Dong et al. (2026) Slope Position Controls Temporal Stability and Estimation Accuracy of Deep‐Layer Soil Moisture on the Chinese Loess Plateau

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Hydrological Processes
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Shuang Dong, Xiangguo Fan, Yuhua Jia, Tongchuan Li, Jingling Zhang
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.70374

Research Groups

The specific research groups, labs, or departments are not explicitly mentioned in the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigated the spatiotemporal variability and temporal stability of available soil moisture (ASM) across different slope positions in the Chinese Loess Plateau and developed an indirect method to estimate deep and mean profile ASM using data from representative soil layers.

Objective

• To investigate the spatial variability and temporal stability of available soil moisture (ASM) at different slope positions in the Chinese Loess Plateau.
• To estimate deep and mean profile ASM using ASM from representative soil layers.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Local to regional scale within the Chinese Loess Plateau, focusing on specific slope positions (top, middle, bottom slopes) and soil profiles down to at least 7 meters.
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly defined, but implies continuous monitoring over a period to assess dynamics and temporal stability.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Statistical methods for identifying representative soil layers and verifying estimation accuracy:
  • Mean Relative Difference (MRD)
  • Standard Deviation of Relative Difference (SDRD)
  • Index of Temporal Stability (ITS)
  • Mean Absolute Value of Bias Error (MABE)
  • Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE)
  • Absolute Error (AE)
  • Relative Error (RE)
  • Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency Coefficient (NSE)
• Data sources: In-situ measurements of available soil moisture (ASM) from various soil layers across different slope positions.

Main Results

• The dynamics of ASM exhibited complexity, with variations across slope positions: 5.76%–14.24% for top slopes, 5.85%–10.74% for middle slopes, and 3.38%–6.69% for bottom slopes.
• Correlations of ASM among different soil layers varied by slope position, with a highly significant positive correlation (r = 0.96, p < 0.001) observed below the 2-meter soil layer at the bottom slope.
• ASM estimation was most reliable at the middle slope. A representative soil layer (6-7 meters depth) explained 78.50% and 94.00% of the variability in deep and mean profile ASM, respectively.
• Estimation for mean profile ASM was more accurate than for deep ASM. RMSEs for deep and mean profile ASM were 1.95% and 1.84% (top slope), 1.92% and 0.94% (middle slope), and 2.70% and 1.84% (bottom slope), respectively.

Contributions

• Proposes an indirect method for determining mean profile ASM in fragmented terrain areas of the Chinese Loess Plateau.
• Provides a reliable method to estimate deep soil moisture, particularly in areas where direct measurement is challenging due to the presence of Calcaric Regosol.

Funding

Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Dong2026Slope,
  author = {Dong, Shuang and Fan, Xiangguo and Jia, Yuhua and Li, Tongchuan and Zhang, Jingling},
  title = {Slope Position Controls Temporal Stability and Estimation Accuracy of Deep‐Layer Soil Moisture on the Chinese Loess Plateau},
  journal = {Hydrological Processes},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1002/hyp.70374},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70374}
}