Root Zone (RZ)

RZ “CRNS and root zone soil moisture dynamics in agricultural land” is the successor module of Groundwater recharge (GW) and shall take a more comprehensive view on water storage and fluxes in the soil root zone and its link to CRNS-measurements. A larger focus shall be on the roots of vegetation and root water uptake, driving water storage changes, as well as the potential impact of water stress. RZ will focus on assessing root zone water by application of CRNS in agricultural settings, including irrigation or controlled drainage conditions. RZ will assess the root zone water balance of agricultural fields by deriving daily water fluxes via the use of 1D vadose zone models on basis of CRNS data and accompanying measurements. We aim for a better understanding of the penetration depth of the CRNS signal and the uncertainties associated with it to ease the application and interpretation for non-experts of the method. The utilization of additional soil moisture profiles from measurements and modeling will comprise a substantial part of the research.