Abstract
Soil moisture plays a critical role in land-atmosphere interactions. Quantifying the controls on soil moisture is highly valuable for effective management of water resources and climatic adaptation. In this study, we quantified the effects of precipitation, temperature, and vegetation on monthly soil moisture variability in an arid area, China. A non-linear Granger causality framework was applied to examine the causal effects based on multi-decadal reanalysis data records. Results indicate that precipitation had effects on soil moisture in about 91% of the study area and explained up to 40% of soil moisture variability during 1982–2015. Temperature and vegetation explained up to 8.2% and 3.3% of soil moisture variability, respectively. Climatic extremes were responsible for up to 10% of soil moisture variability, and the importance of climatic extremes was low compared to that of the general climate dynamics. The time-lagged analysis shows that the effects of precipitation and temperature on soil moisture were immediate and dissipated shortly. In addition, the effects of precipitation on soil moisture decreased with the increase of precipitation, soil moisture, and elevation. This study provides deep insight for uncovering the drivers of soil moisture variability in arid regions.
Highlights
Soil moisture is an important state variable of the terrestrial system and plays a critical role in land-atmosphere interactions [1,2]
Soil moisture is generally driven by climate, precipitation and temperature [9]
Precipitation is the main source of soil moisture, while temperature affects soil moisture by controlling evapotranspiration [10]
Summary
Soil moisture is an important state variable of the terrestrial system and plays a critical role in land-atmosphere interactions [1,2]. Soil moisture has been widely used in drought monitoring [4], hydrological modeling [5], vegetation changing [6], and weather forecasting [7,8]. It is critical to understand soil moisture variability and quantify its driving forces. Soil moisture is generally driven by climate, precipitation and temperature [9]. Recent and future global warming and the potential acceleration of the water cycle may increase uncertainty in soil moisture variability [11]. Anthropogenic effects, which are commonly characterized by vegetation change, have crucial effects on soil moisture [12]
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