Monitoring and Simulation of 3-Meter Soil Water Profile Dynamics in a Pine Forest

Soil moisture content has a direct effect on the growth rate and survival rate of trees. However, previous studies on soil moisture have often focused on the topsoil, lacking effective monitoring of long-term dynamic changes in deep soil layers. In this study, 16 time-domain reflectometer (TDR) probes were installed in the Haikou plantation in Kunming to conduct long-term continuous monitoring of soil moisture within a depth range of 0 to 300 cm. The results indicate that the vertical distribution of soil moisture can be classified into three levels: the active layer from 0 to 70 cm (θ=0.23±0.08 cm3 cm−3), where the moisture content fluctuates significantly due to precipitation events; the transitional accumulation layer from 70 to 170 cm (θ=0.26±0.06 cm3 cm−3), where moisture content increases with depth and peaks at 170 cm; and the deep dissipative layer from 170 to 300 cm (θ=0.24±0.08 cm3 cm−3), where moisture content decreases with depth, forming a noticeable steep drop zone at 290 cm. The Hydrus-1D (Version 4.xx) model demonstrated high simulation capabilities (R2=0.58) in shallow (10 to 50 cm) and deep (280 to 300 cm) layers, while its performance decreased (R2=0.39) in the middle layer (110 to 200 cm). This study systematically reveals the dynamics of soil moisture from the surface active zone to the deep transition zone and evaluates the simulation ability of the Hydrus-1D model in this specific environment, which is also significant for assessing the groundwater resource conservation function of plantation ecosystems.