Soil moisture for hydrological applications: Open

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the abstract and future work and stated research gap and inline gaps of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2016 and 2026, spanning 7 journals. Those papers have been cited 37 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 8 representative gaps

• Impact of tussock grasses removal on soil water content dynamics of a tropical mountain hillslope (2019) · Ecohydrology · cited 13× · doi

  Abstract Land use impacts on soil water content (SWC) are scarcely studied in mountain humid ecosystems, such as the Andean páramos, despite its influence on ecohydrological processes.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: abstract land impacts soil water content scarcely studied mountain humid ecosystems andean ramos despite influence
• A systematic evaluation of the Richards equation for predicting soil moisture in Irish grasslands (2026) · arXiv

  More broadly, they identify an important limitation of conventional RE implementations in waterlogged environments and demonstrate a practical approach for improving soil moisture predictions in persistently wet soils.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: broadly identify important limitation conventional implementations waterlogged environments demonstrate practical approach improving soil moisture predictions
• Decadal simulation of winter deep percolation driven by snowmelt and precipitation using HYDRUS-1D (2026) · Frontiers in Environmental Science · doi

  This study is limited to winter season rainfall and snowmelt, season crop excluding irrigation, and vegetation cover. evapotranspiration, Therefore, incorporate multimodal should comparison across soil types, growing season processes, and broader validation to strengthen understanding of bottom flux the root zone and groundwater potential recharge. from HYDRUS modeling provides an understanding of fluxes under diverse locations, soils, and climates, which supports informed decision-making for water management in agricultural fields. Certain management practices such as precision irrigation, soil amendments, organic matter, soil cover, terracing, and cover cropping enhance water infiltration and sustainable groundwater recharge, which needs to be explored to improve understanding of the water balance and groundwater potential recharge in agricultural systems. These findings highlight the need to account for winter season hydrological processes in groundwater assessment, especially in coarse-textured soils. Integration of snowmelt-driven DP into agricultural water management can improve potential recharge estimation, support sustainable irrigation management, and enhance resilience to cope with increasing winter climate variability.

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: season groundwater recharge water management winter irrigation cover soil understanding potential agricultural snowmelt processes soils
• Extending the least-cost theory of stomatal regulation to include soil moisture stress (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi

  The lack of mechanistic grounding for soil moisture constraints on carbon and water fluxes in terrestrial biosphere models. The need for a more coherent alternative to existing soil moisture parameterisations.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: lack mechanistic grounding soil moisture constraints carbon water
• Soil moisture dynamics, thermal regulation and crop yield responses to tillage practices in dryland Alfisols (2026) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · doi

  The need for efficient in-situ moisture conservation practices in dryland ecosystems. The lack of understanding of the effects of moisture conservation practices on soil moisture dynamics, crop productivity, and profitability.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: need efficient in-situ moisture conservation practices dryland ecosystems
• Soil-moisture dynamics across contrasting levels of beech forest vitality under extreme drought in the Harz Mountains, central Germany (2026) · Trees · doi

  In these environments, topography and soil hydrological properties are key determinants of soil moisture dynamics, but their relative controls are still not fully understood.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: soil environments topography hydrological properties determinants moisture dynamics relative controls still fully understood
• Impact of Soil Moisture in the Cultivation of CO 51 in the Riverine Tract of Dakshin Dinajpur and SaraikelaKharsawan (2026) · International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology · doi

  Soil moisture for hydrological applications: Open questions and new opportunities.

  generalinline gapsevidence 3/5
  Keywords: soil moisture hydrological applications open questions opportunities
• Mapping and understanding dry season soil water drawdown by California montane vegetation (2016) · Ecohydrology · cited 24× · doi

  Abstract The ability of soil to supply plant available water during dry periods is a poorly understood but critically important ecosystem property that affects vegetation health and regional hydrology.

  generalabstractevidence 2/5
  Keywords: abstract ability soil supply plant available water periods poorly understood critically important ecosystem property affects

Questions about this gap