Agriculture and Agri Food Canada’s · 2019. 8. 21. · Real‐Time In‐Situ Soil Monitoring for...

AgricultureandAgri‐FoodCanada’s

Real‐TimeIn‐SituSoil

MonitoringforAgriculture

(RISMA)NetworkMetadata

SecondEdition

Edited by Amanda Ward

April 2019

Science and Technology Branch Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada

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Real‐TimeIn‐SituSoilMonitoringfor

Agriculture(RISMA)NetworkMetadata

SecondEdition

Edited by Amanda Ward Anna Pacheco1, Jessika L’Heureux2, Heather McNairn1, Jarrett Powers3, Allan Howard4, Xiaoyuan Geng1, Patrick Rollin5, Kurt Gottfried3, Jacqueline Freeman6, Rotimi Ojo7, Catherine Champagne5, Evan Rodgers3, Craig Smith8, John Fitzmaurice3, Amine Merzouki1, Tom Hansen3, Branden Wyryha3, Mike Chubey9, Erle Einarsson9, Ben Bondaruk 1, Dell Bayne10, Robert Tillie2, Aston Chipanshi11, Mike Hammer12, Ian Douhaniuk12, Kirk Brossart12, Erica Tetlock13, and Amanda Ward1

1 Agrienvironment Division, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Ottawa, ON 2 AgroClimate, Geomatics, and Earth Observations Division, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Calgary, AB 3 Science and Technology Branch, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB 4 AgroClimate, Geomatics, and Earth Observations Division, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Regina, SK 5 AgroClimate, Geomatics, and Earth Observations Division, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Ottawa, ON 6 Science and Technology Branch, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB 7 Faculity Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB 8 National Hydrology Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, SK 9 Environmental Health Division, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB 10 Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK 11 AgroClimate, Geomatics, and Earth Observations Division, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Regina, AB 12 Science and Technology Branch, Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Regina, SK 13 Prediction Services Operations East, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, SK

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TableofContents

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... iii

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................. v

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................. vii

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1

Data Usage .....................................................................................................................................................1

Data Quality ....................................................................................................................................................2

Contact Information .......................................................................................................................................3

Manitoba Real‐time In‐situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) Network Metadata ................................ 5

Overview ........................................................................................................................................................5

Station Location .............................................................................................................................................6

Instrumentation .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Installation Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 10

General Setup ................................................................................................................................... 10

Soil Moisture Probe Installation ....................................................................................................... 11

Regular Maintenance ........................................................................................................................ 13

Soil Texture .................................................................................................................................................. 13

Soil Moisture Calibration Equations ............................................................................................................ 15

Data ............................................................................................................................................................. 17

15 Minute Data ................................................................................................................................. 17

Daily Data .......................................................................................................................................... 18

Data Flags .................................................................................................................................................... 19

Probe Status ...................................................................................................................................... 22

References ................................................................................................................................................... 23

Saskatchewan Real‐time In‐situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) Network Metadata ....................... 25

Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 25

Station Location .......................................................................................................................................... 25



General Setup ................................................................................................................................... 27



Soil Texture .................................................................................................................................................. 29


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Data ............................................................................................................................................................. 31

15 Minute Data ................................................................................................................................. 32

Daily Data .......................................................................................................................................... 33

Data Flags .................................................................................................................................................... 33

Probe Status ...................................................................................................................................... 36

References ................................................................................................................................................... 37

Ontario Real‐time In‐situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) Network Metadata ................................. 39

Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 39

Station Location .......................................................................................................................................... 39



General Setup ................................................................................................................................... 41



CEF Station ........................................................................................................................................ 45

Soil Texture .................................................................................................................................................. 45

CEF Station ........................................................................................................................................ 46


CEF Station ........................................................................................................................................ 47

Data ............................................................................................................................................................. 47

15 Minute Data ................................................................................................................................. 48

Daily Data .......................................................................................................................................... 49

Data Flags .................................................................................................................................................... 49

Probe Status ...................................................................................................................................... 53

References ................................................................................................................................................... 53

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ListofFigures

Figure 1: Map of the RISMA stations in the Carman area, Manitoba. Easting and Northing are in UTM Zone 14N. ..........................................................................................................................................................................7

Figure 2: RISMA station locations in the Sturgeon Creek Watershed, Manitoba. Easting and Northing are UTM Zone 14 WGS84. .......................................................................................................................................................8

Figure 3: RISMA station locations at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Center, Carberry, Manitoba. ..................9

Figure 4: a) Photograph of MB5 showing the setup of the Manitoba stations. b) Location of the soil moisture probes relative to the station. This station, MB5, has one of the longest distances from the probes to the station. ................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Figure 5: Schematic, cross‐sectional illustration of the Manitoba RISMA station layout; not to scale. ............... 11

Figure 6: Schematic illustration of the instillation of the Steven’s HydraProbe sensors in the soil pit wall at the Manitoba RISMA stations. ..................................................................................................................................... 12

Figure 7: Photographs illustrating the installation of the HydraProbe sensors into the pit wall. a) extracting a soil cord; b): scraping the soil core cavity clean; and c) a probe installed in the soil core cavity. ........................ 13

Figure 8: Map of Saskatchewan RISMA stations. .................................................................................................. 26

Figure 9: Photograph of SK3 showing the setup of the Saskatchewan stations. .................................................. 27

Figure 10: An illustration of the Saskatchewan RISMA station layout as seen from above. ................................. 28

Figure 11: A schematic illustration of the Steven’s HydraProbe sensors instillation; not to scale. ...................... 28

Figure 12: Photographs illustrating the installation of the HydraProbe sensors into the pit wall. a) extracting a soil cord; b): scraping the soil core cavity clean; and c) installing the soil moisture probe in the soil core cavity. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 29

Figure 13: Map of the Ontario RISMA stations located in the Casselman (Ontario) area. .................................. 40

Figure 14: An example of the Ontario station set up prior to June 2018 at station ON4. .................................... 41

Figure 15: An example of the Ontario RISMA set up after June 2018 of station ON4. ......................................... 42

Figure 16: Cross section view of the Ontario RISMA station set‐up; not to scale. ................................................ 43

Figure 17: Photos showing soil cores taken as the soil pit was being excavated. a) small soil core being taken; and b) a large soil core being taken. ...................................................................................................................... 44

Figure 18: Photos illustrating the installation of the HydraProbe sensors into the pit wall at one of the Ontario RISMA stations. a) making a hole for the soil moisture sensor; b) the smoothed walls of the soil core cavity; c) PVC pipe on a soil moisture probe; and d) inserting a soil moisture probe. ......................................................... 44

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ListofTables

Table 1: RISMA station locations in Manitoba. Easting and Northing are in NAD 83 CSRS UTM Zone 14N. ..........6

Table 2: Soil textures for Manitoba RISMA Stations. ............................................................................................. 14

Table 3: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Manitoba RISMA stations used for version 1 and 2 of

data. The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m3/m3 and are based on regional field calibration developed by Ojo (2015). RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant. ............. 16

Table 4: List of sensors for the Manitoba stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. ............................................................ 22

Table 5: List of sensors for the Manitoba stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of August 2018. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. ................................................................... 22

Table 6: Saskatchewan RISMA Station Locations. Note that Easting and Northing are provided in UTM Z13 WGS84. .................................................................................................................................................................. 25

Table 7: Soil textures for Saskatchewan RISMA Stations. Note that depth 0‐5 cm indicates the surface (vertically) installed surface sensors. ..................................................................................................................... 30

Table 8: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Saskatchewan RISMA stations. The soil moisture

calibration equations output soil moisture as m3/m3. RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant. ............................................................................................................................................................... 31

Table 9: List of sensors for the Saskatchewan stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. ................................................................................................................................ 36

Table 10: List of sensors for the Saskatchewan stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of October 2018. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. Note the surface (0‐5 cm) probes will be annually reinserted starting in 2019. .. 36

Table 11: Ontario RISMA Station Locations. Note that Easting and Northing are provided in UTM Z18 WGS84. 39

Table 12: Soil textures for Ontario RISMA Stations based on the soil core extracted during installation. Note that depth 0‐5 cm indicates the vertically installed surface sensors. ................................................................... 45

Table 13: Soil textures for CEF RISMA Station based on soil texture analysis from the pre‐existing experiment on the same site. ........................................................................................................................................................ 46

Table 14: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Ontario RISMA stations. The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m3/m3. RDCTempCorr is the temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant,

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RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant and STC is soil temperature in degrees Celsius. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 46

Table 15: List of sensors for the Ontario stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. ......................................................................................................................................................... 53

Table 16: List of sensors for the Ontario stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of July 2018. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. ......................................................................................................................................................... 53

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Introduction

A soil moisture monitoring network was established in 2010 and 2011 as a collaboration between Agriculture

and Agri‐Food Canada (AAFC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). There are fifteen stations

in Manitoba near the towns of Carman‐Elm Creek, in the Sturgeon Creek watershead, and the town of Carberry

which were established between 2011 and 2015. In Saskatchewan there are four stations near the town of

Kenaston while there are six stations in Ontario. Five of the Ontario stations are near the town of Casselman,

while one station is located in the city of Ottawa. Additional information on the stations and their setup is

located in the following sections of this document.

The stations were setup as part of the Sustainable Agriculture Environmental Systems (SAGES) project titled

Earth Observation Information on Crops and Soils for Agri‐Environmental Monitoring in Canada. The stations

themselves are called the RISMA network: Real‐Time In‐Situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture Network. The data

obtained from the stations is used to calibrate and validate remote sensing and modelled soil moisture

products. The data from the stations is available to the public through a web portal located at

agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐en.html.

DataUsage

The data from the stations is available for use under the Open Government Licence – Canada. A copy of the

terms are below and were retrieved from the Open Government website (open.canada.ca/en/open‐

government‐licence‐canada) on 11 March 2019.

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Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. The terms of this licence are important, and if you fail to comply with any of them, the rights granted to you under this licence, or any similar licence granted by the Information Provider, will end automatically.

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DataQuality

The data undergoes a quality control process where suspect data is flagged. Detailed description of the quality

control process is located in the Data Flag sections. However, it is strongly suggested users preform additional

quality control on the data before use.

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ContactInformation

If there are any questions regarding the RISMA project or to request RISMA data prior to 2013, please contact:

Jarrett Powers Manager of Science Program Support e‐mail: [email protected] phone: 204‐259‐4010

If there are questions regarding the RISMA project in Ontario, please contact: Amanda Ward, MSc. Remote Sensing Technician e‐mail: [email protected] phone: 613‐694‐2513

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ManitobaReal‐timeIn‐situSoilMonitoringforAgriculture(RISMA)NetworkMetadata

Overview

The monitoring stations in the Manitoba network were established in three phases. Nine stations were

installed near the towns of Carman and Elm Creek, located southwest of the city of Winnipeg, in 2011. Three

other stations were installed in the Sturgeon Creek watershed in 2013, located immediately northwest of

Winnipeg (Table 1, Figure 1 and Figure 2). In 2015, three additional stations were installed at the Canada‐

Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre (CMCDC) off‐site field, northwest of the town of Carberry within the

Assiniboine River basin (Figure 3).

The stations in Carman‐Elm Creek area are situated in the La Salle and Boyne River watersheds. These

watersheds are part of the larger Red River basin. The area is characterized by a distinct soil texture divide

between heavy clays and clay loams to the east, and lighter sandy and sandy loam soils to the west.

Topography is generally flat; influenced by lacustrine deposition.

Two of the Sturgeon Creek watershed locations are located near the town of Warren while the third station is

located immediately outside Winnipeg near the town of Rosser. The Sturgeon Creek watershed is part of the

larger Assiniboine River basin. Topography is mainly flat, consisting of imperfect to poorly drained lacustrine

clay and clay loam textured soils. Glacial till loamy soils occur in the more northern area of the watershed

where ridges and swales are the more common landform. These areas are part of Canada’s Prairie/Boreal Plain

Ecozone and were chosen to capture the diverse soil moisture conditions in the Manitoba portion of the Red

River and lower Assiniboine River basins.

The three stations installed northwest of the town of Carberry fall within the Assiniboine River basin. Soils at

this site are primarily sandy textured deltaic deposits on slightly undulating landscapes. The Assiniboine Delta

aquifer provides a source of irrigation water for potato crops that are grown extensively in this area along with

cereals, canola, corn and soybeans. The stations were installed to support irrigation studies at CMCDC.

The stations are located at the edge of annually cropped agricultural fields with the soil moisture sensors

installed within the field, about 6 to 30 m away from the edge. The fields are seeded in May and harvested in

August through to September, leaving the fields fallow for the remainder of the year; often snow covered

between December and April. Annual crops which are typically grown in this area include cereals, canola, corn,

soybeans and edible beans. The Manitoba stations record precipitation with a tipping bucket rain gauge as

well as real dielectric constant, soil moisture and soil temperature using HydraProbe sensors at surface (0‐5

cm), 5 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm and 100 cm depths. Three HydraProbe sensors, or replicas, are installed at each

depth. This replication provides a measurement of spatial variability in soil moisture, and redundancy in the

event of sensor malfunction. To complement the existing soils data, the stations in the Manitoba network are

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also equipped with meteorological sensors such as air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind

direction.

StationLocation

The stations are located in three main areas: near the towns of Carman and Elm Creek (Figure 1), northwest of

Winnipeg (Figure 2) and northwest of Carberry (Figure 3). The location description of individual stations can be

found in Table 1.

Table 1: RISMA station locations in Manitoba. Easting and Northing are in NAD 83 CSRS UTM Zone 14N.

Station ID Legal Land Description* Easting Northing Latitude Longitude

MB1 SW 13‐07‐05 W1 570924 5490434 49.56234 ‐98.01924 MB2 SW 22‐06‐04 W1 577265 5482737 49.49250 ‐97.93374

MB3 SW 33‐06‐04 W1 575556 5485725 49.51951 ‐97.95649

MB4 SE 07‐08‐04 W1 573041 5498688 49.63609 ‐97.98813

MB5 SW 04‐08‐04 W1 575222 5497102 49.62145 ‐97.95781

MB6 NW 21‐08‐04 W1 575084 5503458 49.67877 ‐97.95957

MB7 SE 24‐08‐05 W1 571640 5501962 49.66552 ‐98.00762

MB8 NW 17‐09‐04 W1 573335 5511606 49.75253 ‐97.98237

MB9 NW 25‐08‐05 W1 570393 5505108 49.69462 ‐98.02397

MB10 NE 35‐11‐01 E1 618431 5537198 49.97536 ‐97.34829

MB11 SW 20‐13‐01 W1 602004 5551981 50.11131 ‐97.57337

MB12 NE 13‐14‐2 W1 600078 5560695 50.18998 ‐97.59801

MB13 SE‐24‐11‐15W1 472221 5531210 49.93262 ‐99.38707

MB14 SE‐24‐11‐15W1 472064 5531265 49.93310 ‐99.38926

MB15 SE‐24‐11‐15W1 471858 5531268 49.93312 ‐99.39213

*QTR‐SEC‐TWP‐RGE

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Figure 1: Map of the RISMA stations in the Carman area, Manitoba. Easting and Northing are in UTM Zone 14N.

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Figure 2: RISMA station locations in the Sturgeon Creek Watershed, Manitoba. Easting and Northing are UTM Zone 14 WGS84.

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Figure 3: RISMA station locations at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Center, Carberry, Manitoba. Easting and Northing are in UTM Zone 14 WGS84.

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Instrumentation

The following instruments comprised each station from 2011 to 2013:

Data transmission: ADCON Radio transmitter Units (RTU) on Rogers cellular (GSM/GPRS) network linked to a central gateway

Power source: 50W solar panels and two 12 V / 100 AH batteries

Soil moisture sensor: Steven’s HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)

Rain gauge: Hydrological Services TB4 tipping bucket rain gauge

The stations underwent an upgrade in 2013 and the following instruments are in use:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific datalogger CR1000‐XT, installed April‐June 2013

Modem: Rogers 4G or LTE Network (HSPA)

Power source: 50‐100 W solar panels and two 100 AH batteries


Wind speed/ direction: RM Young wind monitor

Rain gauge: Hydrological Services TB4 tipping bucket rain gauge

Air temperature and relative humidity: Campbell Scientific temperature and relative humidity probe (HC2‐S3 or HC‐S3) installed inside a RM Young radiation shield

InstallationProcedure

The Carman‐Elm Creek stations were installed in the fall of 2011 and the Sturgeon Creek Stations were installed

in the fall of 2013. Detailed descriptions of the Carman‐Elm Creek installation procedure, site selection process

and the soil profiles are provided by Walker (2012). Information for the Sturgeon Creek and Carberry stations

is provided by Eilers (2013) and Eilers (2015), respectively.

GeneralSetup

The meteorological sensors, datalogger, solar panel and battery were installed at the edge of the field (Figure

4). The datalogger and the batteries are located inside the small plywood shelter. The tipping rain bucket is

located 2.5 m in the air to avoid interference from the crop with the wind speed/direction sensor installed at a

height of 3 m. The air temperature and relative humidity sensor is located inside a radiation shield to reflect

solar radiation away. Additionally, the radiation shield is located at a height of 1.5 m on the north side of the

shelter, where ever possible. The soil moisture sensors wires run to the shelter and into the datalogger (Figure

4).

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Figure 4: a) Photograph of MB5 showing the setup of the Manitoba stations. b) Location of the soil moisture probes relative to the station. This station, MB5, has one of the longest distances from the probes to the station.

SoilMoistureProbeInstallation

The soil moisture sensors were installed in a soil pit, located in the field, approximately 6 to 30 m away from

the station depending on the farming practices of the landowner (Figure 5). A trench between the soil pit and

the station was also dug to protect cables connecting the soil moisture sensors to the datalogger. Care was

taken to leave an “undisturbed” pit wall where the sensors were installed. The soil that was removed from the

pit was placed on a tarp so that it could be used to backfill the pit with minimal mixing of the soil layers.

Figure 5: Schematic, cross‐sectional illustration of the Manitoba RISMA station layout; not to scale.

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The sensor locations were selected and flagged. Three sensors, or replicas, were installed at each depth: 0‐5

cm (vertical), 5 cm (horizontal), 20 cm (horizontal), 50 cm (horizontal) and 100 cm (horizontal). The three

replicas were installed to form three columns of sensors according to Figure 6. Within the columns, the

sensors are located offset (20 to 30 cm apart) from each other to avoid disturbing the flow to the sensors

below.

Figure 6: Schematic illustration of the instillation of the Steven’s HydraProbe sensors in the soil pit wall at the Manitoba RISMA stations.

To install the soil moisture sensors, a soil coring device (1.5 inch diameter × 6 inch long [3.81 × 15.25 cm]) was

used to extract an undisturbed soil sample from the pit wall at each flagged sensor location (Figure 7). The soil

coring device was hammered into the back wall of the soil pit horizontally and the soil was retained for

analysis. Then a long narrow piece of wood was used to scrape the hole clean as the soil moisture probes need

to be installed flush with the soil surface. Following, the sensors were inserted into the cavity using a piece of

PVC tube for leverage (Figure 7). After installing the sensors, the soil core cavity was backfilled with soil and a

mix of soil and bentonite to prevent preferential flow towards the sensor. Once all the sensors were installed,

the soil pit and the trench were carefully backfilled.

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Figure 7: Photographs illustrating the installation of the HydraProbe sensors into the pit wall. a) extracting a soil cord; b): scraping the soil core cavity clean; and c) a probe installed in the soil core cavity.

The soil removed during the coring process was used to do site specific lab calibration (dry down of undisturbed

sample) and a soil texture analysis for each sensor depth.

RegularMaintenance

Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada carefully seeds and cuts the crop surrounding the sensors to avoid damage to

the soil moisture equipment and to better emulate field conditions. Due to poor performance of the sensors at

site MB5, a complete re‐installation of the sensors was completed on October 15, 2014 by AAFC employees

and has been thoroughly documented (Powers, 2014). Subsequent re‐installations have occurred at MB2

(September 16, 2015) and MB4 (September 8, 2016).

Due to heaving during the freeze‐thaw process in the spring and winter, the buildup of organic matter at the

soil surface, cracks forming in the soil during dry periods, and animals pulling the probes out of the ground, the

surface (0‐5 cm) and 5 cm probes are often reinserted into the ground. This often occurs throughout the spring

and fall, and occasionally throughout the season.

SoilTexture

A hydrometer method was used to determine soil textural composition from samples that were taken during

installation.

a b c

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Table 2: Soil textures for Manitoba RISMA Stations.

Station Depth (cm)

Density

(g/cm3)

Sand (%)

Silt (%)

Clay (%)

Classification

MB1 5 1.28 78.8 10.1 11.1 Sandy Loam

MB1 20 1.56 80.2 8.3 11.5 Sandy Loam

MB1 50 1.5 81.5 8.2 10.3 Loamy Sand

MB1 100 1.57 81.0 6.8 12.2 Sandy Loam

MB2 5 1.35 44.9 20.8 34.3 Clay Loam

MB2 20 1.63 62.6 12.9 24.5 Sandy Clay Loam


MB2 100 1.57 75.3 15.0 9.7 Sandy Loam



MB3 50 1.44 31.3 23.7 45.0 Clay

MB3 100 1.41 69.9 17.7 12.4 Sandy Loam

MB4 5 1.33 90.4 0.2 9.4 Sand

MB4 20 1.50 88.7 1.6 9.7 Loamy Sand

MB4 50 1.60 88.7 1.6 9.7 Loamy Sand

MB4 100 1.58 85.6 5.0 9.4 Loamy Sand

MB5 5 1.46 41.4 18.1 40.5 Clay

MB5 20 1.41 22.7 19.5 57.8 Clay

MB5 50 1.33 4.3 27.2 68.5 Heavy Clay

MB5 100 1.32 3.0 27.7 69.3 Heavy Clay

MB6 5 1.21 3.7 24.6 71.7 Heavy Clay

MB6 20 1.39 3.8 21.3 74.9 Heavy Clay

MB6 50 1.31 2.0 25.9 72.1 Heavy Clay

MB6 100 1.31 0.5 27.3 72.2 Heavy Clay

MB7 5 1.40 78.3 9.2 12.5 Sandy Loam

MB7 20 1.59 82.3 5.8 11.9 Loamy Sand

MB7 50 1.57 78.1 8.6 13.3 Sandy Loam

MB7 100 1.58 80.3 8.0 11.7 Sandy Loam

MB8 5 1.22 3.6 33.2 63.2 Heavy Clay

MB8 20 1.38 3.5 22.6 73.9 Heavy Clay

MB8 50 1.38 3.9 23.3 72.8 Heavy Clay

MB8 100 1.50 1.5 27.6 70.9 Heavy Clay

MB9 5 1.53 81.3 6.0 12.7 Sandy Loam

MB9 20 1.60 85.5 3.2 11.3 Loamy Sand

MB9 50 1.53 83.4 5.1 11.5 Loamy Sand

MB9 100 1.58 87.5 6.7 5.8 Loamy Sand

MB10 5 1.05 4.55 24.0 71.6 Heavy Clay

MB10 20 1.27 2.4 13.5 84.1 Heavy Clay

MB10 50 1.24 6.7 22.9 70.4 Heavy Clay

MB10 100 1.30 13.6 44.6 41.8 Silty Clay

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MB11 5 1.3 23.8 39.5 36.8 Clay Loam

MB11 20 1.59 25.4 38.8 35.8 Clay Loam

MB11 50 1.64 24.0 46.6 29.3 Clay Loam

MB11 100 1.74 64.9 29.4 5.8 Sandy Loam

MB12 5 1.33 42.1 41.7 16.2 Loam

MB12 20 1.57 36.5 38.7 24.8 Loam

MB12 50 1.65 27.9 45.0 27.1 Loam

MB12 100 1.55 24.9 46.2 28.9 Clay Loam

MB13 5 1.3 81.0 12.0 7.0 Loamy Sand

MB13 20 1.6 81.0 11.0 8.0 Loamy Sand

MB13 50 1.52 73.0 15.0 12.0 Sandy Loam

MB13 100 1.32 19.0 39.0 42.0 Clay

MB14 5 1.4 89.0 7.0 4.0 Sand

MB14 20 1.4 73.0 17.0 10.0 Sandy Loam

MB14 50 1.4 49.0 31.0 20.0 Loam

MB14 100 1.4 23.0 43.0 34.0 Clay Loam

MB15 5 1.52 83.0 11.0 6.0 Loamy Sand

MB15 20 1.5 75.0 15.0 10.0 Sandy Loam

MB15 50 1.5 89.0 9.0 8.0 Loamy Sand

MB15 100 1.42 97.0 3.0 0.0 Sand

Station Depth (cm)

Density

(g/cm3)

Sand (%)

Silt (%)

Clay (%)

Classification

SoilMoistureCalibrationEquations

The soil moisture calibration equations are based on a regional in‐situ calibration developed by Ojo (2015). The

regional calibration equations were applied to the regionally consistent sandy and loam soils, while the site

specific lab equations were applied to the more variable clay soils.

‐ Page 16 ‐

Table 3: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Manitoba RISMA stations used for version 1

and 2 of data. The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m3/m3 and are based on regional field calibration developed by Ojo (2015). RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant.

Station Depth (cm)

Equation (x=√RDC)

Station Depth (cm)

Equation (x=√RDC)

MB1 0‐5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB9 0‐5 0.0869x – 0.1159 MB1 5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB9 5 0.0869x – 0.1159 MB1 20 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB9 20 0.1034x – 0.1603 MB1 50 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB9 50 0.1087x – 0.1548 MB1 100 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB9 100 0.1087x – 0.1548 MB2 0‐5 0.0748x – 0.0299 MB10 0‐5 0.0672x + 0.0807 MB2 5 0.0748x – 0.0299 MB10 5 0.0672x + 0.0807 MB2 20 0.0748x – 0.0299 MB10 20 0.0662x + 0.0865 MB2 50 0.084x – 0.0773 MB10 50 0.0662x + 0.0865 MB2 100 0.07642x – 0.05692 MB10 100 0.0662x + 0.0865 MB3 0‐5 0.0786x – 0.0766 MB11 0‐5 0.059x + 0.0866 MB3 5 0.0786x – 0.0766 MB11 5 0.059x + 0.0866 MB3 20 0.0753x – 0.0551 MB11 20 0.059x + 0.0866 MB3 50 0.0776x – 0.066 MB11 50 0.059x + 0.0866 MB3 100 0.07642x – 0.05692 MB11 100 0.1084x – 0.1633 MB4 0‐5 0.1169x – 0.1831 MB12 0‐5 0.0653x + 0.0521 MB4 5 0.1169x – 0.1831 MB12 5 0.0653x + 0.0521 MB4 20 0.1169x – 0.1831 MB12 20 0.0577x + 0.0968 MB4 50 0.1169x – 0.1831 MB12 50 0.0584x + 0.0864 MB4 100 0.1169x – 0.1831 MB12 100 0.0616x + 0.0730 MB5 0‐5 0.0759x – 0.0649 MB13 0‐5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB5 5 0.0759x – 0.0649 MB13 5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB5 20 0.0672x – 0.0294 MB13 20 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB5 50 0.0672x – 0.0294 MB13 50 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB5 100 0.0672x – 0.0294 MB13 100 0.0776x – 0.066 MB6 0‐5 0.0804x – 0.0605 MB14 0‐5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB6 5 0.0804x – 0.0605 MB14 5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB6 20 0.0734x – 0.0111 MB14 20 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB6 50 0.0734x – 0.0111 MB14 50 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB6 100 0.0734x – 0.0111 MB14 100 0.0616x + 0.0730 MB7 0‐5 0.0978x – 0.12 MB15 0‐5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB7 5 0.0978x – 0.12 MB15 5 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB7 20 0.0978x – 0.12 MB15 20 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB7 50 0.0978x – 0.12 MB15 50 0.1059x – 0.1582 MB7 100 0.0978x – 0.12 MB15 100 0.1059x – 0.1582

MB8 0‐5 0.0592x + 0.0635 MB8 5 0.0592x + 0.0635 MB8 20 0.059x + 0.067 MB8 50 0.059x + 0.067 MB8 100 0.059x + 0.067

‐ Page 17 ‐

Data

Sensor data is logged every 15 minutes and the data is updated on the AAFC internal server, SOS cloud server

and the web portal once per hour.

The data format changed in 2013 with the installation of the additional sensors and new dataloggers. Data

recorded prior to 2013 can be requested directly from Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada. Data recorded after

June 2013 is provided at the following data portal: agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐en.html.

Current conditions, 15‐minute data series and daily data summaries can be visualized and downloaded through

the portal.

The headers for the soil moisture sensors are constructed according to:

Depth of measurement in cm, replica or column number, parameter

#1 sensors were installed in column #1

#2 sensors were installed in column #2, which is the middle column (always located between column 1 and 3)


15MinuteData

The following are examples of 15‐minute data headers for station MB1:

MB1 Reading Time (CST): Date and time of the data recordings in Local Standard Time, 24 hour clock

MB1 Ambient Air RHAvg (%): Average relative humidity measured in the past 15 minutes at a 1.5 m height, in percent

MB1 Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average air temperature measured in the past 15 minutes at a 1.5 m height, in °C

MB1 Precipitation (mm): Total amount of rain in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2.5 m height, in mm

MB1 Wind WindDir: Average wind direction in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in cardinal direction

MB1 Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in km/h

MB1 Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in km/h

MB1 Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in km/h

MB1 0‐5 cm Depth Sensor 1 Temp (°C): Soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) measured at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in °C

‐ Page 18 ‐

MB1 0‐5 cm Depth Sensor 1 WFV (%): Calibrated soil moisture as calculated based on the recorded RDC at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in m3/m3.

The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided

above. The soil moisture measured by a 20 cm sensor in column #3, would have the following header:

MB1 20 cm Depth Sensor 3 WFV (%).

Note, the station ID in the header may be provided as MB_1 or MB1 depending on where the data is

downloaded. The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the

MB1_0to5cm_1 example provided above. The soil moisture measured by a horizontal 5 cm sensor in column

#2, would have the following header:

MB_1_Hydra_5cm_WFV_2.

The data files for all stations are structured exactly the same and the headers are the same with the exception

of Station ID.

DailyData

The daily data values provided at the data portal (agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐en.html)

are calculated at midnight Local Standard Time (CST for MB stations) and cover the previous 24 hour period.

The following is an example of the daily data headers for MB stations:

Reading Time: Date, as year‐month‐day

Ambient Air RHAvg (%): Average daily relative humidity measured at a 1.5 m height, in percent

Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C

Ambient Air TempMax (°C): Maximum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C

Ambient Air TempMin (°C): Minimum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C

Precipitation Total (mm): Total daily rain amount measured at a 2.5 m height, in mm

Wind WindDir: Average daily wind direction measured at 3 m height, in cardinal direction

Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average daily wind speed measured at a 3 m height, in km/h

Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum daily wind speed measured at a 3 m height, in km/h

Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum daily wind speed measured at a 3 m height, in km/h

0‐5 cm Depth Average (°C): Average daily soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in °C

0‐5 cm Depth Average WFV (%): Average daily calibrated soil moisture at 0‐5cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in %

‐ Page 19 ‐


above. The daily average soil moisture measured at 20‐cm depth would have the following header:

20 cm Depth Average WFV (%).

DataFlags

The HydraProbe data has gone through a basic, automated quality control (QC) procedure where data not

meeting the quality standards has either been removed or flagged.

Missing data and data removed by QC process is reported as “NoData” in the data columns and as NA in the flag

columns.

The data flags have been modified over time and are considered cumulative after V2.20140214.

V1.20130617: Applied June 27, 2013.

These data flags apply to data downloaded between June 17, 2013, and the application of the next data

version.

Original QC Flags “Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5” The flags will be listed as OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each flag:

Flag 1 Output: “OK” / “Out of WFV range” / “NA” Flag 2 Output: “OK” / “Frozen soil” / “NA” Flag 3 Output: “OK” / “Out of average range” / “NA” Flag 4 Output: “OK” / “Readings below zero” / “NA” Flag 5 Output: “OK” / “DLT > 2” / “NA”

Flag 1 “Out of WFV range”: activated if Soil Moisture (m3/m3) is less than 0 or greater than 0.60

Flag 2 “Frozen soil”: activated if the soil temperature is below zero °C and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used

Flag 3 “Out of WFV average range”: activated if Soil Moisture value (m3/m3) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)

Flag 4 “Readings below zero”: activated if Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) or Temperature Corrected Soil Conductivity (CON) is negative

Flag 5 “DLT > 2”: activated if the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is greater than 2

‐ Page 20 ‐

V2.20140214: Applied February 14, 2014.

Updates: The automated QC protocol has been adjusted and the soil moisture flags have been modified.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between November 28, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

Meteorological data: The known bad data between June 2013 and November 2013 has been removed. Also new to this version is that the precipitation data will be removed and reported as “NoData” when the air temperature is below freezing point.

Soil Moisture QC Flags: “Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6” The flags will be listed as OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each flag:

Flag 1 Output: “OK” / “Out of WFV range” / “NA” Flag 2 Output: “OK” / “Out of WFV average range” / “NA” Flag 3 Output: “OK” / “Frozen soil” / warning: “STC averaged using depth 1 & 2” / “NA” Flag 4 Output: “OK” / “Out of RDC range” / “NA” Flag 5 Output: “OK” / “DLT >= 1.5” / “NA” Flag 6 Output: “OK” / “CON >= 0.2” / “NA”

Flag 1 “Out of WFV range”: activated if the Soil Moisture (m3/m3) is less than 0.02 or greater than 0.60

Flag 2 “Out of WFV average range”: activated if Soil Moisture value (m3/m3) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)

Flag 3 “Frozen soil”: activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used

Flag 3 “STC averaged using depth 1 & 2”: activated when HydraProbe sensor #3 does not measure soil temperature. The average soil temperature from sensor #1 and 2 is used instead. Occurs at some ON stations.

Flag 4 “Out of RDC range”: activated when Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is less than 2.4

Flag 5 “DLT >= 1.5”: activated when the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5

Flag 6 “CON >= 0.2”: activated when temperature corrected soil conductivity (CON) is equal to or larger than 0.2 S/m

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC), conductivity (Con) or dielectric loss tangent is negative as it indicates a malfunctioning sensor.

‐ Page 21 ‐

V3.20141128: Applied November 28, 2014.

Updates: New calibration equations have been implemented for the Sturgeon Creek stations (MB10, 11

and 12) and these stations have been added to the QC automated protocol. The soil moisture flags

remain similar to V2.20140214.

Timestamps have been adjusted and will now include both date and time recorded in two time formats:

Local Standard Time and Coordinated Universal Time.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between November 28, 2014,

and the application date of the next data version.

New calibration equations have been implemented on the data and all Manitoba RISMA data have been

re‐processed using these equations. The new equations were derived from a site‐specific calibration

methodology developed by Ojo (2015). The data flags have not been modified since the last version and

are applied on the data as per previous versions.

Meteorological data: Please note that precipitation data will be removed and reported as “NoData” when

the air temperature is below freezing point.

V4.20170104: Applied January 4, 2017.

Updates: New calibration equations have been implemented for the Carberry stations (MB13, 14 and

15) and these stations have been added to the QC automated protocol. The soil moisture flags remain

similar to V2.20140214.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between January 4, 2017, and

the application date of the next data version.

Non‐responsive HydraProbe sensors: HydraProbe sensors that have been non‐responsive at 20‐cm

depths and below will not be replaced with new sensors and thus are now being reported as

“NoSensor”. Table 4 identifies the sensors that are currently active from those who have been deemed

non‐responsive as of December 2014.

V5.20170918: Applied September 19, 2017

Updates: Currently, Flag 1 is activated if the soil moisture value is less than 0.02 m3/m3 or greater than

0.60 m3/m3. If values fall outside of this range, then the data is flagged. This flag will remain in place

but the soil moisture (WFV) value will be changed to “No Data” if the value is less than 0.02 m3/m3.

This will avoid negative values in the dataset.

This update applies to all RISMA data downloaded after September 19, 2017.

‐ Page 22 ‐

ProbeStatus

Occasionally the HydroProbe sensors stop working. While the surface (0‐5 cm) and 5 cm probes are replace,

the 20 cm and deeper probes are not replaced. Replacement of the deep probes may result a significant shift

in soil moisture due to the recent soil disturbance. Table 4 and Table 5 identifies the sensors that are currently

active from those who have been deemed non‐responsive in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

Table 4: List of sensors for the Manitoba stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

Station 0‐5cm 5 cm 20cm 50cm 100cm

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

MB1 R R R R R R A A A NS A A A A NS

MB2 R R R R R R A NS A A NS A A NS A

MB3 R R R R R R NS A A A A A A A A

MB4 R R R R R R NS A A A A NS NS A A

MB5 R R R R R R A A A A A A A A A

MB6 R R R R R R A A A A A A A A NS

MB7 R R R R R R A A A A A A A NS A


MB9 R R R R R R A A A A A A NS A A




Table 5: List of sensors for the Manitoba stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of April 2019. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

Station 0‐5cm 5 cm 20cm 50cm 100cm

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

MB1 R R R R R R A A NS NS NS A A A NS


MB3 R R R R R R NS A A A A A NS A NS



MB6 R R R R NS R NS NS NS A A A A NS NS

MB7 R R R R R R A NS A A A A A NS NS

MB8 R R R R R R NS A A A A NS NS A A

MB9 R R R R R R A NS A A A A NS NS A

MB10 R R R R NS R A A A A A A A A A

MB11 R R R R R R NS A A A A A A A A

‐ Page 23 ‐


MB13 R R R R R NS A A A A A A NS A NS



Station 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

0‐5cm 5 cm 20cm 50cm 100cm

References

Eilers, R.G. (2013). Sturgeon Creek Soil Moisture Monitoring Stations (SMMS) Soil and Landscape

Classification. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Winnipeg, MB. 30pp.

Eilers, R.G. (2015). Carberry Soil Moisture Monitoring Stations – Canada‐Manitoba Crop Diversification

Center (SMMS – CMCDC) Soil and Landscape Classification. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Science and

Technology Branch, Winnipeg, MB. 18pp.

Ojo, R. (2012). Multi‐depth HydraProbe Calibration. SMAPVEX12: SMAP Validation Experiment 2012.

University of Manitoba. 7pp.

Ojo, R., L’Heureux, J., Bullock, P. R., Powers, J., McNairn, H. and A. Pacheco (2015). Calibration and

Evaluation of an FDR Sensor for the Real‐time In Situ Monitoring for Agriculture Network in Manitoba.

Vadose Zone 14, doi:10.2136/vzj2014.08.

Powers, J. (2014). Re‐Installation of Hydra‐Probes at RISMA Station MB 5. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada,

Winnipeg, MB. 6pp.

Walker, B.D. (2012). Agri‐Environmental Monitoring – Manitoba: Methodology and landscape descriptions.

Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Agri‐Environmental Services Branch. Winnipeg, MB and Ottawa, ON. 29 pp.

‐ Page 24 ‐

‐ Page 25 ‐

SaskatchewanReal‐timeIn‐situSoilMonitoringforAgriculture(RISMA)NetworkMetadata

Overview

The Saskatchewan monitoring stations were established in 2011 by AAFC to supplement an existing network

established by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the University of Guelph. The ECCC‐

Guelph network supports a variety of hydrological, land surface modelling and satellite data validation research.

The stations were established west of Kenaston, 100 km south of Saskatoon (Table 6 and Figure 8) and are in

Canada’s Prairie/Boreal Plain Ecozone.

The AAFC sites were installed on four pasture sites to supplement the existing sites which are installed

primarily on annual cropland. Cereals, canola and peas are typically grown in this area. The Saskatchewan

stations record precipitation, air temperature, wind direction and wind speed, as well as the real dielectric

constant, soil moisture and soil temperature using HydraProbe sensors at surface (0‐5 cm), 5 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm,

100 cm and 150 cm depths. There are two to three probes at each depth, or replicates. This replication

provides a measurement of spatial variability in soil moisture and redundancy in the event of sensor

malfunction.

StationLocation

Table 6: Saskatchewan RISMA Station Locations. Note that Easting and Northing are provided in UTM Z13 WGS84.

Station ID Legal Land Description* Easting Northing Latitude Longitude

SK1 SW 30‐27‐04 W3 390984 5688224 51.33484 ‐106.56494 SK2 SW 30‐27‐04 W3 391057 5688245 51.335042 ‐106.563899 SK3 NW 11‐28‐04 W3 397761 5693570 51.384154 ‐106.469228 SK4 NW 07‐28‐03 W3 401471 5693217 51.381637 ‐106.415833

*QTR‐SEC‐TWP‐RGE

‐ Page 26 ‐

Figure 8: Map of Saskatchewan RISMA stations.

Instrumentation

The following instruments were used from 2011‐2013:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific datalogger (CR800)

Power source: 40W solar panels and 12V / 100 AH battery

Modem: Bluetree 6800 modems on Bell 3G or LTE Network (HSPA)


Rain gauge: Campbell Scientific tipping bucket rain gauge (CS700)

Wind speed/ direction: RM Young wind monitor (Model 05103)

In 2013 the stations underwent an upgrade and the following instruments are currently used:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific datalogger (CR1000)

‐ Page 27 ‐

Modem: Bluetree 6800 modems on Bell 3G or LTE Network (HSPA)

Power source: 40W solar panels and 12V / 100 AH battery


Rain gauge: Campbell Scientific tipping bucket rain gauge (CS700)

Wind speed/ direction: RM Young wind monitor (Model 05103)

Air temperature and relative humidity: Campbell Scientific temperature and relative humidity probe (HC2‐S3 or HC‐S3) installed inside a RM Young radiation shield (model 41003)


The stations were installed in the summer of 2011 and detailed descriptions of the installation procedure and

the soil profiles are provided by L’Heureux (2011). The four Saskatchewan RISMA stations were installed in

pastures, meaning the stations could be installed anywhere on the field without risk of being hit by agricultural

machinery. The locations are fenced to prevent cattle from interfering with the sensors.

GeneralSetup

The meteorological sensors, datalogger, solar panel, battery and soil moisture probes were installed inside a

fenced area, 10 × 20 ft (3.048 × 6.096 m) (Figure 9) to prevent interference from cattle. The tipping rain bucket

is located at a height of 1.5 m, to ensure accurate measurement of rainfall while the wind speed/direction

sensor is at a 2 m height. The temperature and relative humidity sensor is located inside a radiation shield

minimizing influence from solar radiation. The radiation shield is on a 1.5 m fence post located and faces north

where ever possible. An illustration of the station layout is shown in Figure 10.

Figure 9: Photograph of SK3 showing the setup of the Saskatchewan stations.

‐ Page 28 ‐

Figure 10: An illustration of the Saskatchewan RISMA station layout as seen from above.


The soil moisture sensors were installed in a soil pit excavated with a backhoe. Care was taken to leave an

“undisturbed” wall where the sensors were installed. The soil removed from the pit was placed on a tarp so

that it could be used to backfill the pit with minimal mixing of the soil layers. The sensor locations were

selected and flagged. Three sensors, or replicas, were installed at each depth: 0‐5 cm (vertical), 5 cm

(horizontal), 20 cm (horizontal), 50 cm (horizontal), where at 100 cm (horizontal) and 150 cm (horizontal) were

installed. The replicas were installed to form three columns of sensors except at the 100 cm and 150 cm depths

where only two sensors were installed (Figure 11). Within the columns, the sensors are offset from each other, by

approximately 1 m, to avoid disturbing the flow to the sensors below.

Figure 11: A schematic illustration of the Steven’s HydraProbe sensors instillation; not to scale.

To install the soil moisture sensors, a soil coring device (2 inch diameter × 3 inch long [5.08 × 7.62 cm]) was used

to extract an undisturbed soil sample from the pit wall at each flagged sensor location (Figure 12). The soil

‐ Page 29 ‐

coring device was hammered horizontally into the pit wall. The soil removed from each location was retained

for analysis. Then, the cavity was scraped clean and smooth as the soil moisture probes need to be installed

flush with the soil surface. Next, the sensors were inserted into the cavity left after extracting the soil core

using a length of PVC tube for leverage. After installing the sensors, the soil core cavity was backfilled with soil

and a mix of soil and bentonite to prevent preferential flow towards the sensor. Once all the sensors were

installed, the soil pit and the trench were carefully backfilled.

Figure 12: Photographs illustrating the installation of the HydraProbe sensors into the pit wall. a) extracting a soil cord; b): scraping the soil core cavity clean; and c) installing the soil moisture probe in the soil core cavity.

The soil removed during the coring process was used to do site specific lab calibration (dry down of undisturbed

sample) and a soil texture analysis for each sensor location.

RegularMaintenance

The plots require very little maintenance and probes have had minimal reinserted since instillation. A few of

the surface (0‐5 cm) and 5 cm probes have been moved and reinserted. However, in 2019, an annual

reinsertion of the surface (0‐5 cm) soil probes will occur. This is due to the build up of soil organic matter on

the soil surface and the need to maintain contact with the soil.

SoilTexture

A hydrometer method was used to determine soil textural composition from samples that were taken during

installation.

a c b

‐ Page 30 ‐

Table 7: Soil textures for Saskatchewan RISMA Stations. Note that depth 0‐5 cm indicates the surface (vertically) installed surface sensors.

Station Depth

(cm)

Density

(g/cm3)

Sand

(%)

Silt

(%)

Clay

(%) Classification

SK1 0‐5 1.01 14.5 56.3 29.2 Silty Clay Loam

SK1 5 1.07 14.8 56.3 28.9 Silty Clay Loam

SK1 20 1.52 23.0 49.9 27.1 Loam

SK1 50 1.59 11.7 53.2 35.1 Silty Clay Loam

SK1 100 1.81 38.8 31.5 29.7 Clay Loam

SK1 150 1.81 24.0 47.3 28.7 Clay Loam

SK2 0‐5 1.10 20.2 55.4 24.4 Silt Loam

SK2 5 1.34 24.3 49.6 26.1 Loam

SK2 20 1.58 21.5 48.6 29.9 Clay Loam

SK2 50 1.69 52.5 26.8 20.7 Sandy Clay Loam

SK2 100 1.87 35.1 25.8 39.1 Clay Loam

SK2 150 1.88 36.2 31.0 32.8 Clay Loam

SK3 0‐5 1.31 35.6 36.8 27.6 Loam

SK3 5 1.61 45.1 30.7 24.2 Loam

SK3 20 1.63 49.5 26.1 24.4 Sandy Clay Loam

SK3 50 1.73 41.4 25.2 33.4 Clay Loam

SK3 100 1.86 40.9 31.9 27.2 Loam

SK3 150 2.00 37.1 29.4 33.5 Clay Loam

SK4 0‐5 1.25 24.3 44.9 30.8 Clay Loam

SK4 5 1.57 29.1 37.6 33.3 Clay Loam

SK4 20 1.52 26.5 40.7 32.8 Clay Loam

SK4 50 1.59 28.7 38 33.3 Clay Loam

SK4 100 1.57 30.4 36.6 33.0 Clay Loam

SK4 150 1.62 33.5 34.6 31.9 Clay Loam


The soil moisture calibration equations are based on a lab calibration from site specific soil cores.

‐ Page 31 ‐

Table 8: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Saskatchewan RISMA stations. The soil

moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m3/m3. RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant.

Station Depth (cm)

Equation (x=RDC)

SK1 0‐5 (0.00663x2 + 1.14948x + 3.525889) / 100

SK1 5 (0.000127x2 + 1.43425x + 1.334277) / 100

SK1 20 (0.02280x2 + 0.57818x + 2.92099) / 100

SK1 50 (0.02021x2 + 0.26598x + 4.32800) / 100

SK1 100 (0.02168x2 + 0.62133x + 0.35983) / 100

SK1 150 (0.00873x2 + 0.94502x ‐ 1.65041) / 100

SK2 0‐5 (0.0107x2 + 0.9161x + 4.062) / 100

SK2 5 (0.0152x2 + 0.8583x + 2.4355) / 100

SK2 20 (0.0228x2 + 0.479x + 3.3194) / 100

SK2 50 (0.0439x2 + 0.2804x + 2.0212) / 100

SK2 100 (0.0466x2 ‐ 0.4425x + 8.6272) / 100

SK2 150 (‐0.0038x2 + 1.3114x ‐ 3.618) / 100

SK3 0‐5 (0.01666x2 + 0.73262x + 2.38252) / 100

SK3 5 (0.01089x2 + 1.05061x ‐ 0.70396) / 100

SK3 20 (0.01827x2 + 0.72865x + 0.76218) / 100

SK3 50 (‐0.00794x2 + 1.053396x ‐ 2.48302) / 100

SK3 100 (‐0.00267x2 + 0.54936x + 2.19025) / 100

SK3 150 (‐0.00602x2 + 1.06546x ‐ 4.60197) / 100

SK4 0‐5 (0.0217x2 + 0.4287x + 4.4967) / 100

SK4 5 (0.0263x2 + 0.1246x + 4.8707) / 100

SK4 20 (0.0258x2 + 0.1622x + 4.0373) / 100

SK4 50 (0.0171x2 + 0.6727x + 0.2673) / 100

SK4 100 (0.0016x2 + 0.556x + 1.5024) / 100

SK4 150 (‐0.0056x2 + 1.0049x ‐ 2.0664) / 100

Data



Data format changed in 2013 with the installation of the additional sensors and new dataloggers. Data


June 2013 is provided at the following data portal: agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐en.html.

‐ Page 32 ‐

Current conditions, 15‐minute data series and daily data summaries can be visualized and downloaded through

the portal.






15MinuteData

The following are examples of 15‐minute data headers for station SK1.

SK1 Reading Time (CST): Date and time reported in Local Standard Time (CST), 24‐hour clock

SK1 Ambient Air RHAvg(%): Average relative humidity in the past 15 minutes measured at a 1.5 m height, in percent

SK1 Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average air temperature in the past 15 minutes measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C

SK1 Precipitation (mm): Total amount of rain in the past 15 minutes measured at a 1.5 m height, in mm

SK1 Wind WindDir: Average wind direction in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, in cardinal direction

SK1 Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, in km/h

SK1 Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, km/h

SK1 Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, km/h

SK1 0‐5 cm Depth Sensor 1 Temp (°C): Soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) measured at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in °C

SK1 0‐5 cm Depth Sensor 1 WFV (%): Calibrated soil moisture as calculated based on the recorded RDC at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in m3/m3


above. The soil moisture measured by a 20cm sensor in column #3, would have the following header:

SK1 20 cm Depth Sensor 3 WFV (%).

‐ Page 33 ‐

Note, the station ID in the header may be provided as SK_1 or SK1 depending on where the data is downloaded.


above. The soil moisture measured by a horizontal 5 cm sensor in column #2, would have the following header:

SK_1_Hydra_5cm_WFV_2.


of Station ID.

DailyData

The daily data values provided on the data portal (agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐en.html)

are calculated at midnight Local Standard Time (CST for SK stations) and cover the previous 24 hour period.

The following is an example of the daily data headers for SK stations:

Reading Time (CST): Date, year‐month‐day

Ambient Air RHAvg(%): Average daily relative humidity measured at a 2 m height, in percent

Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average daily air temperature measured at a 2 m height, in °C

Ambient Air TempMax (°C): Maximum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C

Ambient Air TempMin (°C): Minimum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C

Precipitation Total (mm): Total daily rain amount measured at a 1.5 m height, in mm

Wind WindDir: Average daily wind direction measured at a 3 m height, in cardinal direction

Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average daily wind speed measured at a 2 m height, in km/h

Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum daily wind speed measured at a 2 m height, in km/h

Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum daily wind speed measured at a 2m height, in km/h


0‐5 cm Depth Average WFV (%): Average daily calibrated soil moisture at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in %

The data from the remaining Steven’s HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided

above. The daily average soil temperature measured at 20‐cm depth would have the following header:

20 cm Depth Average Temp (°C).

DataFlags

The HydraProbe data has gone through a basic, automated QC procedure where data not meeting quality

standards has either been removed or flagged.

‐ Page 34 ‐

Missing data and data removed by QC process is reported as “NoData” in the data columns and as NA in the flag

columns.

The data flags have been modified over time and are considered cumulative after V2.20140214.

V1.20130617: Applied June 27, 2013.


version.

Original QC Flags

“Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5 ”

The flags will be OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each Flag:


Flag 1 “Out of WFV range”: activated if Soil Moisture (m3/m3) is less than 0 or greater than 0.60

Flag 2 “Frozen soil”: activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the

soil moisture readings should not be used.

Flag 3 “Out of WFV average range”: activated if Soil Moisture value (m3/m3) is more than 10% different

from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or

data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)

Flag 4 “Readings below zero”: activated if Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) or Temperature Corrected Soil

Conductivity (CON) is negative

Flag 5 “DLT > 2”: activated if the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real

Dielectric Constant) is greater than 2


Updates: The automated QC protocol has been adjusted and the soil moisture flags have been modified.

‐ Page 35 ‐

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between February 14, 2014,


Meteorological data: The known bad data between June 2013 and November 2013 has been removed.

Also new to this version is that the precipitation data will be removed and reported as “NoData” when

the air temperature is below freezing point.

Soil Moisture QC Flags: “Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6”






data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)


soil moisture readings should not be used

Flag 3 “STC averaged using depth 1 & 2”: activated when HydraProbe sensor #3 does not measure soil

temperature. The average soil temperature from sensor #1 and 2 is used instead. Occurs at some ON

stations.


Flag 5 “DLT >= 1.5”: activated when the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant /

Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5

Flag 6 “CON >= 0.2”: activated when temperature corrected soil conductivity (CON) is equal to or larger

than 0.2 S/m.

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC), conductivity (Con) or dielectric loss

tangent is negative as it indicates a malfunctioning sensor.

‐ Page 36 ‐


Updates: The soil moisture flags have not been modified from V2.20140214.




Updates: No specific updates were applied to the Saskatchewan stations. The soil moisture flags remain

similar to V2.20140214.



ProbeStatus

Occasionally the HydroProbe sensors stop working. While the surface (0‐5 cm) and 5 cm probes are replace,

the 20 cm and deeper probes are not replaced. Replacement of the deep probes may result a significant shift

in soil moisture due to the recent soil disturbance. Table 9 and Table 10 identifies the sensors that are

currently active from those who have been deemed non‐responsive in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

Table 9: List of sensors for the Saskatchewan stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

Station 0‐5cm 5cm 20cm 50cm 100cm 150cm

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

SK1 A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI SK2 A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI SK3 A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI SK4 A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI

Table 10: List of sensors for the Saskatchewan stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of October 2018. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. Note the surface (0‐5 cm) probes will be annually reinserted starting in 2019.

Station 0‐5cm 5cm 20cm 50cm 100cm 150cm

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

SK1 R R R A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI SK2 R R R A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI SK3 R R R A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI SK4 R R R A A A A A A A A A A A NI A A NI

‐ Page 37 ‐

References

L’Heureux, J. (2011). 2011 Installation Report for AAFC‐SAGES Soil Moisture Stations in Kenaston, SK.

Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Regina, SK.

‐ Page 38 ‐

‐ Page 39 ‐

OntarioReal‐timeIn‐situSoilMonitoringforAgriculture(RISMA)NetworkMetadata

Overview

The Ontario monitoring network (ON1 – ON5) was established in 2010 and 2011 by AAFC at a site of ongoing

research in the development and validation of soil moisture retrieval models from active microwave satellites.

The network is situated near Casselman, about 50 km east of Ottawa (see Table 11 and Figure 13), in Canada’s

Mixed Wood Plain Ecozone. The location of each station was selected based on soil texture variability across

the area, as well as variability at the field level. One additional station is located on Agriculture and Agri‐Food

Canada’s Central Experimental Farm (CEF) in Ottawa.

In the fall of 2015, the ON1 station was discontinued and a new station, labelled ON6, was installed northwest

of ON1 within the same soil texture.

The Ontario stations are located at the edge of agricultural fields with annual crops. The fields are seeded in

May and harvested in August through to September, leaving the fields fallow for the remainder of the year;

often snow covered between December and April. Annual crops generally grown in the area include corn,

soybeans and wheat. The deeper (50 cm and 100 cm) soil moisture sensors are located in the field, about 5‐10

m away from the edge, while the shallow sensors (0‐5 cm, 5 cm and 20 cm) are located in the grassy area at the

edge of the field to avoid interference with farming operations. The Ontario stations record precipitation, as

well as real dielectric constant, soil moisture and soil temperature at each depth. Many of the stations have a

high water table and 100 cm sensors could only be installed at two stations (ON3 and ON5). Three HydraProbe

sensors, or replicas, are installed at each depth. This replication provides a measurement of spatial variability

in soil moisture and redundancy in the event of sensor malfunction.

StationLocation

Table 11: Ontario RISMA Station Locations. Note that Easting and Northing are provided in UTM Z18 WGS84.

Station ID Legal Land Description Easting Northing Latitude Longitude Status

ON1 CON 20 PT LOT 12 505020 5020462 45.33765 ‐74.93593 Inactive

ON2 CON 15 S PT LOT 9 504077 5027566 45.40160 ‐74.94790 Active

ON3 CON 17E PT LOT 18 500228 5023235 45.36263 ‐74.99708 Active

ON4 CON 8 PT GORE LOT CON 9 498489 5017836 45.31403 ‐75.01928 Active

ON5 CON 16 E PT LOT 18 499754 5024816 45.37686 ‐75.00314 Active

ON6 CON 18 W PT LOTS 9, 10 504701 5020723 45.3628 ‐74.93420 Active CEF1 ‐ 443652 5026024 45.38548 ‐75.71978 Active

‐ Page 40 ‐

Figure 13: Map of the Ontario RISMA stations located in the Casselman (Ontario) area.

Instrumentation

Prior to June 2018, the following instrumentation was used:

Data Transmission: Adcon A755 GSM/GPRS Radio Telemetry Unit (RTU), powered by Adcon 9 VDC 460 mA battery and 4.3 W solar panel

Station power source: 40 W solar panels and 12V / 18 AH batteries


Rain gauge: Tipping bucket rain gauge (Adcon RG1 2mm)

Motion camera: Moultrie MCG‐12589

‐ Page 41 ‐

In June 2018, the Ontario RISMA stations underwent a system change with updates to several of the

components:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific CR1000X measurement and control datalogger

Modem: Microhard Bullet‐LTE modem on Bell 4G network

Station power source: 40 W solar panels with 12 V / 22 AH batteries


Rain gauge: Adcon RG12 mm tipping rain bucket

Motion camera: Moultrie MCG‐12589


The stations (ON1 to ON5) were installed in the summer of 2010 and 2011. In the fall of 2015, the ON1 station

was discontinued and a new station within the same soil texture was installed northwest of ON1 and labelled

ON6. The Ontario stations were designed to be low maintenance and to avoid interference from agricultural

machinery, particularly the soil moisture sensors. The shallow soil moisture sensors are at the edge of the

field, while the deeper soil moisture sensors are buried within the field.

GeneralSetup

The stations consist of a datalogger, rain gauge, battery and solar panel (Figure 16) and installed on the edge of

the field in a grassy area. The surface (0‐5 cm), 5 cm and 20 cm are considered to be the shallow probes and

are located in the grassy area on the edge of the field.

Figure 14: An example of the Ontario station set up prior to June 2018 at station ON4.

‐ Page 42 ‐

The Adcon RTU system had a limited number of variables it could record. For stations recording soil moisture

at the 100 cm depth (ON3 and ON5), the soil temperature can only be recorded from two of the soil moisture

probes at this depth in order to accommodate the additional space needed to record the soil moisture

measurements from the 100 cm sensor.

In June 2018, a new datalogger and modem were installed. The datalogger and modem are now located inside

the enclosure and the modem antenna is attached to the main pole below the rain bucket (Figure 15). This

datalogger can handle significantly more variables and soil temperature at the 100 cm depth is recorded on all

three replicates.

Figure 15: An example of the Ontario RISMA set up after June 2018 of station ON4.

A rain tipping bucket gauge, is installed approximately 2.5 m above ground level, preventing interference from

the crop, on the main pole of the station. Additionally, the tipping rain bucket is installed on the opposite side

of the pole from the solar panel, eliminating interference from the solar panel. As the bucket measures rain

‐ Page 43 ‐

fall only, it is removed from the station in late November and installed in April when temperatures are

consistently above 0°C.

A motion camera is located inside a housing attached to the central pole. The camera is set to take a

photograph when movement is sensed. The photographs are used to verify field activity and possible events

affecting soil moisture readings (i.e. spraying).


The soil moisture probes were buried in two separate pits. A small soil pit at edge of the field was dug for the 5

cm and 20 cm probes, while another deeper pit was dug in the field for the 50 cm and 100 cm probes. The

deeper pit is approximately 5 to 10 m from the edge of the field (Figure 16). However, due to the high water

table in the Casselman area, the 100 cm sensors could only be installed at two of the Ontario stations (ON3 and

ON5).

Figure 16: Cross section view of the Ontario RISMA station set‐up; not to scale.

The soil pits were carefully excavated manually and the soil was carefully placed on a tarp. Additionally,

trenches for the sensor’s wires were dug and soil was also placed on a tarp. After the soil pit was excavated, a

small and a large undisturbed soil core were taken at each depth for analysis (Figure 17).

‐ Page 44 ‐

Figure 17: Photos showing soil cores taken as the soil pit was being excavated. a) small soil core being taken; and b) a large soil core being taken.

The sensor locations were selected and flagged in the soil pit. Three sensors, or replicas, were installed at each

depth. A large soil coring device (2 inch diameter × 6 inches long [5.08 × 15.24 cm]) was hammered vertically

into the pit wall and the soil carefully set aside (Figure 18). The inside of the cavity left by the soil coring device

was scraped clean and smooth as the soil moisture probes need to be installed flush with the soil surface. The

soil moisture sensors were installed into the cavity left by the coring device using a short PVC pipe for leverage.

The remainder of the soil core hole was filled with a mixture of soil and bentonite to prevent preferential flow

towards the sensor. Once all sensors were installed, the soil pit and trench were carefully backfilled to prevent

mixing of the soil layers.

Figure 18: Photos illustrating the installation of the HydraProbe sensors into the pit wall at one of the Ontario RISMA stations. a) making a hole for the soil moisture sensor; b) the smoothed walls of the soil core cavity; c) PVC pipe on a soil moisture probe; and d) inserting a soil moisture probe.

a b

a c b d

‐ Page 45 ‐

RegularMaintenance

Given their tendency to shift during freeze‐thaw cycles, removal by animals and to effects of soil cracking, the

vertical sensors (0‐5 cm) are reinserted often to ensure measurements remain accurate. As well, the 5 cm

sensors are affected by freeze‐thaw cycles, often being heaved to the soil surface, and have to be reinstalled in

the spring.

Each spring the area around the shallow soil moisture probes is hand tilled and planted with the same crop as

in the field. The plants in this plot are tended to mimic the conditions in the field which includes regularly

weeding the plot by hand or cutting surrounding weeds with a weed trimmer.

CEFStation

The CEF station was installed in the summer of 2010 as an addition to an existing experiment at the Ottawa

Research and Development Centre. The station is installed within a fenced area which is cropped seasonally.

The installation and setup of the station followed the same procedure as the Cassleman sites. Soil texture

analysis was complete earlier as part of the existing experiment on the field.

SoilTexture

The small undisturbed soil cores taken during the soil moisture probe instillation were analyzed to determine

soil texture using the hydrometer method.

Table 12: Soil textures for Ontario RISMA Stations based on the soil core extracted during installation. Note that depth 0‐5 cm indicates the vertically installed surface sensors.

Station Depth (cm)

Density

(g/cm3)

Sand (%)

Silt (%)

Clay (%)

Classification

ON1 0‐5 1.44 8.3 38.6 53.1 Clay

ON1 5 1.44 8.3 38.6 53.1 Clay

ON1 20 1.38 8.6 39.2 52.2 Clay

ON1 50 1.22 28.4 29.9 41.7 Clay

ON2 0‐5 1.32 34.7 45.4 19.9 Loam

ON2 5 1.32 34.7 45.4 19.9 Loam

ON2 20 1.5 36.5 45.9 17.6 Loam

ON2 50 1.6 68.2 25.7 6.1 Sandy Loam

ON3 0‐5 1.36 23.8 32.4 43.8 Clay

ON3 5 1.36 23.8 32.4 43.8 Clay

ON3 20 1.42 24.4 29.5 46.1 Clay

ON3 50 1.29 2.4 45.4 52.2 Silty Clay

ON4 0‐5 1.36 28.1 43.1 28.8 Clay Loam

ON4 5 1.36 28.1 43.1 28.8 Clay Loam

ON4 20 1.42 10.6 32.8 56.6 Clay

ON4 50 1.29 2.4 53.3 44.3 Silty Clay

‐ Page 46 ‐

ON5 0‐5 1.36 51.6 41.9 6.5 Sandy Loam

ON5 5 1.36 51.6 41.9 6.5 Sandy Loam

ON5 20 1.42 47.9 45.6 6.5 Sandy Loam

ON5 50 1.29 71.2 23.8 5 Sandy Loam

ON5 100 1.29 39.7 32.3 28 Clay Loam

ON6 0‐5 1.44 8.3 38.6 53.1 Clay

ON6 5 1.44 8.3 38.6 53.1 Clay

ON6 20 1.38 8.6 39.2 52.2 Clay

ON6 50 1.22 28.4 29.9 41.7 Clay

Station Depth (cm)

Density

(g/cm3)

Sand (%)

Silt (%)

Clay (%)

Classification

CEFStation

Soil texture analysis was completed prior to the instillation of the soil monitoring station as part of a previous

experiment. Soil texture analysis was provided (Gregorich, personal communication, 2019) during the

instillation of the station.

Table 13: Soil textures for CEF RISMA Station based on soil texture analysis from the pre‐existing experiment on the same site.

Station Sand (%)

Silt (%)

Clay (%)

Classification

CEF1 67.9 20 12.1 Sandy loam


The soil moisture calibration equations are based on Seyfried (2005) and Bellingham (2007). Additionally, soil

moisture calibrations were verified by field testing and lab calibration. The soil cores from the sites were taken

and site specific functions were developed, however the texture based equations from Seyfried (2005) and

Bellingham (2007) were found to reduced error when compared to field collected gravimetric samples

(Canisius, 2011).

Table 14: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Ontario RISMA stations. The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m3/m3. RDCTempCorr is the temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant, RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant and STC is soil temperature in degrees Celsius.

Station Depth (cm)

Equation (x=RDCTempCorr=RDC *1.011 / (1.045‐0.00225 * STC))

ON1 0‐5 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON1 5 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464 x2) + (0.0032414 x3)) / 100

‐ Page 47 ‐

ON1 20 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464 x2) + (0.0032414 x3)) / 100

ON1 50 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464 x2) + (0.0032414 x3)) / 100

ON2 0‐5 0.109 * √ x ‐ 0.179

ON2 5 0.109 * √ x ‐ 0.179

ON2 20 0.109 * √ x ‐ 0.179

ON2 50 0.109 * √ x ‐ 0.179

ON3 0‐5 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON3 5 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON3 20 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON3 50 0.1088 * √ x ‐ 0.1738

ON3 100 0.1088 * √ x ‐ 0.1738

ON4 0‐5 0.1033 * √ x ‐ 0.1768

ON4 5 0.1033 * √ x ‐ 0.1768

ON4 20 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON4 50 0.1088 * √ x ‐ 0.1738

ON5 0‐5 0.1105 * √ x ‐ 0.1725

ON5 5 0.1105 * √ x ‐ 0.1725

ON5 20 0.109 * √ x ‐ 0.179

ON5 50 0.109 * √ x ‐ 0.179

ON5 100 0.1033 * √ x ‐ 0.1768

ON6 0‐5 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON6 5 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON6 20 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

ON6 50 (‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x2) + (0.0032414x3)) / 100

Station Depth ( )

Equation ( * / ( * ))

CEFStation

The soil calibration equation for the CEF station uses Bellingham’s (2007) Loam 1 equation on all sensor depths.

0.109√ 0.179

Data



‐ Page 48 ‐

Data format changed in 2013 with the installation of the additional sensors and the new dataloggers. Data


June 2013 is provided at the following data portal: agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐

en.html. Current conditions, 15‐minute data series and daily data summaries can be visualized and

downloaded through the portal.






15MinuteData

The following are examples of 15‐minute data headers for station ON2:

ON2 Reading Time (EST): Date and time of the data recordings in Local Standard Time (EST), 24 hour clock

ON2 Precipitation (mm): Total amount of rain in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2.5 m height, in mm

ON2 0‐5 cm Depth Sensor 1 Temp (°C): Soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) measured at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in °C.

ON 2 0‐5 cm Depth Sensor 1 WFV (%): Calibrated soil moisture as calculated based on the recorded RDC at 0‐5cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in m3/m3.


above. The soil moisture measured by a 20 cm sensor in column #3, would have the following header:

ON2 20 cm Depth Sensor 3 WFV (%).

Note, the station ID in the header may be provided as ON_1 or ON1 depending on where the data is

downloaded. The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the

0to5cm_1 example provided above. The soil moisture measured by a horizontal 5 cm sensor in column #2,

would have the following header:

ON_1_Hydra_5cm_WFV_2.

‐ Page 49 ‐


of Station ID.

DailyData

The daily data values provided at the data portal (agriculture.canada.ca/SoilMonitoringStations/index‐en.html)

are calculated from midnight Local Standard Time (EST for ON stations) for the previous 24 hour period.

The following is an example of the daily data headers for ON stations:

Reading Time (EST): Date, year‐month‐day

Precipitation Total (mm): Total daily amount of rain measured at 2.5 m height, in mm


0‐5 cm Depth Average WFV (%): Average daily calibrated soil moisture at 0‐5cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in %


above. The daily average soil moisture measured at 20‐cm depth would have the following header:

20 cm Depth Average WFV (%).

DataFlags

The HydraProbe data has gone through a basic, automated QC procedure where data not meeting quality

standards has either been removed or flagged.

Missing data and data removed by QC process is reported as “NoData” in the data columns and as NA in the

flag columns.

The data flags have been modified over time.

V1.20130617: Applied June 27, 2013.


version. Original QC Flags

“Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5 ”


‐ Page 50 ‐


Flag 1 “Out of WFV range”: activated if Soil Moisture (m3/m3) is less than 0 or greater than 0.60.





data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data).

Flag 4 “Readings below zero”: activated if Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is negative

Flag 5 “DLT > 2”: activated if the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real

Dielectric Constant) is greater than 2. Note that since Imaginary Dielectric Permittivity is not recorded at

Ontario stations, this flag is not relevant.


Updates: The automated QC protocol has been adjusted and the soil moisture flags modified.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between February 14, 2014,


Meteorological data: The known bad data between June 2013 and November 2013 has been removed.

Soil Moisture QC Flags:

“Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6”



‐ Page 51 ‐







Flag 3 “STC averaged using depth 1 & 2”: activated when HydraProbe sensor #3 does not measure soil

temperature. The average soil temperature from sensor #1 and 2 is used instead. Occurs at some ON

stations.



Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5. Note that since Imaginary Dielectric Permittivity is

not recorded at Ontario stations, this flag is not relevant.


than 0.2S/m. Note that since conductivity is not recorded at Ontario stations, this flag is not relevant.

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC) is negative as it indicates a

malfunctioning sensor.


The soil moisture flags have not been modified from V2.20140214.




Updates: A new station ON6 has been installed in the Ontario network. A new calibration equation has

been implemented for this station and added to the QC automated protocol. Station ON1 has been

discontinued and removed from the QC automated protocol. The soil moisture flags remain similar to

V2.20140214.



‐ Page 52 ‐

Non‐responsive HydraProbe sensors: HydraProbe sensors that have been non‐responsive at 20‐cm

depths and below will not be replaced with new sensors and thus are now being reported as

“NoSensor”. Table 15 and Table 16 identifies the sensors that are currently active from those who have

been deemed non‐responsive.

V5.20171024: Applied October 24, 2017

Updates: three 100 cm probes have been installed in ON3 station. The soil moisture flags remain similar

to V2.20140214

V6.20180613: Applied on June 13, 2018

Updates: The Ontario stations have undergone an upgrade, including a datalogger capable of handling

more sensors and channels. With this upgrade, all RISMA stations have the same quality control

procedure and flags. The flags remain similar to Vs.20140214.

“Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6”


Flag 1 Output: “OK” / “Out of WFV range” / “NA” Flag 2 Output: “OK” / “Out of WFV average range” / “NA” Flag 3 Output: “OK” / “Frozen soil” Flag 4 Output: “OK” / “Out of RDC range” / “NA” Flag 5 Output: “OK” / “DLT >= 1.5” / “NA” Flag 6 Output: “OK” / “CON >= 0.2” / “NA”






soil moisture readings should not be used.

Flag 4 “Out of RDC range”: activated when Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is between 0 and 2.4.


Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5.

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than 0.2 S/m.

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC) is negative as it indicates a

malfunctioning sensor.

ProbeStatus

Table 15: List of sensors for the Ontario stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

Stations 0‐5cm 5 cm 20cm 50cm 100cm

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

ON1 R R R A A A A A A A A A NI NI NI

ON2 R R R R R R A A NS A A A NI NI NI

ON3 R R R R R R A A A A A A A A A

ON4 R R R R R R A A A A A A NI NI NI

ON5 R R R R R R A A A A A A A A A

CEF1 R R R R R R A A A A A A NI NI NI

Table 16: List of sensors for the Ontario stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of July 2018. “A” signifies sensors that are active, “NI” signifies sensors which were never installed, “NS” signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies and “R” for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

Stations 0‐5cm 5 cm 20cm 50cm 100cm

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

ON1 DS DS DS DS DS DS DS DS DS DS DS DS NI NI NI

ON2 R R R R R NS A A A A A A NI NI NI

ON3 R R R R R R A A A A NS A A A A


ON5 R R R R R R A A A A NS A A A A


CEF1 R R R R R R A A A A A A NI NI NI

References

Bellingham, K. (2007). The Stevens HydraProbe Inorganic Soil Calibrations. Stevens Water Monitoring

Systems, Portland, Oregon. 5pp.

www.stevenswater.com/resources/documentation/hydraprobe_inorganic_soil_calibrations.pdf (Accessed July

23, 2018).

‐ Page 54 ‐

Canisius, F. (2011). Calibration of Casselman, Ontario Soil Moisture Monitoring Network. Agriculture and

Agri‐Food Canada, Ottawa, ON. 37pp.

Seyfried, MS, LE Grant, E Du and K Humes. (2005). Dielectric Loss and Calibration of the HydraProbe Soil

Water Sensor. Vadose Zone Journal 4: 1070‐1079.

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