Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) maintains seven in situ soil moisture networks throughout the continental United States, some since 2002. These networks are crucial for understanding the spatial and temporal extent of droughts in their historical context...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Digital Earth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2021.1943550 |
| _version_ | 1797678509039026176 |
|---|---|
| author | Evan J. Coopersmith Michael H. Cosh Patrick J. Starks David D. Bosch Chandra Holifield Collins Mark Seyfried Stan Livingston John Prueger |
| author_facet | Evan J. Coopersmith Michael H. Cosh Patrick J. Starks David D. Bosch Chandra Holifield Collins Mark Seyfried Stan Livingston John Prueger |
| author_sort | Evan J. Coopersmith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) maintains seven in situ soil moisture networks throughout the continental United States, some since 2002. These networks are crucial for understanding the spatial and temporal extent of droughts in their historical context, parameterization of hydrologic models, and local agricultural decision support. However, the estimates from these networks are dependent upon their ability to provide reliable soil moisture information at a large scale. It is also not known how many network stations are sufficient to monitor watershed scale dynamics. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to: (1) determine how temporally stable these networks are, including the relationships between various sensors on a year-to-year and seasonal basis, and (2) attempt to determine how many sensors are required, within a network, to approximate the full network average. Using data from seven in situ, it is concluded that approximately 12 soil moisture sensors are sufficient in most environments, presuming their locations are distributed to capture the hydrologic heterogeneity of the watershed. It is possible to install a temporary network containing a suitable number of sensors for an appropriate length of time, glean stable relationships between locations, and retain these insights moving forward with fewer sensor resources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:00:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b5b7c0c29ac647918fbcad1f81a49cab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1753-8947 1753-8955 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:00:48Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Digital Earth |
| spelling | doaj.art-b5b7c0c29ac647918fbcad1f81a49cab2023-09-21T14:57:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Digital Earth1753-89471753-89552021-10-0114101243125410.1080/17538947.2021.19435501943550Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watershedsEvan J. Coopersmith0Michael H. Cosh1Patrick J. Starks2David D. Bosch3Chandra Holifield Collins4Mark Seyfried5Stan Livingston6John Prueger7Soil Insight, LLCUSDA- Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Hydrology and Remote Sensing LaboratoryUSDA- Agricultural Research Service -Grazinglands Research LaboratoryUSDA- Agricultural Research Service -Southeast Watershed Research LaboratoryUSDA- Agricultural Research Service -Southwest Watershed Research CenterUSDA- Agricultural Research Service -Northwest Watershed Research LaboratoryUSDA- Agricultural Research Service -National Soil Erosion Research LaboratoryUSDA- Agricultural Research Service -National Laboratory for Agriculture and EnvironmentThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) maintains seven in situ soil moisture networks throughout the continental United States, some since 2002. These networks are crucial for understanding the spatial and temporal extent of droughts in their historical context, parameterization of hydrologic models, and local agricultural decision support. However, the estimates from these networks are dependent upon their ability to provide reliable soil moisture information at a large scale. It is also not known how many network stations are sufficient to monitor watershed scale dynamics. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to: (1) determine how temporally stable these networks are, including the relationships between various sensors on a year-to-year and seasonal basis, and (2) attempt to determine how many sensors are required, within a network, to approximate the full network average. Using data from seven in situ, it is concluded that approximately 12 soil moisture sensors are sufficient in most environments, presuming their locations are distributed to capture the hydrologic heterogeneity of the watershed. It is possible to install a temporary network containing a suitable number of sensors for an appropriate length of time, glean stable relationships between locations, and retain these insights moving forward with fewer sensor resources.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2021.1943550soil moisturetemporal stabilityin situ networks |
| spellingShingle | Evan J. Coopersmith Michael H. Cosh Patrick J. Starks David D. Bosch Chandra Holifield Collins Mark Seyfried Stan Livingston John Prueger Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds International Journal of Digital Earth soil moisture temporal stability in situ networks |
| title | Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds |
| title_full | Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds |
| title_fullStr | Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds |
| title_short | Understanding temporal stability: a long-term analysis of USDA ARS watersheds |
| title_sort | understanding temporal stability a long term analysis of usda ars watersheds |
| topic | soil moisture temporal stability in situ networks |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2021.1943550 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evanjcoopersmith understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT michaelhcosh understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT patrickjstarks understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT daviddbosch understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT chandraholifieldcollins understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT markseyfried understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT stanlivingston understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds AT johnprueger understandingtemporalstabilityalongtermanalysisofusdaarswatersheds |