Vertical Soil Moisture Heterogeneity Analysis and Model Reconstruction in Moist Zones of Aquaculture Pond Dikes Based on Multi-depth Soil Probe Observations

Vertical Soil Moisture Heterogeneity Analysis and Model Reconstruction in Moist Zones of Aquaculture Pond Dikes Based on Multi-depth Soil Probe Observations | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Vertical Soil Moisture Heterogeneity Analysis and Model Reconstruction in Moist Zones of Aquaculture Pond Dikes Based on Multi-depth Soil Probe Observations Qiangwei Liu, Sarah J. Bennett, Tomás E. García, Emily K. Dawson This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7427322/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Due to frequent irrigation and drainage, the vertical distribution of soil moisture in pond dikes plays an important role in water retention and pollutant transport. This study selected five pond dikes from a rice–crayfish co-culture area in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province as sampling sites. Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) sensors were installed at depths of 5, 15, 30 and 50 cm to continuously monitor soil moisture content and groundwater level over two aquaculture cycles (approximately 300 days). A layered Van Genuchten–Mualem model was used to construct the soil hydraulic functions. The results showed that during high water-level periods, the average difference in soil moisture content between surface and deep layers across the five sites reached 0.17 m³/m³. This led to an average error of 25% in the estimated hydraulic conductivity. After correction, the root mean square error (RMSE) of the model decreased from 0.031 to 0.014, indicating a clear improvement in model accuracy. This study proposed a moisture transport calculation method based on vertical gradient constraints, providing parameter support for seepage management and soil function evaluation in moist aquaculture zones. Pond dike moisture heterogeneity Layered hydraulic model FDR monitoring Aquaculture zone Moist soil Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Figure 1 is not available with this version. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7427322","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":503740733,"identity":"e1a8cbe1-9fac-444c-bf74-330f141ffa1a","order_by":0,"name":"Qiangwei Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiangwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":503740734,"identity":"990e6c25-0c2d-49bc-87e4-c36b0415c7c6","order_by":1,"name":"Sarah J. 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This study selected five pond dikes from a rice–crayfish co-culture area in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province as sampling sites. Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) sensors were installed at depths of 5, 15, 30 and 50 cm to continuously monitor soil moisture content and groundwater level over two aquaculture cycles (approximately 300 days). A layered Van Genuchten–Mualem model was used to construct the soil hydraulic functions. The results showed that during high water-level periods, the average difference in soil moisture content between surface and deep layers across the five sites reached 0.17 m³/m³. This led to an average error of 25% in the estimated hydraulic conductivity. After correction, the root mean square error (RMSE) of the model decreased from 0.031 to 0.014, indicating a clear improvement in model accuracy. This study proposed a moisture transport calculation method based on vertical gradient constraints, providing parameter support for seepage management and soil function evaluation in moist aquaculture zones.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Vertical Soil Moisture Heterogeneity Analysis and Model Reconstruction in Moist Zones of Aquaculture Pond Dikes Based on Multi-depth Soil Probe Observations","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-24 17:44:06","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7427322/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b97aec93-8d2e-434b-8d1c-1b740212dd76","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 24th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-24T17:44:06+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-24 17:44:06","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7427322","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7427322","identity":"rs-7427322","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}