Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e2024WR037294 |
| Journal | Water resources research |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Feb 2025 |
Abstract
The spatial variation of soil water isotopes (SWI)—representing the baseline for investigating root water uptake (RWU) depths with water stable isotope techniques—has rarely been investigated. Here, we use spatial SWI depth profile sampling in combination with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based land surface temperature estimates and vegetation indices (VI) in order to improving process understanding of the relationships between the spatial variability of soil water content and soil water isotope patterns with canopy status, represented in the form of VI. We carried out a spatial sampling of 10 SWI depth profiles in a tropical dry forest. UAV data were collected and analyzed to obtain detailed characterization of soil temperature and canopy status. We then performed a statistical analysis between the VI and land surface temperatures with soil water content and SWI values at different spatial resolutions (3 cm–5 m). Best relationships were used for generating soil water isoscapes for the entire study area. Results suggest that soil water content and SWI values are strongly mediated by canopy parameters (VI). Various VI correlate strongly with soil water content and SWI values across all depths. SWI at the surface depend on land surface temperature (R2 of 0.66 for δ18O and 0.64 for δ2H). Strongest overall correlations were found at a spatial resolution of 0.5 m. We speculate that this might be the ideal resolution for spatially characterizing SWI patterns and investigate RWU in tropical dry forest environments. Supporting spatial analyses of SWI with UAV-based approaches might be a future avenue for improving the spatial representation and credibility of such studies.
Keywords
- isoscapes, land surface temperature, plant water uptake, thermal infrared, tropical dry forest, unmanned aerial vehicle, vegetation index, water isotopes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Water resources research, Vol. 61, No. 2, e2024WR037294, 14.02.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - UAV-Based Land Surface Temperatures and Vegetation Indices Explain and Predict Spatial Patterns of Soil Water Isotopes in a Tropical Dry Forest
AU - Beyer, Matthias
AU - Iraheta, Alberto
AU - Gerchow, Malkin
AU - Kuehnhammer, Kathrin
AU - Callau-Beyer, Ana Claudia
AU - Koeniger, Paul
AU - Dubbert, David
AU - Dubbert, Maren
AU - Sánchez-Murillo, Ricardo
AU - Birkel, Christian
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025. The Author(s).
PY - 2025/2/14
Y1 - 2025/2/14
N2 - The spatial variation of soil water isotopes (SWI)—representing the baseline for investigating root water uptake (RWU) depths with water stable isotope techniques—has rarely been investigated. Here, we use spatial SWI depth profile sampling in combination with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based land surface temperature estimates and vegetation indices (VI) in order to improving process understanding of the relationships between the spatial variability of soil water content and soil water isotope patterns with canopy status, represented in the form of VI. We carried out a spatial sampling of 10 SWI depth profiles in a tropical dry forest. UAV data were collected and analyzed to obtain detailed characterization of soil temperature and canopy status. We then performed a statistical analysis between the VI and land surface temperatures with soil water content and SWI values at different spatial resolutions (3 cm–5 m). Best relationships were used for generating soil water isoscapes for the entire study area. Results suggest that soil water content and SWI values are strongly mediated by canopy parameters (VI). Various VI correlate strongly with soil water content and SWI values across all depths. SWI at the surface depend on land surface temperature (R2 of 0.66 for δ18O and 0.64 for δ2H). Strongest overall correlations were found at a spatial resolution of 0.5 m. We speculate that this might be the ideal resolution for spatially characterizing SWI patterns and investigate RWU in tropical dry forest environments. Supporting spatial analyses of SWI with UAV-based approaches might be a future avenue for improving the spatial representation and credibility of such studies.
AB - The spatial variation of soil water isotopes (SWI)—representing the baseline for investigating root water uptake (RWU) depths with water stable isotope techniques—has rarely been investigated. Here, we use spatial SWI depth profile sampling in combination with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based land surface temperature estimates and vegetation indices (VI) in order to improving process understanding of the relationships between the spatial variability of soil water content and soil water isotope patterns with canopy status, represented in the form of VI. We carried out a spatial sampling of 10 SWI depth profiles in a tropical dry forest. UAV data were collected and analyzed to obtain detailed characterization of soil temperature and canopy status. We then performed a statistical analysis between the VI and land surface temperatures with soil water content and SWI values at different spatial resolutions (3 cm–5 m). Best relationships were used for generating soil water isoscapes for the entire study area. Results suggest that soil water content and SWI values are strongly mediated by canopy parameters (VI). Various VI correlate strongly with soil water content and SWI values across all depths. SWI at the surface depend on land surface temperature (R2 of 0.66 for δ18O and 0.64 for δ2H). Strongest overall correlations were found at a spatial resolution of 0.5 m. We speculate that this might be the ideal resolution for spatially characterizing SWI patterns and investigate RWU in tropical dry forest environments. Supporting spatial analyses of SWI with UAV-based approaches might be a future avenue for improving the spatial representation and credibility of such studies.
KW - isoscapes
KW - land surface temperature
KW - plant water uptake
KW - thermal infrared
KW - tropical dry forest
KW - unmanned aerial vehicle
KW - vegetation index
KW - water isotopes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85218925706&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2024WR037294
DO - 10.1029/2024WR037294
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85218925706
VL - 61
JO - Water resources research
JF - Water resources research
SN - 0043-1397
IS - 2
M1 - e2024WR037294
ER -