Soil Moisture Monitoring at Different Scales for Rainfall-Runoff Modelling

The soil moisture is a paramount quantity in the study of hydrologic phenomena and soil atmosphere interaction. Because of its high spatial and temporal variability, the soil moisture monitoring scheme was here investigated in view of its application in rainfallrunoff modelling. The results obtained through a "direct" analysis and an "indirect" analysis were found quite similar in terms of contents and useful to address the estimation of soil moisture at the catchment scale. Based on the direct analysis, the soil moisture samples number to get a reliable estimation of soil moisture at catchment scale was defined. The indirect analysis showed that the catchment wetness conditions at the beginning of a storm event can be accurately estimated through the soil moisture observations carried out in a small area.