A Soil Moisture Prediction Model, Based on Depth and Water Balance Equation: A Case Study of the Xilingol League Grassland

Soil moisture plays an important role in ecology, hydrology, agriculture and climate change. This study proposes a soil moisture prediction model, based on the depth and water balance equation, which integrates the water balance equation with the seasonal ARIMA model, and introduces the depth parameter to consider the soil moisture at different depths. The experimental results showed that the model proposed in this study was able to provide a higher prediction accuracy for the soil moisture at 40 cm, 100 cm and 200 cm depths, compared to the seasonal ARIMA model. Different models were used for different depths. In this study, the seasonal ARIMA model was used at 10 cm, and the proposed model was used at 40 cm, 100 cm and 200 cm, from which more accurate prediction values could be obtained. The fluctuation of the predicted data has a certain seasonal trend, but the regularity decreases with the increasing depth until the soil moisture is almost independent of the external influence at a 200 cm depth. The accurate prediction of the soil moisture can contribute to the scientific management of the grasslands, thus promoting ecological stability and the sustainable development of the grasslands while rationalizing land use.