TY  - JOUR
AU  - Baatz, R.
AU  - Bogena, Heye
AU  - Hendricks-Franssen, Harrie-Jan
AU  - Huisman, J. A.
AU  - Montzka, C.
AU  - Vereecken, H.
TI  - An empirical vegetation correction for soil water content quantification using cosmic ray probes
JO  - Water resources research
VL  - 51
IS  - 4
SN  - 0043-1397
CY  - Washington, DC
PB  - AGU
M1  - FZJ-2015-05168
SP  - 2030 - 2046
PY  - 2015
AB  - Cosmic ray probes are an emerging technology to continuously monitor soil water content at a scale significant to land surface processes. However, the application of this method is hampered by its susceptibility to the presence of aboveground biomass. Here we present a simple empirical framework to account for moderation of fast neutrons by aboveground biomass in the calibration. The method extends the N0-calibration function and was developed using an extensive data set from a network of 10 cosmic ray probes located in the Rur catchment, Germany. The results suggest a 0.9% reduction in fast neutron intensity per 1 kg of dry aboveground biomass per m2 or per 2 kg of biomass water equivalent per m2. We successfully tested the novel vegetation correction using temporary cosmic ray probe measurements along a strong gradient in biomass due to deforestation, and using the COSMIC, and the hmf method as independent soil water content retrieval algorithms. The extended N0-calibration function was able to explain 95% of the overall variability in fast neutron intensity.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000354733500010
DO  - DOI:10.1002/2014WR016443
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/203163
ER  -