Testing the influence of topography and material properties on catchment-scale soil moisture patterns using remotely sensed vegetation patterns in a humid temperate catchment, northern Britain

Milledge, D.G.; Warburton, J.; Lane, S.N.; Stevens, C.

doi:10.1002/hyp.9292

Testing the influence of topography and material properties on catchment-scale soil moisture patterns using remotely sensed vegetation patterns in a humid temperate catchment, northern Britain

Milledge, D.G.; Warburton, J.; Lane, S.N.; Stevens, C.

Authors

D.G. Milledge

J. Warburton

S.N. Lane

C. Stevens

Abstract

In order to evaluate the relationship between the apparent complexity of hillslope soil moisture and the emergent patterns of catchment hydrological behaviour and water quality, we need fine-resolution catchment-wide data on soil moisture characteristics. This study proposes a methodology whereby vegetation patterns obtained from high-resolution orthorectified aerial photographs are used as an indicator of soil moisture characteristics. This enables us to examine a set of hypotheses regarding what drives the spatial patterns of soil moisture at the catchment scale (material properties or topography). We find that the pattern of Juncus effusus vegetation is controlled largely by topography and mediated by the catchment's material properties. Characterizing topography using the topographic index adds value to the soil moisture predictions relative to slope or upslope contributing area (UCA). However, these predictions depart from the observed soil moisture patterns at very steep slopes or low UCAs.

Citation

Milledge, D., Warburton, J., Lane, S., & Stevens, C. (2013). Testing the influence of topography and material properties on catchment-scale soil moisture patterns using remotely sensed vegetation patterns in a humid temperate catchment, northern Britain. Hydrological Processes, 27(8), 1223-1237. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9292

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Apr 15, 2013
Deposit Date	Mar 8, 2012
Publicly Available Date	Nov 18, 2014
Journal	Hydrological Processes
Print ISSN	0885-6087
Electronic ISSN	1099-1085
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	27
Issue	8
Pages	1223-1237
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9292
Keywords	Soil moisture, Vegetation, Remote sensing, Catchment scale, Depth to water table.

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Graham Milledge, D., Warburton, J., N. Lane, S. and J. Stevens, C. (2013), Testing the influence of topography and material properties on catchment-scale soil moisture patterns using remotely sensed vegetation patterns in a humid temperate catchment, northern Britain. Hydrological Processes, 27 (8): 1223-1237, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9292. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.