Maisha et al. (2026) Variogram Assessment of Sub-Field Scale Soil Water Variability for Irrigation Management

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Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-08
• Authors: Rehnuma Maisha, Aaron Lee M. Daigh, Dean D. Steele, Xinhua Jia
• DOI: 10.3390/w18161942

Research Groups

Not specified

Short Summary

This study employs variogram analysis to quantify small-scale soil water variability in irrigated corn fields, concluding that spatial heterogeneity is anisotropic and that sensor placement parallel to crop rows minimizes measurement noise.

Objective

• To quantify small-scale soil water variability and partition the sources of variability between intrinsic sensor variability and spatial heterogeneity in soil hydraulic properties to optimize sensor placement.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Small-scale (9 m transects) across three irrigated corn sites in southeastern North Dakota.
• Temporal Scale: 2022 and 2023 growing seasons.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Variogram analysis (directional variograms).
• Data sources: In-situ volumetric water content ($\theta_v$) measurements using Acclima TDR-310H sensors and comparisons with previously deployed sensor sets.

Main Results

• Mean volumetric water content ($\theta_v$) ranged from 0.19 to 0.24 $\text{cm}^3 \text{cm}^{-3}$.
• Spatial variability exhibited anisotropy: perpendicular transects showed higher nugget effects (0.019–0.030 $\text{cm}^3 \text{cm}^{-3}$) than parallel transects (0.012–0.022 $\text{cm}^3 \text{cm}^{-3}$).
• Sill and range parameters were higher for perpendicular transects compared to parallel ones, likely due to stem flow patterns.
• Variability in sensor readings is attributed to both spatial heterogeneity and the specific sensor type used.

Contributions

• Demonstrates the utility of variogram analysis for partitioning measurement variability in soil moisture studies.
• Establishes that installing sensors parallel to crop rows reduces the confounding effects of spatial heterogeneity compared to perpendicular installation.

Funding

Not specified

Citation

@article{Maisha2026Variogram,
  author = {Maisha, Rehnuma and Daigh, Aaron Lee M. and Steele, Dean D. and Jia, Xinhua},
  title = {Variogram Assessment of Sub-Field Scale Soil Water Variability for Irrigation Management},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/w18161942},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w18161942}
}