Spatial scale analysis of soil water content in agricultural soils of the nitra river catchment (Slovakia)

Abstract

Determining the soil water content (SWC) in a soil profile is very important task for agriculture and also for a wider ecological context. The spatial and temporal variability of SWC is a elementary issue for agricultural practice, irrigation management, or landscape management globally. Various methods are used for obtaining the SWC data. Every method has some advantages and also disadvantages. Many of them are focused only on one dimension but modern precise agriculture needs the information about SWC in spatial scale. This study is focused on the spatial scale analysis of SWC in the Nitra river catchment for years 2013 and 2014. The HYDRUS 1D hydrological model and GIS tools were used for the creation maps of SWC. Combination of the measured and simulated data was used for the creation of the unique spatial maps of soil moisture in 0-30 and 30-60 cm soil horizons. Validation of our method shows trustworthy results. Soil water storage and fulfillment of maximum soil water storage were analysed with using the created maps..