Soil moisture is the quantity of water contained within the unsaturated zone of soil, typically expressed as volumetric water content or gravimetric water content, and is a central variable in hydrology, agronomy, and land–atmosphere interaction studies. It governs soil hydraulic conductivity, matric potential, and the partitioning of precipitation into infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration. Soil moisture strongly regulates plant water availability, microbial activity, and biogeochemical cycling, and is measured using in situ sensors (e.g., time-domain reflectometry, capacitance probes), lysimeters, or remotely sensed estimates from microwave and thermal observations. It is a key state variable in land surface models, drought monitoring systems, and climate and weather prediction frameworks.
Any home gardener knows they have to tailor their watering regime for different plants. Forgetting to water their flowerbed over the weekend could spell disaster, but the trees will likely be fine. Plants have evolved different ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 8, 2025
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Too little rain, too little water in the landscape—so simple, so serious. Even if the drought is obvious because freshwaters carry less water, plants wither and the soil becomes brittle and cracked, the drying out itself ...
Environment
Jul 3, 2025
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Scientists have discovered a rapid molecular switch in plant roots that allows them to detect dry soils and redirect root growth to find water. This discovery could help in developing drought-resilient crops and addressing ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 12, 2025
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Soil moisture is a key regulator of temperature and humidity, one that's positioned to be affected substantially by climate change. But despite the importance of soil moisture, efforts to model it involve dozens of poorly ...
Earth Sciences
May 23, 2025
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University of Melbourne hydrology professor Dongryeol Ryu and his collaborator Ki-Weon Seo were on a train to visit Ryu's family when they found something startling. Stopped at a station for technical issues, Seo had pulled ...
Environment
Mar 27, 2025
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229
As Earth continues to warm, more and more of the planet is becoming dry. A 2024 UN report found that in the last three decades, over three-fourths of all the world's land became drier than it had been in the previous 30 years.
Earth Sciences
Mar 21, 2025
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