based on integrated multi-satellite data on the impact of the vegetation moisture content (VMC). The normalized microwave reflection index (NMRI) calculated with the multipath effect is mapped to the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to estimate and eliminate the impact of VMC. A MARS model for retrieving the SMC from multi-satellite data is established based on the phase shift. To examine its reliability, the MARS model was compared with a multiple linear regression (MLR) model, a backpropagation neural network (BPNN) model, and a support vector regression (SVR) model in terms of the retrieval accuracy with time-series observation data collected at a typical station. The MARS model proposed in this study effectively retrieved the SMC, with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.916 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.021 cm3/cm3. The elimination of the vegetation impact led to 3.7%, 13.9%, 11.7%, and 16.6% increases in R2 and 31.3%, 79.7%, 49.0%, and 90.5% decreases in the RMSE for the SMC retrieved by the MLR, BPNN, SVR, and MARS model, respectively. The results demonstrated the feasibility of correcting the vegetation changes based on the multipath effect and the reliability of the MARS model in retrieving the SMC.

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Suitability Evaluation of Typical Drought Index in Soil Moisture Retrieval and Monitoring Based on Optical Images

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12162587 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (16) ◽

pp. 2587

Author(s):

Yan Nie ◽

Ying Tan ◽

Yuqin Deng ◽

Jing Yu

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Drought Index ◽

Dynamic Monitoring ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Landsat 8 Oli ◽

Rapid Acquisition ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Soil Moisture Inversion

As a basic agricultural parameter in the formation, transformation, and consumption of surface water resources, soil moisture has a very important influence on the vegetation growth, agricultural production, and healthy operation of regional ecosystems. The Aksu river basin is a typical semi-arid agricultural area which seasonally suffers from water shortage. Due to the lack of knowledge on soil moisture change, the water management and decision-making processes have been a difficult issue for local government. Therefore, soil moisture monitoring by remote sensing became a reasonable way to schedule crop irrigation and evaluate the irrigation efficiency. Compared to in situ measurements, the use of remote sensing for the monitoring of soil water content is convenient and can be repetitively applied over a large area. To verify the applicability of the typical drought index to the rapid acquisition of soil moisture in arid and semi-arid regions, this study simulated, compared, and validated the effectiveness of soil moisture inversion. GF-1 WFV images, Landsat 8 OLI images, and the measured soil moisture data were used to determine the Perpendicular Drought Index (PDI), the Modified Perpendicular Drought Index (MPDI), and the Vegetation Adjusted Perpendicular Drought Index (VAPDI). First, the determination coefficients of the correlation analyses on the PDI, MPDI, VAPDI, and measured soil moisture in the 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depth layers based on the GF-1 WFV and Landsat 8 OLI images were good. Notably, in the 0–10 cm depth layers, the average determination coefficient was 0.68; all models met the accuracy requirements of soil moisture inversion. Both indicated that the drought indices based on the Near Infrared (NIR)-Red spectral space derived from the optical remote sensing images are more sensitive to soil moisture near the surface layer; however, the accuracy of retrieving the soil moisture in deep layers was slightly lower in the study area. Second, in areas of vegetation coverage, MPDI and VAPDI had a higher inversion accuracy than PDI. To a certain extent, they overcame the influence of mixed pixels on the soil moisture spectral information. VAPDI modified by Perpendicular Vegetation Index (PVI) was not susceptible to vegetation saturation and, thus, had a higher inversion accuracy, which makes it performs better than MPDI’s in vegetated areas. Third, the spatial heterogeneity of the soil moisture retrieved by the GF-1 WFV and Landsat 8 OLI image were similar. However, the GF-1 WFV images were more sensitive to changes in the soil moisture, which reflected the actual soil moisture level covered by different vegetation. These results provide a practical reference for the dynamic monitoring of surface soil moisture, obtaining agricultural information and agricultural condition parameters in arid and semi-arid regions.

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Using Long-Term Earth Observation Data to Reveal the Factors Contributing to the Early 2020 Desert Locust Upsurge and the Resulting Vegetation Loss

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13040680 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 680

Author(s):

Lei Wang ◽

Wen Zhuo ◽

Zhifang Pei ◽

Xingyuan Tong ◽

Wei Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Land Surface ◽

Arabian Peninsula ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

Observation Data ◽

Desert Locust ◽

Meteorological Observations ◽

Earth Observation Data ◽

Vegetation Loss

Massive desert locust swarms have been threatening and devouring natural vegetation and agricultural crops in East Africa and West Asia since 2019, and the event developed into a rare and globally concerning locust upsurge in early 2020. The breeding, maturation, concentration and migration of locusts rely on appropriate environmental factors, mainly precipitation, temperature, vegetation coverage and land-surface soil moisture. Remotely sensed images and long-term meteorological observations across the desert locust invasion area were analyzed to explore the complex drivers, vegetation losses and growing trends during the locust upsurge in this study. The results revealed that (1) the intense precipitation events in the Arabian Peninsula during 2018 provided suitable soil moisture and lush vegetation, thus promoting locust breeding, multiplication and gregarization; (2) the regions affected by the heavy rainfall in 2019 shifted from the Arabian Peninsula to West Asia and Northeast Africa, thus driving the vast locust swarms migrating into those regions and causing enormous vegetation loss; (3) the soil moisture and NDVI anomalies corresponded well with the locust swarm movements; and (4) there was a low chance the eastwardly migrating locust swarms would fly into the Indochina Peninsula and Southwest China.

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