The Network of stations for the monitoring of Physical Parameters of soils in Catalonia (XMS-Cat) is a project initiated in 2015 by the ICGC, which began in the Conca de Tremp (Lleida, Spain), replacing old manual stations with automatic ones with continuous recording of soil moisture and temperature. The stations are located in agricultural soils, specifically vineyards fields. Since 2023, the network has been expanded over other areas of vineyards in the Pyrenees.

The project Monitoring Network of Physical parameters of soils in Catalonia (XMS-Cat) aims to acquire and provide continuous data on the measurement of soil temperature and moisture at different depths and in different areas of the territory of Catalonia. These data, in combination with the measurement of environmental parameters, allow different studies to be carried out such as: the determination of climate soil regimes, environmental studies on climate change (using these parameters as indicators of ecosystem resilience and resistance), hydrological studies (for example the calculation of the water balance in the soil by aquifer recharge studies) and supporting farmers (pest prediction,  optimization of irrigation systems, etc.). 

Viewer ICGC XMS-Cat

In the viewer provided by ICGC it is possible to consult the data of the physical parameters of the soils of the active stations that make up the network, their geographical location and the pedological information.

It is possible to load the layers of the Geoindex-Soils referring to their classifications and climate regimes at scale 1:250.000.

The search for the physical parameters of the soils is carried out according to the date (day / month / year and time) and can be visualized graphically and / or downloaded in csv format. The data that can be consulted are:

• Soil moisture (m³/m³) and relative air humidity (%H₂O).
• Soil moisture (m³/m³) and total rainfall (l/m2).
• Soil temperature (ºC) and air temperature (ºC).

Visor a finestra sencera: https://visors.icgc.cat/mesurasols 

Use of the collected data

Soil moisture is the water stored in the most superficial layer of our planet, being an indispensable variable in a large number of processes and applications such as:

• flood forecasting.
• availability and retention of water.
• assessing agricultural drought.
• fire prevention.
• water resources management.

Soil temperature is important to know:

• the type, productivity and wilting of plants.
• the speed of the nutrient cycle.
• soil microfauna activities.

Both parameters also serve us to:

• classify soils (taxonomy) through climate regimes.
• to analyze the feasibility and requirements of sensors in development of small Earth observation satellites.
• geotechnics (soil mechanics), those are fundamental parameters for landslide control and slope stability.

Operation of XMS-Cat stations and technologies used

The stations that make up the network are composed by 4 multi-parametric soil sensors at 5, 20, 50 and 100 cm deep that measure the temperature and moisture of the soil. There are also environmental sensors: rain gauge, pyranometer and a temperature and relative humidity of the air sensor, which are installed in a 3 m high steel .  Inside the cabinet are located a data acquisition system, a power supply system and a data communication system. The perimeter of the station is marked with a fence that also serves as protection (Figure 1).

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Figura 1. Esquema d’una estació de mesura de paràmetres físics del sòl.

Data recordings are every 30 minutes. The acquisition systems are equipped with a modem with a SIM card powered by a 30 W photovoltaic panel that allows data to be sent automatically to the ICGC server.

The data is dumped and organized into the NetMon© spatial database management system (ICGC Measurement and Control Station Monitoring System) from which and through a web service they can be consulted, analyzed and downloaded.

These data are public and accessible through the ICGC Viewer – Monitoring Network of physical parameters of Soils in Catalonia (XMS-Cat), in which it is also possible to consult the pedological information of each location.

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Figura 2. Esquema conceptual de la XMS-Cat.

Instal·lació de les estacions

La instal·lació de l’estació es realitza en dos fases. En una primera fase es fan les excavacions dels fonaments de la torre i per la instal·lació dels sensors enterrats. També es realitza una descripció del sòl en la que s’identifiquen i s’analitzen al laboratori els diferents horitzons, ja que aquest coneixement edàfic serà bàsic per entendre les dades obtingudes pels sensors a les diferents profunditats. En la segona fase s’instal·la la torre amb els sensors ambientals, el panell solar i l’armari amb el sistema d’alimentació, de captació i enviament de les dades, on es realitza la connexió de tots els sensors. Aquestes estacions s’instal·len en un marge de la parcel·la, fora de la zona de cultiu.

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Procés d'instal·lació de l'estació de Llívia (Cerdanya)

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Procés d’instal·lació dels sensors a 5, 20, 50 i 100 cm

Estat d’implementació (Novembre 2023)

El projecte es va iniciar a la Conca de Tremp al 2013 amb la instal·lació d’una sèrie de sensors en camps de vinya que formaven part d’una iniciativa sobre vins d’alçada. Aquests sensors tenien diversos inconvenients, com la descàrrega manual de les dades, problemes d’alimentació elèctrica, accidents pels treballs agrícoles; fet que no garantia el registre continu de les dades. Per aquest motiu al 2016 es van començar a substituir per estacions automàtiques que permeten l’enviament de les dades a través d’un mòdem a una base de dades.

Actualment la xarxa està formada per 17 estacions repartides entre varies comarques del Pirineu com són La Noguera, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Alt Urgell, Alt Empordà i Cerdanya.

S’ha arribat un acord amb l’entitat International Soil Moisture Network i les dades de la XMS-Cat ja són també disponibles en el visor internacional ISMN (https://ismn.earth/en/dataviewer/) on es poden consultar les dades d’humitat del sòl de tot el mon.

Taula d'estacions

References

• Adell, J.; Jiménez, E.; Vicens, M.; Ascaso, E. (2014). Règims de temperatura i humitat als sòls de Catalunya. Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya.
• Bradford, J.B.; Schlaepfer, D.R.; Lauenroth, W.K.; Palmquist, K.A.; Chambers, J.C.; Maestas, J.D.; Campbell S.B. (2019). Climate-DrivenShifts in Soil Temperature and Moisture Regimes Suggest Opportunities to Enhance Assessments of Dryland Resilience and Resistance. Front. Ecol. Evol. 7:358. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00358.
• Cerlini, P.; Meniconi, S.; Brunone, B. (2017). Groundwater Supply and Climate Change Management by Means of Global Atmospheric Datasets. Preliminary Results, Procedia Engineering, Vol. 186: 420-427, ISSN 1877-7058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.03.245.
• Himmelbauer, I.; Dorigo, W.; Aberer, D.; Schremmer, L.; Petrakovic, I.; Xaver, A.; Zappa, L.; Preimesberger, W.; Scanlon, T. (2020). The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) for validation of satellite-based products. The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN), QA4EO/IDEAS Cal/Val Workshop #1, Rome, Italy.
• Jackson, T.; Mansfield, K.; Saafi, M.; Colman, T.; Romine, P. (2008).  Measuring soil temperature and moisture using wireless MEMS sensors. Measurement, Vol. 41(4): 381-390, ISSN 0263-2241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2007.02.009.
• Soil Survey Quality Assurance Staff (1994). Soil Climate Regimes of the United States. Lincoln, Nebraska: Soil Consevation Service. National Soil Survey Center. United States Department of Agriculture.
• Topp, G.C.; Davis, J.L.; Annan, A.P. (1980). Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: measurements in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resources Research, Vol. 16 (3): 574-582. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR016i003p00574.
• Topp, G.C.; Yanuka, M.; Zebchuk, W.D.; Zegelin, S. (1988). Determination of electrical conductivity using time domain reflectometry: soil water experiments in coaxial lines. Water Resources Research, Vol. 24 (7): 945-952. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR024i007p00945.