The knowledge of soil water content (SWC) dynamics in the upper soil layer is important for several hydrological processes. Due to the difficulty of assessing the spatial and temporal SWC dynamics in the field, some model-based approaches have been proposed during the last decade. The main objective of this work was to assess the performance of two approaches to estimate SWC in the upper soil layer under field conditions: the physically-based thermal inertia and the Hydrus model. Their validity was firstly assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. Thermal inertia was firstly validated in laboratory conditions using the transient line heat source (TLHS) method. Then, it was applied in situ to analyze the dynamics of soil thermal properties under two extreme conditions of soil-water status (well-watered and air-dry), using proximity remote-sensed data. The model performance was assessed using sensor-based measurements of soil water content acquired through frequency (FDR) and time domain reflectometry (TDR). During the laboratory experiment, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 0.02 m³ m⁻³ for the Hydrus model and 0.05 m³ m⁻³ for the TLHS model approach. On the other hand, during the in situ experiment, the temporal variability of SWCs simulated by the Hydrus model and the corresponding values measured by the TDR method evidenced good agreement (RMSE ranging between 0.01 and 0.005 m³ m⁻³). Similarly, the average of the SWCs derived from the thermal diffusion model was fairly close to those estimated by Hydrus (spatially averaged RMSE ranging between 0.03 and 0.02 m³ m⁻³).

Small topographic depressions are ubiquitous in the glaciated terrain of the Northern Prairies characterized by a cold semiarid climate. Groundwater recharge in this region is focused in topographic depressions, which receive lateral inputs of snowmelt runoff in addition to vertical inputs of precipitation. The response of depression‐focused recharge to climate change is largely unknown due to the difficulty of representing the complex interaction between depressions and surrounding uplands in hydrological models. This study evaluates climate change effects on recharge using a process‐based hydrological model and the pseudo‐global warming (PGW) approach representing a climate of 2092–2100, which has a higher mean annual temperature (+4.9 °C) and precipitation (+135 mm or +27%) compared with the present climate. The recharge model is conditioned using field data from an instrumented grassland site in the Canadian Prairies. Under the present climate, snowmelt runoff occurred in March–April over frozen soil, which accounted for the majority of water transfer from the upland to the depression. Under the PGW scenario, the amount of snowmelt runoff in March–April decreased due to lower snow accumulation and shorter periods of frozen soil. Instead, runoff occurred in midwinter and also in summer months due to increased intensity and duration of summer storms. Despite the increased precipitation, mean annual recharge rates decreased from 10.2 to 3.2 mm yr ^–1 , indicating the importance of considering the complex effects of warmer and wetter climate on hydrological processes in cold semiarid regions.

The paper presents the activity performed at the University of Brescia by students and researchers, belonging to different Mediterranean cultures and different disciplines, to prepare a documentary exhibition on irrigation techniques in water scarcity conditions, on the occasion of the International Year of Soils 2015. Traditional irrigation techniques were identified as a key aspect of soil conservation and agricultural practices, to build living and autopoietic ecosystems, also in adverse climatic conditions, and to adapt to climatic changes. Being a structural source of ecosystem survival, and being based on long-lasting observation of the climate and of the environment, they have deep roots in local cultures and they were identified as a common ground also for multicultural interaction. The core of the exhibition is structured in sections focused on techniques for collecting groundwater, atmospheric humidity and surface water, on water lifting techniques and on water distributive systems. The final section of the exhibition is devoted to the oases which are presented as an equilibrium ecosystem, established upon the alliance between man and nature and founded on the capability of collecting water.

An experimental field campaign was performed during summer 2012 in an Alpine environment (Cividate Camuno, Oglio river basin, 274 m a.s.l.) in order to assess the water balance of an anthropized soil at the local scale. A micrometeorological station equipped with traditional sensors coupled with eddy covariance apparatus and TDR was installed in order to measure precipitation, evapotranspiration and soil—water content at different depths. The soil water properties were determined after field and laboratory investigations. Here the preliminary results of the campaign are presented and discussed, focusing on the assessment of the evapotranspiration and of the water exchanges in the vadose zone as ones of the major problems of water imbalance