Uniform Vegetation Research Articles

Gapped vegetation patterns: Crown/root allometry and snaking bifurcation

Nonuniform spatial distributions of vegetation in scarce environments consist of either gaps, bands often called tiger bush or patches that can be either self-organized or spatially localized in space. When the level of aridity is increased, the uniform vegetation cover develops localized regions of lower biomass. These spatial structures are generically called vegetation gaps. They are embedded in a uniform vegetation cover. The spatial distribution of vegetation gaps can be either periodic or randomly distributed. We investigate the combined influence of the facilitative and the competitive nonlocal interactions between plants, and the role of crow/root allometry, on the formation of gapped vegetation patterns. We characterize first the formation of the periodic distribution of gaps by drawing their bifurcation diagram. We then characterize localized and aperiodic distributions of vegetation gaps in terms of their snaking bifurcation diagram.

Analysis of Vegetation Effects on Slope Stability of Embankment

Embankments play a significant role in protecting cities from many natural disasters. Erosion and landslides of embankments and natural slopes are common phenomena occurring every year in Bangladesh. It has become a great concern of protecting embankments and natural slopes from failure. In many cases, traditional methods for protecting embankments and natural slopes are not effective during their designed lives. In such a condition, bio-engineering has been adopted in many countries as an effective and environment friendly measure for the protection of slopes. The role played by vegetation in improving slope stability is now well recognized. Many research works have been done in many countries on many species of trees that are locally available and suitable for the climatic and soil conditions of that country. In this study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the performance of lebbek tree and royal poincianain protecting the Rajshahi City Protection embankment. In-situ direct shear test was performed on block samples to determine the in-situ shear strength of rooted soil and soil without root. A numerical analysis has been performed to compute the factor of safety and shear strength of slope soil with root and without root. Also the effect of different types of vegetation on slope stability is observed by numerical analysis. It has been found that the values of factor of safety vary between 1.781 and 1.926 in case of slope without root whereas the values of factor of safety vary between 1.997 and 2.173 in case of slope with root. In numerical analysis, the shear strength of soil varies between 40.311 kPa to 41.782kPa in case of slope without root whereas in case of slope with root this value varies between 50.929 kPa to 52.13 kPa. The average percentage of increase in shear strength for lebbek tree root is 14.35% whereas this value for royal poinciana is 24.29%. It has been also found thatthe factor of safety of soil slopes without vegetation, with uniform vegetation, cylindrical vegetation and semi-spherical vegetation are 1.605, 1.653, 1.654 and 1.616 respectively. From the results, it is understood that plants with cylindrical root architecture increase the most significantly slope stability. It also appears that lebbek tree and royal poinciana may be low-cost and environment friendly alternative solution for the protection of embankment in Bangladesh.

Influence of Floods, Tides, and Vegetation on Sediment Retention in Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, USA

AbstractSediment is the most valuable natural resource for deltaic environments because it is required to build new land. For land building to occur, sediment must be retained in the delta instead of being transported offshore. Despite this, we do not know what controls sediment retention within a delta. Here we use a calibrated numerical model of Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, USA to analyze sediment retention for different riverine flood magnitudes, tidal amplitudes, and vegetation extents. Our results show that as riverine flood magnitude increases, areally averaged vertical accretion increases from 0.33 to 2 cm per 60‐day flood, but sediment retention decreases from 72% to 34%. For the uniform vegetation characteristics considered, the buffering effect, defined as the reduction of sediment flux onto the islands in the presence of vegetation, reduces the sediment flux onto the islands 14 to 22% on a fully vegetated delta. When sediment is transported onto the islands, vegetation enhances retention, which we refer to as the trapping effect, by ~10%. But, this does not offset the buffering effect, and vegetation decreases vertical accretion and retention in the delta up to 6% (or ~0.5 cm per 60‐day flood). We suggest that vegetation will increase sedimentation only when trapping compensates for buffering. Finally, greater tidal amplitude at higher discharges enhances vertical accretion by ~0.5 cm per 60‐day flood compared to smaller tidal amplitudes. These results provide insight on the mechanisms behind coastal systems growth, and suggest how sediment diversions might be operated more efficiently in deltas with reduced sediment supply.

Application of Satellite Image Processing Methods for Hydrocarbon Field Search

The object of the study is software methods of the Earth surface images processing obtained from the VRSS-2 satellite to determine the spectral composition of the vegetation cover to detect the presence of carotenoids during prolonged exposure to hydrocarbons.The photosynthetic pigments of higher plants (chlorophylls, carotenoids and phytobiliproteins) were analyzed. In the chloroplasts of higher plants, chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in a ratio of about 3:1. The presence of hydrocarbons increases the amount of carotenoids. Carotenoids have absorption bands in the blue-violet region from 400 to 500 nm and a high reflection coefficient in the red-orange and yellow spectral regions, which corresponds to the multispectral MSS operating mode (B2) of the VRSS-2 satellite camera. An analysis of the vegetation growing in the study area of the Puerto Kumarebo settlement showed that the best indicator of the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil is Prosopis juliflora – CUJI with a deep root system of up to 50 m, growing in the study area.Using ENVI software, a comparative evaluation of the efficiency of photographs image processing was carried out using the normalized relative vegetation index (NDVI) and the structure-insensitive pigment index (SIPI) to detect changes in the color of green vegetation. It has been established that the SIPI index is more applicable for hydrocarbon search tasks. Moreover, the recorded index fluctuations in the area of uniform vegetation at the level of 2.5 % are characteristic of normal growing conditions and cannot serve as evidence of the presence of factors indicating the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil. For a more detailed assessment of the presence of carotenoids in the foliage and the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil, photographs with high optical resolution of objects on the surface are required.

A Statistical Approach to Understanding Canopy Winds over Complex Terrain

Winds that flow within a forest canopy in complex terrain exhibit considerable variability that can have significant consequences for environmental processes such as the spread of bushfires, seed dispersal and transport of pollutants. This variability is still poorly understood, due in part to limited observations of canopy winds over complex terrain, and as such is often unaccounted for in deterministic modelling approaches. Probabilistic representation of wind fields can better characterise variability and build understanding of uncertainty in applications such as bushfire prediction. This study introduces two new, publicly available, datasets that support analyses of canopy winds over complex terrain using novel statistical approaches. Wind fields are characterised using bivariate distributions, representing the response of synoptic winds to changing landscapes, including post-bushfire forest regrowth and varying topography across uniform vegetation. For statistical comparison, non-parametric Kolmogorov-Smirnov style tests are considered. A new test is proposed for the comparison of bivariate circular distributions arising from analyses of wind direction. The study broadly reaffirms established theory while highlighting the variability of canopy winds over complex terrain and the importance of developing statistical techniques that result in a better quantitative understanding of these wind fields and the processes driving them.

Secondary seed dispersal in the Klausmeier model of vegetation for sloped semi-arid environments

The effects of secondary seed dispersal on the dynamics of banded vegetation are investigated in the framework of a generalized version of one of the easiest tools for the description of pattern formation along the hillsides of semi-arid environments: the Klausmeier model. The generalization here considered consists in augmenting the evolution equation for the vegetation biomass with an advection term mimicking the anisotropic dispersal of seeds by overland flow. Linear stability analysis is used to deduce the threshold condition for the occurrence of wave instability as well as to obtain approximated explicit expressions for some key quantities: pattern speed, locus of stationary patterns and excited wavenumber. The generalized model is also integrated numerically considering two different sets of initial conditions that yield pattern dynamics originating from degradation of uniform vegetation or colonization of bare ground. These numerical simulations are performed to corroborate the analytical predictions, to characterize more deeply the propagating character of the edges of vegetation patches and to emphasize how distinct initial conditions may lead to significantly different ecological scenarios.

Flow structure within a vegetation patch in a gravel-bed river

Abstract Investigation of the interactions between submerged vegetation patch and flow structure is of crucial importance for river engineering. Most of hydraulic models have been presented for fully developed flows over uniform vegetation in the laboratory conditions; however, the mentioned interactions are complex in river flows where the flow is not developed along small patch. This reveals a gap between developed and non-developed flow along the vegetation patch. This study was conducted in a gravel-bed river in the central Iran. The results reveal that the flow structure in evolving flow (non-developed flow) along the patch resembles that in shallow mixing layer. Accordingly, a shallow mixing layer model and modified equations are combined to quantify evolving area along the patch. The evolving shallow mixing layer equations for the flow along a non-uniform vegetation patch reach a reasonable agreement with field data. However, the spreading coefficient of this model less than one was reported in literature, 0.06 and 0.12. In addition, the flow immediately downstream the vegetation patch behaves similar to a jet and is parameterized by two conventional models, conventional logarithmic law and mixing layer theory. These models present a reasonable agreement with the measured velocity profiles immediately downstream the patch.

Above-ground biomass estimation of arable crops using UAV-based SfM photogrammetry

Methods of estimating the total amount of above-ground biomass (AGB) in crop fields are generally based on labourious, random, and destructive in situ sampling. This study proposes a methodology for estimating herbaceous crop biomass using conventional optical cameras and structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry. The proposed method is based on the determination of volumes according to the difference between a digital terrain model (DTM) and digital surface model (DSM) of vegetative cover. A density factor was calibrated based on a subset of destructive random samples to relate the volume and biomass and efficiently quantify the total AGB. In all cases, RMSE Z values less than 0.23 m were obtained for the DTM-DSM coupling. Biomass field data confirmed the goodness of fit of the yield-biomass estimation (R2=0.88 and 1.12 kg/ha) mainly in plots with uniform vegetation coverage. Furthermore, the method was demonstrated to be scalable to multiple platform types and sensors.

Interplay between exogenous and endogenous factors in seasonal vegetation oscillations

A fundamental question in ecology is whether vegetation oscillations are merely a result of periodic environmental variability, or rather driven by endogenous factors. We address this question using a mathematical model of dryland vegetation subjected to annual rainfall periodicity. We show that while spontaneous oscillations do not exist in realistic parameter ranges, resonant response to periodic precipitation is still possible due to the existence of damped oscillatory modes. Using multiple time-scale analysis, in a restricted parameter range, we find that these endogenous modes can be pumped by the exogenous precipitation forcing to form sustained oscillations. The oscillations amplitude shows a resonance peak that depends on model parameters representing species traits and mean annual precipitation. Extending the study to bistability ranges of uniform vegetation and bare soil, we investigate numerically the implications of resonant oscillations for ecosystem function. We consider trait parameters that represent species with damped oscillatory modes and species that lack such modes, and compare their behaviors. We find that the former are less resilient to droughts, suffer from larger declines in their biomass production as the precipitation amplitude is increased, and, in the presence of spatial disturbances, are likely to go through abrupt collapse to bare soil, rather than gradual, domino-like collapse.

Spatial Variability of Snow Water Equivalent – The Case Study from the Research Site in Khibiny Mountains, Russia

Abstract The aim of the investigation was assessment of spatial variability of the characteristics of snowpack, including the snow water equivalent (SWE) as the main hydrological characteristic of a seasonal snow cover. The study was performed in Khibiny Mountains (Russia), where snow density and snow cover stratigraphy were documented with the help of the SnowMicropen measurements, allowing to determine the exact position of the snow layers’ boundaries with accuracy of 0.1 cm. The study site was located at the geomorphologically and topographically uniform area with uniform vegetation cover. The measurement was conducted at maximum seasonal SWE on 27 March 2016. Twenty vertical profiles were measured along the 10 m long transect. Vertical resolution depended on the thickness of individual layers and was not less than 10 cm. The spatial variation of the measured snowpack characteristics was substantial even within such a homogeneous landscape. Bulk snow density variability was similar to the variability in snow height. The total variation of the snowpack SWE values along the transect was about 20%, which is more than the variability in snow height or snow density, and should be taken into account in analysis of the results of normally performed in operational hydrology snow course SWE estimations by snow tubes.

A stem spacing-based non-dimensional model for predicting longitudinal dispersion in low-density emergent vegetation

Predicting how pollutants disperse in vegetation is necessary to protect natural watercourses. This can be done using the one-dimensional advection dispersion equation, which requires estimates of longitudinal dispersion coefficients in vegetation. Dye tracing was used to obtain longitudinal dispersion coefficients in emergent artificial vegetation of different densities and stem diameters. Based on these results, a simple non-dimensional model, depending on velocity and stem spacing, was developed to predict the longitudinal dispersion coefficient in uniform emergent vegetation at low densities (solid volume fractions < 0.1). Predictions of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient from this simple model were compared with predictions from a more complex expression for a range of experimental data, including real vegetation. The simple model was found to predict correct order of magnitude dispersion coefficients and to perform as well as the more complex expression. The simple model requires fewer parameters and provides a robust engineering approximation.

Hydrological Connectivity in Vegetated River Deltas: The Importance of Patchiness Below a Threshold

AbstractHydrological connectivity in coastal deltas is important for delivering flow, sediment, and nutrients to the island interiors. The roughness of island vegetation limits connectivity, but how important is the spatial distribution of vegetation? Using hydrodynamic modeling, we test the influence of vegetated percent cover, patch size, and stem density on the discharge‐fraction allocated to the islands of an idealized delta complex, modeled after Wax Lake Delta. We find that heterogeneity has negligible effects when vegetation is relatively sparse but is important when vegetation is relatively dense and covers less than a “disconnectivity” threshold of 40–50% of the islands, near the theoretical percolation limit. Below this threshold, preferential flow paths develop in the islands, which alter the hydraulics and residence time distribution of the delta complex and enhance potential sediment transport with respect to model runs with uniform vegetation. Patchiness has hydrogeomorphic and biogeochemical implications, which should be considered when modeling deltaic systems.

Laboratory study of the effect of vertically varying vegetation density on waves, currents and wave-current interactions

Under the influence of vegetation, waves, currents, turbulence as well as sediment processes are all changed, which significantly affect aquatic environment. Vegetation appears spatially heterogeneous in terms of vegetation density in most natural wetlands. However, how vertical heterogeneity of vegetation canopy affects turbulence under waves and currents is still not well understood. In this paper, the effects of different vegetation densities (i.e. sparse, dense and vertically-varying density) on vegetation-induced wave attenuation, mean flow adjustment as well as turbulence are studied through laboratory experiments. For regular waves, higher vegetation density results in smaller wave transmission coefficients and local wave heights. The difference between the effects of vertically uniform and varying vegetation density on wave height decay is significant for deep water waves and insignificant for intermediate water waves. The vertically varying vegetation density slightly changes the wave-averaged velocity distribution, producing reverse flows within the canopy. Turbulence intensity decreases more significantly with increasing water depth in the case with vertically varying vegetation density. For unidirectional flow, the vertically varying vegetation density increases the vertical gradient of mean streamwise velocity compared with the emergent uniform vegetation. The time series of u oscillates relatively stronger near bottom, and causes higher TKE, which is different with that in oscillatory flow. Compared with the submerged uniform vegetation, the vertical variation of mean velocity affected by vegetation with vertically varying density is smaller in both pure current and wave-current flow. Affected by dense submerged vegetation, the mean velocity of combined wave-current flow is significantly lower than that of pure current, while it is reduced near the bottom and increased in the upper layer comparing with that of pure current under the influence of sparse submerged vegetation. TKE values in wave-current flow is promoted in the upper layer with coexisting waves in the case of submerged uniform vegetation, while it is barely affected near the bed. In the case with vertically varying vegetation density, TKE values in the wave-current flow are slightly decreased than that in the pure current condition, especially near the bottom.

Analysis of a model for banded vegetation patterns in semi-arid environments with nonlocal dispersal.

Vegetation patterns are a characteristic feature of semi-arid regions. On hillsides these patterns occur as stripes running parallel to the contours. The Klausmeier model, a coupled reaction-advection-diffusion system, is a deliberately simple model describing the phenomenon. In this paper, we replace the diffusion term describing plant dispersal by a more realistic nonlocal convolution integral to account for the possibility of long-range dispersal of seeds. Our analysis focuses on the rainfall level at which there is a transition between uniform vegetation and pattern formation. We obtain results, valid to leading order in the large parameter comparing the rate of water flow downhill to the rate of plant dispersal, for a negative exponential dispersal kernel. Our results indicate that both a wider dispersal of seeds and an increase in dispersal rate inhibit the formation of patterns. Assuming an evolutionary trade-off between these two quantities, mathematically motivated by the limiting behaviour of the convolution term, allows us to make comparisons to existing results for the original reaction-advection-diffusion system. These comparisons show that the nonlocal model always predicts a larger parameter region supporting pattern formation. We then numerically extend the results to other dispersal kernels, showing that the tendency to form patterns depends on the type of decay of the kernel.

Using repeat electrical resistivity surveys to assess heterogeneity in soil moisture dynamics under contrasting vegetation types

As the relationship between vegetation and soil moisture is complex and reciprocal, there is a need to understand how spatial patterns in soil moisture influence the distribution of vegetation, and how the structure of vegetation canopies and root networks regulates the partitioning of precipitation. Spatial patterns of soil moisture are often difficult to visualise as usually, soil moisture is measured at point scales, and often difficult to extrapolate. Here, we address the difficulties in collecting large amounts of spatial soil moisture data through a study combining plot- and transect-scale electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys to estimate soil moisture in a 3.2 km2 upland catchment in the Scottish Highlands. The aim was to assess the spatio-temporal variability in soil moisture under Scots pine forest (Pinus sylvestris) and heather moorland shrubs (Calluna vulgaris); the two dominant vegetation types in the Scottish Highlands. The study focussed on one year of fortnightly ERT surveys. The surveyed resistivity data was inverted and Archie’s law was used to calculate volumetric soil moisture by estimating parameters and comparing against field measured data. Results showed that spatial soil moisture patterns were more heterogeneous in the forest site, as were patterns of wetting and drying, which can be linked to vegetation distribution and canopy structure. The heather site showed a less heterogeneous response to wetting and drying, reflecting the more uniform vegetation cover of the shrubs. Comparing soil moisture temporal variability during growing and non-growing seasons revealed further contrasts: under the heather there was little change in soil moisture during the growing season. Greatest changes in the forest were in areas where the trees were concentrated reflecting water uptake and canopy partitioning. Such differences have implications for climate and land use changes; increased forest cover can lead to greater spatial variability, greater growing season temporal variability, and reduced levels of soil moisture, whilst projected decreasing summer precipitation may alter the feedbacks between soil moisture and vegetation water use and increase growing season soil moisture deficits.

MIDDLE JURASSIC FLORA FROM THE HOJEDK FORMATION OF TABAS, CENTRAL EAST IRAN: BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND PALAEOCLIMATE IMPLICATIONS

The Middle Jurassic deposits of the Shemshak Group and Hojedk Formation are widespread in North, Central, and Central East Iran. In this paper, the Hojedk Formation in South Kouchekali, southwestern Tabas city, east-central Iran was studied for palaeobotany and stratigraphy. This formation contains well preserved plant macrofossils belonging to 43 species assigned to 24 genera of various orders such as Equisetales, Filicales, Bennettitales, Cycadales, Caytoniales, Ginkgoales and Pinales. One biozone and four subzones are recognized. The lower and the upper boundaries of this assemblage biozone are identified by the first and the last observed occurrences of Coniopteris hymenophylloides (Brongniart) Seward 1900 and Klukia exilis (Phillips) Raciborski 1890, respectively. According to the occurrences of these index species and Ptilophyllum harrisianum Kilpper 1968 and Nilssonia macrophylla Jacob & Shukla 1955, an early Middle Jurassic (Aalenian-Bajocian) age is considered for this assemblage biozone. Moreover, a comparative biostratigraphy for the Middle Jurassic of Iran is suggested. As a result, the Coniopteris hymenophylloides-Klukia exilis Assemblage biozone is proposed as a biozone widespread through the whole Iranian Plate. On the basis of the relative abundance of Filicales, Pinales, Cycadales, and Equisetales and of the high diversity and abundance of macrophyllous cycadophytes (eight species), a humid sub-tropical climate is suggested for this locality. In addition, floral gradient, correspondence analysis and similarity index were considered. Therefore, it is confirmed that a uniform palaeoclimate and vegetation cover occurred in Iran during the Middle Jurassic and that Iran was located within Vakhrameev's Euro-Sinian Region.

A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of turbulent transfer of CO2 and H2O over a heterogeneous land surface

A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model was developed and applied to describe turbulent fluxes of CO2 and H2O within the atmospheric surface layer over a heterogeneous land surface featuring mosaic vegetation and complex topography. Numerical experiments were carried out with a 4.5-km profile that crosses a hilly region in the central part of European Russia, with the diverse land-use patterns (bare soil, crop areas, grasslands, and forests). The results showed very strong variability of the vertical and horizontal turbulent CO2 and H2O fluxes. The standard deviations of the vertical fluxes were estimated for separate profile sections with uniform vegetation cover for daylight conditions in summer, and they were comparable with the mean vertical fluxes for corresponding sections. The highest horizontal turbulent fluxes occurred at the boundaries between different plant communities and at irregularities in surface profile. In some cases, these fluxes reached 10-20% of the absolute values of the mean vertical fluxes for corresponding profile sections. Significant errors in estimating the local and integrated fluxes e.g. when using the eddy covariance technique, can result from ignoring the surface topography, even in the case of relatively large plots with uniform vegetation cover.

Sustainable Agricultural Practices for Improving Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Content in Relation to Water Availability – An Adapted Approach to Mediterranean Olive Groves

ABSTRACTA field experiment was conducted in an irrigated olive orchard to determine the effects of an orchard management system consisting of increased carbon input management on spatial distribution (tree inter-row/in-row, soil depth 0–10/10–20 cm) of nitrogen and carbon in the soil as well as on some microbial properties in relation to water availability. The experiment consisted of 12 blocks (each with 4 trees covering 200 m2 of land), uniform olive tree canopy size and natural vegetation, used as replications (three per treatment) in a split plot design for the following four treatments: a) spreading of olive mill compost on the soil without soil tillage, b) spreading of chopped pruning residue on the soil without soil tillage, c) combination of b + c, and d) control which received no organic materials and soil was kept free of weeds with frequent tillage and herbicide sprays. Increased soil organic matter content (SOM) (up to +80%), NO3 N (up to +194%), and NH4 N (up to +37%) by carbon inputs were observed in soil layer 0–10 cm. Irrigation enhanced SOM, NH4 N, and electrical conductivity (EC) while it favored NO3 N increase by carbon inputs. All microbial properties (Soil Basal Microbial Respiration, Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon, and Metabolic quotient) were significantly higher at 0–10 cm in comparison to 10–20 cm depth. This study suggests good agricultural management practices for optimized soil organic carbon (SOC) storage adapted to the typical Mediterranean agroecosystems.

Depth trends of soil organic matter C:N and 15N natural abundance controlled by association with minerals

Plant residues show carbon:nitrogen (C:N) decreases, 15N isotopic enrichment and preferential loss of labile substrates during microbial decay. In soil profiles, strikingly similar patterns of decreasing C:N and 15N isotopic enrichment with increasing depth are well documented. The parallel trend in organic matter composition with soil depth and during plant residue decay has been used as evidence to suggest that organic products accumulate or develop in the subsoil due to increasing intensity of microbially-driven processing, although no studies to date have verified this. Here, by applying sequential density fractionation, specific surface area, oxalate extractable Fe and Al, C:N and δ15N measures with depth to soils with relatively uniform soil mineralogy (Oxisols), climates and vegetation we show that changes in organo-mineral associations drive subsoil C:N and δ15N and C:N depth patterns more than in situ organic matter decay. Our results provide the first direct evidence that soil depth trends could be driven by mineral association instead of in situ processing.

Validation and downscaling of Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) soil moisture using ground measurements in the Western Cape, South Africa

Satellite-based remote sensing of soil water content (SWC) is a promising technology for hydrological applications to overcome large spatiotemporal variabilities of SWC. This study investigated the performance of the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) soil moisture product on METOP satellite (∼12.5 km and downscaled to ∼1 km resolution), against ground measurements of SWC taken with a Hydrosense II probe along transects of 360–820 m on agricultural and natural land at locations in the Western Cape. The ASCAT products estimated fairly accurately seasonal trends of SWC; performance was better on lower slopes (R2 = 0.66) and uniform vegetation. ASCAT 12.5 km performed better in estimating SWC than the downscaled product (average concordance coefficient = 0.60 and 0.39, and R2 = 0.84 and 0.74, respectively). ASCAT 12.5 km was more responsive to rainfall events, whilst the downscaled product was more sensitive to vegetation characteristics (normalised difference vegetation index and land surface temperature). In situations with ground measurement networks and data availability constraints, remote sensing could be a feasible alternative to monitor SWC for hydrological applications at the meso-scale (regional scale).