This paper, the first part in a two-part series, is concerned with the interpretation of spatial and temporal variations in soil water content across a small rangeland catchment; two data sets are examined. The first data set is comprised of 25 728 soil water content measurements made at 34 sites over an 8 year period. The second data set consists of individual soil water content measurements made at 247 sites over a 6 day period. Geostatistical methods are used to describe variations in soil water content; general characterizations are made. In the companion paper the impact of antecedent soil water conditions is investigated for a suite of R-5 event simulations with a quasi-physically based rainfall-runoff model.
Journal articles from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) African Journal of Range and Forage Science as well as related articles and reports from throughout the southern African region.