Soil Moisture Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks and Remote Sensing Data
摘要
The study of the soil moisture variation is crucial for effective water resource management, drought forecasting, sustainable agriculture, and climate change analysis. Agriculture is the basis of this unique research paper. This study examines how soil moisture varies with the seasons (January, March, May, and August) and years (from 2020 through 2023) in the Bhuj area of Gujarat, India. For the estimation of soil moisture with precision, an artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed by incorporating meteorological and spatial parameters identified through a detailed evaluation. The developed ANN model was calibrated (trained) and validated (tested for prediction of soil moisture) with SMAP Level-4 satellite data. Across all study periods, the model shows strong performance, with an average mean squared error of 8.84 × 10−7, mean absolute error of 0.00052, and R2 of 0.99. These metrics varied only slightly across seasons (mean squared error ± 1.45 × 10⁻⁶, mean absolute error ± 0.00029, R2 ± 6.66 × 10⁻5), indicating consistent reliability. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of combining remote sensing data with localized modeling for monitoring soil moisture in semi-arid areas, offering valuable insights for environmental and agricultural applications.