The COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System (COSMOS) rover may be useful for validating satellite-based estimates of near-surface soil moisture, but the accuracy with which the rover can measure 0to 5-cm soil moisture has not been previously determined. Our objectives were to calibrate and validate a COSMOS rover for mapping 0to 5-cm soil moisture at spatial scales suitable for evaluating sat...

This study reports on the use of PALSAR data to retrieve soil moisture content over agricultural areas. An algorithm transforming temporal series of PALSAR data into soil moisture content by using a constrained minimization technique, integrating a priori information on soil parameters, is presented. The algorithm applies to winter wheat and has been assessed on simulated and experimental data ...

Precipitation and temperature are important drivers of soil respiration. The role of moisture and temperature are generally explored at seasonal or inter-annual timescales; however, significant variability also occurs on hourly to daily time-scales. We used small (1.54 m(2)), throughfall exclusion shelters to evaluate the role soil moisture and temperature as temporal controls on soil CO2 efflu...

in order to further understand the emergence and germination of sugar beet monogerm cultivars under moisture stress, the current study was carried out at three stages. at the first stage, the quality of germination of three monogerm cultivars (rizofort, rasoul and zarghan) were studied under five moisture stress levels (0, -2, -4, -6 and -8 bars) in germinator at 15°c by between-paper method. a...

Ground-reflected global positioning system signals measured by a geodetic-quality GPS system can be used to infer temporal changes in near-surface soil moisture for the area surrounding the antenna. This technique, known as GPS-interferometric reflectometry, analyzes changes in the interference pattern of the direct and reflected signals, which are recorded in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data, ...

Introduction the expansive soil shows obvious volumetric changes under changing moisture conditions. these volumetric deformations usually result in differential movements of shallow foundations resting on it. consequently, structural damages could happen if no special measures would have been taken during the design process. this article illustrates the possibility to predict such movements us...

Soil moisture is a key limiting resource in arid and semi-arid environments for woody shrub species. We assessed if three arid communities differed in their level of dry season soil moisture content and if the dominant species in these communities differed in their ability to use soil moisture. Water potential of all of the dominant woody plant species occurring in chaparral, coastal sage, and ...

Humic substances (HS) reportedly enhance moisture retention of soil. However, no information is available as to the effects of HS on sand-based golf course putting greens. HS have acidic functional groups (COOH) that are reaction sites on the molecule. An greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect that the acidic functional groups in humic acid, tannic acid and citric acid have ...

Soil moisture state and variability control many hydrological and ecological processes as well as exchanges of energy and water between the land surface and the atmosphere. However, its state and variability are poorly understood at spatial scales larger than the fields (i.e. 1 km2) as well as the ability to extrapolate field scale to larger spatial scales. This study investigates soil moisture...