Establishment of the Israeli Soil Moisture Monitoring Network

Establishment of the Israeli Soil Moisture Monitoring Network

Dotan Perlstein [a, b], Ehud Strobach [a], Daniel Kurzman [a], Ori Adam [b], Marc Perel [c] 

a Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon Letzion, Israel

b Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

c Agrometeorological Division, Israel Ministry of Agriculture

Volumetric water content in unsaturated soil is a complex state variable, highly significant to both agriculture and climate science, but until recently available only in low temporal and spatial resolution. However, recent simplified sensor technologies, advances in digital data logging and telemetry, the emergence of data‑driven analysis methods, together with increasing demand for ground‑truth observations, catalyzed the establishment of soil water monitoring networks worldwide.

Recently, one such network has been established in Israel, through collaboration between the Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Institute and the Agrometeorological Division of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, integrated within the existing infrastructure of above-ground, in-situ meteorological stations. Locations for the soil monitoring stations were selected based on geographic considerations, representing all major soil types and heterogeneous climatic conditions in Israel.

At present, there are 28 operational soil monitoring stations, equipped with TDR‑based soil probes installed at four depths: 10, 30, 70, and 150 cm below ground surface, providing 10‑minute measurements of volumetric soil water content and soil temperature. To minimize disturbance‑induced bias, sensors are installed into undisturbed vertical soil faces exposed by mechanical excavation. Procedures for automated quality control, data validation and user‑interface development are currently underway.

Preliminary results are presented from several stations. For instance, the Mevo Horon station, characterized by a soil profile of mixed carbonate bedrock and rendzina soils, has accumulated more than two years of continuous observations. The data indicate that soil water content at 10 cm depth exhibited more than ten wetting–drying cycles during the 2023–2024 winter season, whereas only a single infiltration event was detectable at 30 and 70 cm depths. At 150 cm depth, soil water content showed no discernible response to the annual hydrological cycle. Diurnal soil temperature signal is clearly observed only at 10 cm depth, with the diurnal thermal wave substantially attenuated even at 30 cm depth, throughout the year.