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| Definition | The volumetric soil moisture on the top 20cm of the soil layer. |
| Validity | instantaneous |
| Comment | To interprete interpret soil moisture and to compare different models the Soil Wetness Index (SWI) is used: SWI = (soil_moisture - wilting_point) / (field_capacity - wilting_point). Field capacity corresponds to the maximum value that the model can sustain without precipitation for more than a few hours. The vegetated fraction of the soil evaporates at the maximum rate for soil moisture larger than field capacity and stops evaporating below the permanent wilting point, with a continuous variation between the two extremes. All Partners are asked to provide the wilting point and the field capacity for each grid point. |
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