SCHRIFTENREIHE Institut für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde ...

Chapter 4 Temporal stability of soil moisture and its application in model result validation
4. Temporal stability of soil moisture in a semi-arid
steppe and its application in model result validation
Ying Zhao, Stephan Peth, Xiaoyan Wang, Katrin Schneider, and Rainer Horn
In preparation for Hydrological Processes.
Abstract
Temporal stability of soil moisture may have profound implications for water
management and for reliable hydraulic model. The aim of this study is to
investigate whether the time stability concept can be applied in model approach
to locate the representative site and to make reliable estimates of soil moisture.
In 2004-2006, in situ field monitoring soil moisture data were collected under a
semi-arid steppe ecosystem (North China) at four plots representing different
grazing intensities. While for the comparison with the moisture data of the
observed point, a sampling grid of 100 points at each plot were arranged to
identify spatio-temporal patterns of soil moisture. The results showed that soil
moisture pointed to a considerable temporal stability patterns. The degree of
persistence varied with grazing intensity, which partly was related to
grazing-induced differences in soil and plant properties. The spatial distribution
of soil moisture was more stable under wet conditions, but less stable under dry
or medium conditions. Time stable points (TSPs) with low mean relative
differences (MRD) (