On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions

In recent decades, there has been increasing interest in studying the variability in soil water properties and, specifically, the spatiotemporal variability in the soil water content. This is motivated by the notable theoretical and applied research interests in soil moisture dynamics and their impl...

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Main Authors: Ángel González-Zamora, Pilar Benito-Verdugo, José Martínez-Fernández
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-06-01
Series:Spanish Journal of Soil Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2024.12839/full
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author Ángel González-Zamora
Pilar Benito-Verdugo
José Martínez-Fernández
author_facet Ángel González-Zamora
Pilar Benito-Verdugo
José Martínez-Fernández
author_sort Ángel González-Zamora
collection DOAJ
description In recent decades, there has been increasing interest in studying the variability in soil water properties and, specifically, the spatiotemporal variability in the soil water content. This is motivated by the notable theoretical and applied research interests in soil moisture dynamics and their implications for many natural processes. This study aimed to study whether there are variations in the spatial pattern of the temporal stability of soil moisture over time and to analyze the possible influences of certain hydroclimatic (soil water content, precipitation, and evapotranspiration) and soil factors (texture, bulk density, and organic matter content) on these variations. This study was conducted within the Soil Moisture Measurement Stations Network of the University of Salamanca (REMEDHUS, Spain) under Mediterranean conditions, with daily surface moisture data (0–5 cm depth) obtained from 20 stations for the 2006-2023 period. The results showed differences between the average pattern obtained with the 18-year data series and that obtained with the data series for each year. In more than half of the years studied, the representative station differed from that derived from the average pattern. The mean annual precipitation and summer precipitation characteristics seem to be the main factors influencing the variability in the spatial pattern of the temporal stability of soil moisture.
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publishDate 2024-06-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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series Spanish Journal of Soil Science
spelling doaj-art-c704d713713147349514dcd8c7f736a02025-08-20T02:23:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Spanish Journal of Soil Science2253-65742024-06-011410.3389/sjss.2024.1283912839On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean ConditionsÁngel González-ZamoraPilar Benito-VerdugoJosé Martínez-FernándezIn recent decades, there has been increasing interest in studying the variability in soil water properties and, specifically, the spatiotemporal variability in the soil water content. This is motivated by the notable theoretical and applied research interests in soil moisture dynamics and their implications for many natural processes. This study aimed to study whether there are variations in the spatial pattern of the temporal stability of soil moisture over time and to analyze the possible influences of certain hydroclimatic (soil water content, precipitation, and evapotranspiration) and soil factors (texture, bulk density, and organic matter content) on these variations. This study was conducted within the Soil Moisture Measurement Stations Network of the University of Salamanca (REMEDHUS, Spain) under Mediterranean conditions, with daily surface moisture data (0–5 cm depth) obtained from 20 stations for the 2006-2023 period. The results showed differences between the average pattern obtained with the 18-year data series and that obtained with the data series for each year. In more than half of the years studied, the representative station differed from that derived from the average pattern. The mean annual precipitation and summer precipitation characteristics seem to be the main factors influencing the variability in the spatial pattern of the temporal stability of soil moisture.https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2024.12839/fullsoil moistureMediterranean conditionstemporal stabilitymean relative differencessoil propertiesclimatic factors
spellingShingle Ángel González-Zamora
Pilar Benito-Verdugo
José Martínez-Fernández
On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions
Spanish Journal of Soil Science
soil moisture
Mediterranean conditions
temporal stability
mean relative differences
soil properties
climatic factors
title On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions
title_full On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions
title_fullStr On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions
title_full_unstemmed On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions
title_short On the Variability in the Temporal Stability Pattern of Soil Moisture Under Mediterranean Conditions
title_sort on the variability in the temporal stability pattern of soil moisture under mediterranean conditions
topic soil moisture
Mediterranean conditions
temporal stability
mean relative differences
soil properties
climatic factors
url https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/sjss.2024.12839/full
work_keys_str_mv AT angelgonzalezzamora onthevariabilityinthetemporalstabilitypatternofsoilmoistureundermediterraneanconditions
AT pilarbenitoverdugo onthevariabilityinthetemporalstabilitypatternofsoilmoistureundermediterraneanconditions
AT josemartinezfernandez onthevariabilityinthetemporalstabilitypatternofsoilmoistureundermediterraneanconditions