Evaluating Precipitation and Temperature Impacts on Relative Soil Moisture and Vegetation Moisture in Agricultural Land in Kongsvinger, Norway : A Semi-Automated Remote Sensing and GIS Study

Ongoing global climate change leads to rising temperatures and increasedprecipitation. These climate factors affect agricultural land through droughtsand flooding, which in turn reduce crop productivity and food security. Thedevelopment of sustainable agriculture is therefore crucial in facing these issues.Soil moisture is an essential soil property for crop growth. Understanding howclimate influences soil moisture is vital to achieve sustainable agriculture,enabling efficient irrigation to conserve groundwater, and supporting farmersplanning their crop fields. This study applied semi-automated remote sensingmethods using Google Earth Engine, GIS software and statistical analysis inExcel to evaluate the correlation between soil moisture and climate variablesrelated to climate change (precipitation and temperature). The results indicatea strong and statistically significant relationship between soil moisture andprecipitation, while the relationship between soil moisture and temperatureshowed a moderate correlation, with no statistical significance. Long-termtrends in climate data showed only a minimal increasing trend in precipitationand temperature. However, a comparison between two periods (1999–2010and 2011–2024) showed a significant increase in precipitation variability, withan increasing standard deviation from 48 mm to 77 mm. This indicates thatextreme weather events have become more common, which is the most criticalchallenge for agriculture as these reduce crop productivity and can destroyentire harvests. This study provides support to farmers and other decisionmakersadapting agriculture to future climate conditions.