HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (15) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Martínez-Fernández, J. Articles by Ceballos, A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Martínez-Fernández, J. Articles by Ceballos, A. Agricola Articles by Martínez-Fernández, J. Articles by Ceballos, A. Related Collections Water Content Time Domain Reflectometry, TDR Soil Hydrology

DIVISION S-1—SOIL PHYSICS

Temporal Stability of Soil Moisture in a Large-Field Experiment in Spain

Dep. of Geography, Univ. of Salamanca, Cervantes, 3. 37002-Salamanca Spain

^* Corresponding author (jmf{at}usal.es).

Here we analyze the temporal stability of the soil moisture content in an area of 1285 km² located in the central sector of the Duero basin (Spain). The data from a network consisting of 23 soil moisture-measuring stations (REMEDHUS) over a period of 36 mo (from June 1999 to May 2002) were used. At each station, soil moisture was measured fortnightly, using time domain reflectometry (TDR), at different depths to the bottom of the profile. From the hydrological point of view, the stations are independent from one another and were distributed in space using physiographic and pedological criteria. The results clearly show which stations are representative of wet and dry conditions and the persistence of the representative stations under even the most extreme situations. The temporal evolution of the stability patterns points to a considerable degree of persistence during the periods analyzed. The stations representative of dry conditions are seen to be much more stable at all the depths analyzed (5, 25, 50, and 100 cm) than those identified within the wet sector. Overall, the soil moisture content showed considerable temporal stability throughout of the investigation. However, a clear correlation was observed between mean soil moisture and variance (r = 0.85) across the range of measurements used. Accordingly, temporal stability is always higher when the soils are dry than when the water content is high. It was also observed that the periods with the lowest temporal stability coincided with situations involving the transition from dry to wet. The critical periods in terms of temporal stability are those in which the recharge of water in the profile occurs.

Abbreviations: PET, potential evapotranspiration • TDR, time domain reflectometry

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Douaik, M. Van Meirvenne, and T. Toth Statistical Methods for Evaluating Soil Salinity Spatial and Temporal Variability Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., August 27, 2007; 71(5): 1629 - 1635. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Lin Temporal Stability of Soil Moisture Spatial Pattern and Subsurface Preferential Flow Pathways in the Shale Hills Catchment Vadose Zone J., January 1, 2006; 5(1): 317 - 340. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Ya. A. Pachepsky, A. K. Guber, and D. Jacques TEMPORAL PERSISTENCE IN VERTICAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF SOIL MOISTURE CONTENTS Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2005; 69(2): 347 - 352. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]