Summary
This paper describes the establishment and first year of operation of the Raam regional soil moisture monitoring network in the Netherlands, comprising 12 stations within the Raam catchment (and 5 within the closed Hooge Raam sub-catchment). The network provides in situ measurements of soil water availability at multiple depths using soil-specific calibrated sensors, generating reference data for water management decisions and validation of remote-sensing and hydrological models. The published dataset includes complementary measurements of soil temperature, groundwater levels, meteorological conditions and soil properties, supporting future research on water dynamics in regions subject to both summer drought and winter excess precipitation.
UK applicability
The monitoring approach and multi-depth sensor design are directly transferable to UK agricultural regions facing similar seasonal water stress and flood risk, particularly in the south and east. The soil-specific calibration methodology and data archiving structure could support the development of comparable networks in UK catchments, although soil types and hydrological regimes will differ.
Key measures
Soil moisture content (volumetric water content, m³ m⁻³) at 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 cm depths; soil temperature; phreatic groundwater levels; meteorological variables; soil physical characteristics and calibration accuracy
Outcomes reported
The study established a soil moisture profile monitoring network across 15 agricultural and natural grassland sites in the Raam region, equipped with Decagon 5TM sensors at five depths (5–80 cm) to measure soil water availability and storage capacity. The network generated the first year of continuous measurements (April 2016–April 2017) with soil-specific calibration functions achieving 0.02 m³ m⁻³ accuracy, alongside soil temperature, groundwater and meteorological data.
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