Remote sensing monitoring of soil moisture in the Mu Us sandland

Based on NOAA-AVHRR, meteorology and soil moisture data during 1982－1993 in Wushen County of the Mu Us sandland, the satellite-derived estimation model of soil moisture was established by using VTCI (vegetation temperature condition index), and the soil moisture of each layer between 0～50 cm were estimated. The results show that the multi-annual mean soil moisture variation Δw is –3.47 mm. The annual soil moisture variations (Δw) are between –118 mm and 82 mm from 1982 to 1993, and the inter-annual changes of soil moisture Δw are between ±50 mm, which was positive except for the year of 1986, 1987, 1991 and 1993. The inner-annual changes of soil moisture Δw are between ±10 mm. Compared with ground measurements, the RMSD and MAPD of soil moisture are 14.77% and 77.54 mm respectively. As a result, the satellite-derived estimation model of soil moisture is feasible.