Kashyap et al. (2026) Modelling and mapping of soil moisture characteristics of the Punjab soils

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Identification

• Journal: Discover Soil.
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-07
• Authors: Swati Kashyap, Bharat Bhushan Vashisht, Mohit Arora
• DOI: 10.1007/s44378-026-00307-9

Research Groups

• Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)
• Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Animal Sciences (CASAS), PAU

Short Summary

This study employs a modelling approach to predict soil moisture retention at Field Capacity (FC) and Permanent Wilting Point (PWP) using pedotransfer functions (PTFs) based on biophysical variables. The findings demonstrate the potential of validated PTF regression models for predicting soil moisture characteristics, enabling efficient water resource utilization.

Objective

• To develop a reliable method for estimating FC and PWP in Punjab soils using PTFs due to the lack of technical expertise and high cost of pressure plate apparatus.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional scale (Punjab, India)
• Temporal Scale: Not specified

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) by Pidgeon [45] and Gupta and Larson [27]
• Data sources: Soil samples collected from 520 pedons of Punjab soils, biophysical variables extracted from literature-based database

Main Results

• The best-performing PTF models for FC and PWP had RMSE values of 0.05 and 0.048, respectively, with Index of Agreement (d) values of 0.72 and 0.770.
• Predicted soil moisture retention at FC ranged from 0.131 to 0.387 cm³ cm⁻³, while PWP ranged from 0.009 to 0.228 cm³ cm⁻³.

Contributions

• This study demonstrates the feasibility of using validated PTF regression models for predicting soil moisture characteristics, which can aid in efficient water resource utilization.
• The findings highlight the potential of mapping predicted information to reveal spatial variability of soil moisture content across regions.

Funding

• Not specified

Citation

@article{Kashyap2026Modelling,
  author = {Kashyap, Swati and Vashisht, Bharat Bhushan and Kaur, Harsimran and Arora, Mohit},
  title = {Modelling and mapping of soil moisture characteristics of the Punjab soils},
  journal = {Discover Soil.},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1007/s44378-026-00307-9},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s44378-026-00307-9}
}