Development and analysis of a long-term soil moisture data set in three different agroclimatic zones of South Africa

Simple item page
cg.authorship.typesNot CGIAR developing country instituteen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationAgricultural Research Council, South Africaen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of KwaZulu-Natalen_US
cg.contributor.donorEuropean Unionen_US
cg.coverage.countrySouth Africaen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ZAen_US
cg.coverage.regionAfricaen_US
cg.coverage.regionSub-Saharan Africaen_US
cg.coverage.regionSouthern Africaen_US
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2021/7845en_US
cg.isijournalISI Journalen_US
cg.issn1996-7489en_US
cg.issue5/6en_US
cg.journalSouth African Journal of Scienceen_US
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen_US
cg.subject.ilriAGRICULTUREen_US
cg.subject.ilriAGRI-HEALTHen_US
cg.subject.ilriCLIMATE CHANGEen_US
cg.subject.ilriDATAen_US
cg.subject.ilriSOILSen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 13 - Climate actionen_US
cg.volume117en_US
dc.contributor.authorMyeni, L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMoeletsi, M.E.en_US
dc.contributor.authorClulow, A.D.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-12-20T13:44:35Zen_US
dc.date.available2021-12-20T13:44:35Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/116896en_US
dc.titleDevelopment and analysis of a long-term soil moisture data set in three different agroclimatic zones of South Africaen_US
dcterms.abstractUnderstanding the potential impacts of climate variability/change on soil moisture is essential for the development of informed adaptation strategies. However, long-term in-situ soil moisture measurements are sparse in most countries. The objectives of this study were to develop and analyse the temporal variability of a long-term soil moisture data set in South Africa. In this study, a water balance model was used to reconstruct long-term soil moisture data sets from 1980 through 2018, in three sites that represent the diverse agroclimatic conditions of South Africa. Additionally, long-term changes and variability of soil moisture were examined to investigate the potential impacts of climate variability on soil moisture. The results of the Mann–Kendall test showed a non-significant decreasing trend of soil moisture for inland stations at a rate between -0.001 and -0.02 mm per annum. In contrast, a statistically significant (at 5% level of significance) increasing trend of soil moisture for a coastal station at a rate of 0.1131 mm per annum was observed. The findings suggest that the Bainsvlei and Bronkhorstspruit stations located in the inland region are gradually becoming drier as a result of decreasing rainfall and increasing air temperature. In contrast, the Mandeni station located in the coastal region is becoming wetter as a result of increasing rainfall, despite the increase in air temperature. The findings indicate that climate variability is likely to change the soil moisture content, although the influence will vary with region and climatic conditions. Therefore, understanding the factors that affect soil moisture variability at the local scale is critical for the development of informed and effective adaptation strategies.Significance: Long-term modelled estimates were used to investigate the potential impacts of climate variability on soil moisture in three different agroclimatic conditions of South Africa. Results show that inland regions are gradually becoming drier as a result of decreasing trends of rainfall and increasing air temperatures while coastal regions are becoming wetter as a result of increasing trends of rainfall. This study indicates that climate variability is likely to change soil moisture, although various regions will be affected differently. The development of informed adaptation strategies at the local scale is critical to cope effectively with climate variability.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen_US
dcterms.audienceCGIARen_US
dcterms.audienceDevelopment Practitionersen_US
dcterms.audienceDonorsen_US
dcterms.audienceFarmersen_US
dcterms.audienceNGOsen_US
dcterms.audienceScientistsen_US
dcterms.available2021-05-28en_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationMyeni, L., Moeletsi, M.E. and Clulow, A.D. 2021. Development and analysis of a long-term soil moisture data set in three different agroclimatic zones of South Africa. South African Journal of Science 117(5/6)en_US
dcterms.issued2021-05-28en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0en_US
dcterms.publisherAcademy of Science of South Africaen_US
dcterms.subjectwater balanceen_US
dcterms.subjectmodellingen_US
dcterms.subjectsoilen_US
dcterms.subjectdataen_US
dcterms.subjectsoil water contenten_US
dcterms.typeJournal Articleen_US

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
7845-Main document-59066-68175-10-20210525.pdf
Size:
858.39 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Journal Article
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

InnovAfrica outputs