Study on Soil Moisture Temporal-Spatial Variation and Stability in Loess Plateau of China

Abstract Soil moisture temporal-spatial distribution and stability are important factors influencing soil pollutant transport, material migration, regional climate change, hydro-ecological environment as well as agricultural production patterns. According to soil moisture distribution features on the loess plateau, the paper selected three different kinds of surface slopes on the typical experiment sites to carry out soil moisture measurement. The variation coefficient and rank correlation method are proposed to calculate the longitudinal and vertical soil moisture distribution characteristics. The temporal-spatial dynamic features of soil moisture are studied. The present findings show that the soil moisture in the Loess Plateau varies greatly at different soil depths during the period from April to June. The maximum soil moisture appears at the depth of 40-60 cm. The variation coefficient of soil moisture increases with the soil depth. It was discovered that there exists temporal stability at the depth of 20-80cm. The correlation coefficient of soil moisture in different slopes is significant during the period of April-June. The results would play an important support in theoretical research and ecological environment planning, optimization of agricultural planting pattern and comprehensive management of Loess Plateau.