Mesoscale soil moisture measurements along the rover route using the mobile cosmic-ray neutron sensing in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

作者：Yongyong Zhang, Shaoxiong Wu, Wenzhi Zhao, Jianhua Xiao · 发表于：Geoderma · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.117046 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing、Geophysical Methods and Applications、Climate change and permafrost

• A cosmic-ray neutron rover was introduced to observe soil moisture in the Tibetan Plateau. • Soil moisture determined by the rover, newly adjusted by vegetation effects, was within ±0.025 g/g. • The calibration parameter N 0 _NDVI was 443 cpm. • Average mesoscale soil moisture from the rover varied by ecosystem types. • Valuable mesoscale soil moisture transect data was be offered in the Tibetan Plateau. Water resources in the soil play an essential role in hydrological processes and ecosystem functions on the Tibetan Plateau. However, accurately measuring soil moisture distribution in this region presents challenges due to the diverse ecosystem types, complex terrain, and harsh environmental conditions. In this study, we introduce an approach for estimating mesoscale soil moisture in the Qilian Mountains (QLM) region of the eastern Tibetan Plateau using a cosmic-ray neutron rover. Soil moisture estimates derived from neutron count rates, newly adjusted by vegetation effects, demonstrated good agreement with soil moisture measurements obtained through soil sampling at 26 calibration sites across the region (RMSE = 0.025 g g −1 ). The calibration parameter N 0 _NDVI was 443 cpm in the QLM. Utilizing NDVI as vegetation correction method showed potential improvements in the accuracy of converting neutron counts to soil moisture across the diverse mountainous ecosystem types. The newly developed calibration equation provided a high-precision, high spatial resolution soil moistu...