SoMMet

Metrology for multi-scale monitoring of soil moisture

Water and soil are vital resources increasingly affected by climate change and degradation.

Surface water – primarily in the form of soil moisture – is a key resource influencing agriculture, forestry, weather, climate and greenhouse gas emissions.

Long-term carbon storage and emissions in soil are strongly influenced by soil moisture. Only healthy and sufficiently moist soil can act as a carbon sink, supporting greenhouse gas reduction strategies and adaptation to climate change. Soil is also a cross-cutting theme in the European Green Deal.

Soil quality and soil moisture play an important role in future European Green Deal policies, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and in environmental and climate initiatives.

Expected outcomes the project aims to generate:

• More reliable data
• Better and more comparable information
• Improved decision-making based on traceable measurements
• These outcomes will benefit organisations working within hydrometeorological forecasting, water resource management, flood control, agriculture and hydropower production.

The economic impact will include both:

• An increase in reliable and timely irrigation planning, directly improving agricultural productivity (e.g. higher crop yields)
• A reduction in water waste for irrigation, leading to greater water availability
• Improvements in traceability and better measurement equipment for soil moisture, with lower metrological uncertainty, will have a direct positive impact on the global environment, contributing to a sustainable food system.