Monitoring soil moisture to support risk reduction for the agriculture sector using RADARSAT-2

Monitoring the amount of moisture held in the soil is critical in the management of risk for the agriculture sector. Extremes in soil moisture can lead to devastating consequences. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has been acquiring RADARSAT-2 data since 2008 to evaluate the accuracy with which this sensor can provide soil moisture to assist with implementing risk reduction strategies for the Canadian agriculture sector. Using the calibrated Integral Equation Model, and a total of 16 data sets, field level soil moisture was estimated to a mean average error of 7.7%. At a regional scale, mean errors fell to 3.23%. The model was also able to detect wetting and drying events with inputs of RADARSAT-2 data.