IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i3p627-d1613476.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Retrieval of Soil Moisture in the Yutian Oasis, Northwest China by 3D Feature Space Based on Optical and Radar Remote Sensing Data

Author

Listed:
  • Yilizhati Aili

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

  • Ilyas Nurmemet

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

  • Shiqin Li

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

  • Xiaobo Lv

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

  • Xinru Yu

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

  • Aihepa Aihaiti

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

  • Yu Qin

    (College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
    Xinjiang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for the Oasisization Process in the Hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, Yutian 848400, China)

Abstract

Soil moisture in arid areas serves as a vital indicator for assessing hydrological scarcity and ecosystem vulnerability, particularly in Northwest China (NW China), where water resource deficits critically exacerbate environmental fragility. Soil moisture retrieval through remote sensing techniques proves essential for formulating sustainable strategies to enhance local environmental management. This study presents an innovative fusion framework integrating Sentinel-2 optical data and Radarsat-2 PolSAR (Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar) data to establish a three-dimensional (3D) optical–radar feature space. The feature space synergistically combines SAR backscattering coefficients (HH polarization modes), polarimetric decomposition (volume scattering components of van Zyl), and optical remote sensing indices (MSAVI and NDVI). Through systematic analysis of feature space partitioning patterns across soil moisture gradients, the Optical–Radar Soil Moisture Retrieval Index (ORSMRI) was proposed, and fitting analysis was conducted by measured soil moisture. The results confirmed consistency between ORSMRI-derived retrieved soil moisture and measured soil moisture, with ORSMRI1 attaining R 2 = 0.797 (RMSE = 3.329%) and ORSMRI2 reaching R 2 = 0.721 (RMSE = 3.905%). The soil moisture in the study area was retrieved by applying the proposed ORSMRI and utilizing its linear correlation with soil moisture. The distribution of soil moisture showed a trend of being higher in the south than in the north, and higher in the west than in the east. Specifically, low soil moisture is generally concentrated in the northern and southwestern parts of the oasis, while high soil moisture is primarily concentrated in the central part of the oasis.

Suggested Citation

  • Yilizhati Aili & Ilyas Nurmemet & Shiqin Li & Xiaobo Lv & Xinru Yu & Aihepa Aihaiti & Yu Qin, 2025. "Retrieval of Soil Moisture in the Yutian Oasis, Northwest China by 3D Feature Space Based on Optical and Radar Remote Sensing Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-29, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:627-:d:1613476
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/627/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/627/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xinxin Guo & Qiang Fu & Yanhong Hang & He Lu & Fengjie Gao & Jingbo Si, 2020. "Spatial Variability of Soil Moisture in Relation to Land Use Types and Topographic Features on Hillslopes in the Black Soil (Mollisols) Area of Northeast China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muhammad Waseem Rasheed & Jialiang Tang & Abid Sarwar & Suraj Shah & Naeem Saddique & Muhammad Usman Khan & Muhammad Imran Khan & Shah Nawaz & Redmond R. Shamshiri & Marjan Aziz & Muhammad Sultan, 2022. "Soil Moisture Measuring Techniques and Factors Affecting the Moisture Dynamics: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Nguyen Duc Luong & Nguyen Hoang Hiep & Thi Hieu Bui, 2021. "Investigating the Spatio-Temporal Variation of Soil Moisture and Agricultural Drought towards Supporting Water Resources Management in the Red River Basin of Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Prabhavathy Settu & Mangayarkarasi Ramaiah, 2024. "Estimation of Sentinel-1 derived soil moisture using modified Dubois model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29677-29693, November.
    4. Ohana-Levi, Noa & Mintz, Danielle Ferman & Hagag, Nave & Stern, Yossi & Munitz, Sarel & Friedman-Levi, Yael & Shacham, Nir & Grünzweig, José M. & Netzer, Yishai, 2022. "Grapevine responses to site-specific spatiotemporal factors in a Mediterranean climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    5. Siyue Sun & Guolin Zhang & Tieguang He & Shufang Song & Xingbiao Chu, 2021. "Effects of Landscape Positions and Landscape Types on Soil Properties and Chlorophyll Content of Citrus in a Sloping Orchard in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, April.
    6. N. Janani & Balaji Kannan & K. Nagarajan & G. Thiyagarajan & M. R. Duraisamy, 2024. "Soil moisture mapping for different land-use patterns of lower Bhavani river basin using vegetative index and land surface temperature," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 4533-4549, February.
    7. Benedetta Brunelli & Michaela Giglio & Elisa Magnani & Marco Dubbini, 2024. "Surface soil moisture estimate from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data in agricultural fields in areas of high vulnerability to climate variations: the Marche region (Italy) case study," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 24083-24105, September.
    8. Theophilus Atio Abalori & Wenxia Cao & Conrad Atogi-Akwoa Weobong & Wen Li & Shilin Wang & Xiuxia Deng, 2022. "Spatial Vegetation Patch Patterns and Their Relation to Environmental Factors in the Alpine Grasslands of the Qilian Mountains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:627-:d:1613476. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.