Qiu et al. (2026) Remote sensing of soil moisture in agroecosystems

Identification

• Journal: Elsevier eBooks
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Jianxiu Qiu, Wei Su, Qinchuan Xin, Sijia Feng, Xudong Wang, Sheng Wang, Kiril Manevski
• DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-443-38345-8.00005-3

Research Groups

• School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
• College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
• Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing for Agri-Hazards, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, P.R. China
• Land-CRAFT, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
• Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
• Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, P.R. China
• Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yanqihu Campus, Beijing, P.R. China

Short Summary

This chapter introduces the fundamental role of soil moisture in Earth system processes, emphasizing its critical influence on energy, water, carbon, and nitrogen exchanges, and highlights the necessity of high-resolution spatiotemporal monitoring, particularly through remote sensing, for agricultural applications.

Objective

• To establish the pivotal role of soil moisture in regulating terrestrial water, energy, carbon, and nitrogen cycles, and to justify the critical need for high-resolution spatiotemporal monitoring, especially via remote sensing, to address agricultural applications.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Conceptual, advocating for high-resolution monitoring across agroecosystems.
• Temporal Scale: Conceptual, advocating for high-frequency monitoring.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified in this introductory text.
• Data sources: Remote sensing/Earth observation data (implied by chapter title and context).

Main Results

• Soil moisture is a fundamental component of the terrestrial water cycle, critically regulating energy, water, carbon, and nitrogen exchanges between the land surface and the atmosphere.
• It controls precipitation partitioning into infiltration-runoff, evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge dynamics.
• Soil moisture modulates stomatal conductance and microbial decomposition rates, influencing carbon and nitrogen sequestration and release.
• It acts as a climatic amplifier through albedo-evapotranspiration coupling, modifying surface energy partitioning and intensifying heatwave persistence via soil moisture-temperature feedback.
• High-resolution spatiotemporal monitoring of soil moisture is essential for advancing climate prediction, hydrological modeling, and agricultural drought monitoring.

Contributions

• Synthesizes the multifaceted and interconnected roles of soil moisture across hydrological, biospheric, and climatic domains.
• Underscores the critical importance of soil moisture as a pivotal variable for Earth system understanding and agricultural management.
• Justifies the necessity for advanced, high-resolution spatiotemporal monitoring techniques, particularly remote sensing, to address agricultural applications effectively.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Qiu2026Remote,
  author = {Qiu, Jianxiu and Su, Wei and Xin, Qinchuan and Feng, Sijia and Wang, Xudong and Wang, Sheng and Manevski, Kiril},
  title = {Remote sensing of soil moisture in agroecosystems},
  journal = {Elsevier eBooks},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/b978-0-443-38345-8.00005-3},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-38345-8.00005-3}
}