Calibration, measurement, and characterization of soil moisture dynamics in a central Amazonian tropical forest

Negrón‐Juárez, Robinson; Ferreira, Savio F.; Mota, Marcelo Crestani; Faybishenko, Boris; Monteiro, Maria F.; Candido, Luiz A.; Ribeiro, Rubia Pereira; Oliveira, Regison Costa; Araujo, Alessandro C.; Warren, Jeffrey M.; Newman, Brent D.; Gimenez, Bruno O.; Varadharajan, Charuleka; Agarwal, Deborah; Borma, Laura; Tomasella, Javier; Higuchi, Niro; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.

doi:10.1002/vzj2.20070

Title: Calibration, measurement, and characterization of soil moisture dynamics in a central Amazonian tropical forest

Journal Article · Sat Sep 19 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Vadose Zone Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20070· OSTI ID:1720245

^[1]; Ferreira, Savio F. ^[2]; Mota, Marcelo Crestani ^[2]; Faybishenko, Boris ^[1]; Monteiro, Maria F. ^[2]; Candido, Luiz A. ^[2]; Ribeiro, Rubia Pereira ^[2];

^[2]; Araujo, Alessandro C. ^[3];

^[4]; Newman, Brent D. ^[5];

^[6]; Varadharajan, Charuleka ^[1]; Agarwal, Deborah ^[1]; Borma, Laura ^[7];

^[8]; Higuchi, Niro ^[2]; Chambers, Jeffrey Q. ^[1]

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
National Inst. for Amazonian Research, Manaus (Brazil)
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Pará (Brazil)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
National Inst. for Amazonian Research, Manaus (Brazil); Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Gamboa (Panama)
National Institute for Space Research, São Paulo (Brazil)
National Center for Monitoring and Alerts for Natural Disasters, São Paulo (Brazil)

Soil moisture plays a key role in hydrological, biogeochemical, and energy budgets of terrestrial ecosystems. Accurate soil moisture measurements in remote ecosystems such as the Amazon are difficult and limited because of logistical constraints. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors are widely used to monitor soil moisture and require calibration to convert the TDR's dielectric permittivity measurement (K_a) to volumetric water content (θ_v). In this study, our objectives were to develop a field-based calibration of TDR sensors in an old-growth upland forest in the central Amazon, to evaluate the performance of the calibration, and then to apply the calibration to determine the dynamics of soil moisture content within a 14.2 -m-deep vertical soil profile. Depth-specific TDR calibration using local soils in a controlled laboratory setting yielded a novel K_a–θ_v third-degree polynomial calibration. The sensors were later installed to their specific calibration depth in a 14.2-m pit. The widely used K_a–θ_v relationship (Topp model) underestimated the site-specific θ_v by 22–42%, indicating significant error in the model when applied to these well-structured, clay-rich tropical forest soils. The calibrated wet- and dry-season θ_v data showed a variety of depth and temporal variations highlighting the importance of soil textural differentiation, root uptake depths, as well as event to seasonal precipitation effects. Data such as these are greatly needed for improving our understanding of ecohydrological processes within tropical forests and for improving models of these systems in the face of changing environmental conditions.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1720245

Journal Information:: Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 19, Issue 1; ISSN 1539-1663

Publisher:: Soil Science Society of AmericaCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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