About the Real-Time In-Situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture network metadata

Information on the location, installation and setup procedures of the Real-Time In-Situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) network in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

Introduction

A soil moisture monitoring network was established in 2010 and 2011 as a collaboration between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). There are fifteen stations in Manitoba near the towns of Carman-Elm Creek, in the Sturgeon Creek watershead, and the town of Carberry which were established between 2011 and 2015. In Saskatchewan there are four stations near the town of Kenaston while there are six stations in Ontario. Five of the Ontario stations are near the town of Casselman, while one station is located in the city of Ottawa. Additional information on the stations and their setup is located in the following sections of this document.

The stations were setup as part of the Sustainable Agriculture Environmental Systems (SAGES) project titled Earth Observation Information on Crops and Soils for Agri-Environmental Monitoring in Canada. The stations themselves are called the RISMA network: Real-Time In-Situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture Network. The data obtained from the stations is used to calibrate and validate remote sensing and modelled soil moisture products. The data from the stations is available to the public through a web portal located at Soil monitoring stations.

Data Usage

The data from the stations is available for use under the Open Government Licence – Canada. A copy of the terms are below and were retrieved from the Open Government website on 11 March 2019.

Open Government Licence – Canada

You are encouraged to use the information that is available under this licence with only a few conditions.

Using Information under this licence

Use of any Information indicates your acceptance of the terms below.
The Information Provider grants you a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use the Information, including for commercial purposes, subject to the terms below.

You are free to

Copy, modify, publish, translate, adapt, distribute or otherwise use the Information in any medium, mode or format for any lawful purpose.

You must, where you do any of the above

Acknowledge the source of the Information by including any attribution statement specified by the Information Provider(s) and, where possible, provide a link to this licence.
If the Information Provider does not provide a specific attribution statement, or if you are using Information from several information providers and multiple attributions are not practical for your product or application, you must use the following attribution statement:

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

The terms of this licence are important, and if you fail to comply with any of them, the rights granted to you under this licence, or any similar licence granted by the Information Provider, will end automatically.

Exemptions:

This licence does not grant you any right to use:

Personal Information;
third party rights the Information Provider is not authorized to license;
the names, crests, logos, or other official symbols of the Information Provider; and
Information subject to other intellectual property rights, including patents, trade-marks and official marks.

Non-endorsement:

This licence does not grant you any right to use the Information in a way that suggests any official status or that the Information Provider endorses you or your use of the Information.

No Warranty:

The Information is licensed "as is", and the Information Provider excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

The Information Provider is not liable for any errors or omissions in the Information, and will not under any circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other loss, injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in connection with this licence or the Information, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such loss, injury or damage.

Governing Law:

This licence is governed by the laws of the province of Ontario and the applicable laws of Canada.

Legal proceedings related to this licence may only be brought in the courts of Ontario or the Federal Court of Canada.

Definitions:

In this licence, the terms below have the following meanings:

"Information": - means information resources protected by copyright or other information that is offered for use under the terms of this licence.
"Information Provider": - means Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada.
"Personal Information": - means "personal information" as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21.
"You": - means the natural or legal person, or body of persons corporate or incorporate, acquiring rights under this licence.

Versioning:

This is version 2.0 of the Open Government Licence – Canada. The Information Provider may make changes to the terms of this licence from time to time and issue a new version of the licence. Your use of the Information will be governed by the terms of the licence in force as of the date you accessed the information.

Open Government Licence Consultation Report

Date modified: 2017-12-20

Data Quality

The data undergoes a quality control process where suspect data is flagged. Detailed description of the quality control process is located in the Data Flag sections However, it is strongly suggested users preform additional quality control on the data before use.

Contact Information

If there are any questions regarding the RISMA project or to request RISMA data prior to 2013, please contact:

Kurt Gottfried
GIS Specialist
E-mail: kurt.gottfried@agr.gc.ca
Phone: 204-430-5140

If there are questions regarding the RISMA project in Ontario, please contact:

Amanda Halstead, MSc.
Remote Sensing Technician
E‐mail: amanda.halstead@agr.gc.ca
Phone: 613‐694‐2513

Manitoba Real-time In-situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) Network Metadata

The monitoring stations in the Manitoba network were established in three phases. Nine stations were installed near the towns of Carman and Elm Creek, located southwest of the city of Winnipeg, in 2011. Three other stations were installed in the Sturgeon Creek watershed in 2013, located immediately northwest of Winnipeg (Table 1, Figure 1 and Figure 2). In 2015, three additional stations were installed at the Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre (CMCDC) off-site field, northwest of the town of Carberry within the Assiniboine River basin (Figure 3).

The stations in Carman-Elm Creek area are situated in the La Salle and Boyne River watersheds. These watersheds are part of the larger Red River basin. The area is characterized by a distinct soil texture divide between heavy clays and clay loams to the east, and lighter sandy and sandy loam soils to the west. Topography is generally flat; influenced by lacustrine deposition.

Two of the Sturgeon Creek watershed locations are located near the town of Warren while the third station is located immediately outside Winnipeg near the town of Rosser. The Sturgeon Creek watershed is part of the larger Assiniboine River basin. Topography is mainly flat, consisting of imperfect to poorly drained lacustrine clay and clay loam textured soils. Glacial till loamy soils occur in the more northern area of the watershed where ridges and swales are the more common landform. These areas are part of Canada's Prairie/Boreal Plain Ecozone and were chosen to capture the diverse soil moisture conditions in the Manitoba portion of the Red River and lower Assiniboine River basins.

The three stations installed northwest of the town of Carberry fall within the Assiniboine River basin. Soils at this site are primarily sandy textured deltaic deposits on slightly undulating landscapes. The Assiniboine Delta aquifer provides a source of irrigation water for potato crops that are grown extensively in this area along with cereals, canola, corn and soybeans. The stations were installed to support irrigation studies at CMCDC.

The stations are located at the edge of annually cropped agricultural fields with the soil moisture sensors installed within the field, about 6 to 30 m away from the edge. The fields are seeded in May and harvested in August through to September, leaving the fields fallow for the remainder of the year; often snow covered between December and April. Annual crops which are typically grown in this area include cereals, canola, corn, soybeans and edible beans. The Manitoba stations record precipitation with a tipping bucket rain gauge as well as real dielectric constant, soil moisture and soil temperature using HydraProbe sensors at surface (0‐5 cm), 5 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm and 100 cm depths. Three HydraProbe sensors, or replicas, are installed at each depth. This replication provides a measurement of spatial variability in soil moisture, and redundancy in the event of sensor malfunction. To complement the existing soils data, the stations in the Manitoba network are also equipped with meteorological sensors such as air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction.

Station Location - Manitoba

The stations are located in three main areas: near the towns of Carman and Elm Creek (Figure 1), northwest of Winnipeg (Figure 2) and northwest of Carberry (Figure 3). The location description of individual stations can be found in Table 1.

**Table 1: RISMA station locations in Manitoba.**
Station ID	Legal Land Description*	Easting	Northing	Latitude	Longitude
MB1	SW 13‐07‐05 W1	570924	5490434	49.56234	−98.01924
MB2	SW 22‐06‐04 W1	577265	5482737	49.49250	−97.93374
MB3	SW 33‐06‐04 W1	575556	5485725	49.51951	−97.95649
MB4	SE 07‐08‐04 W1	573041	5498688	49.63609	−97.98813
MB5	SW 04‐08‐04 W1	575222	5497102	49.62145	−97.95781
MB6	NW 21‐08‐04 W1	575084	5503458	49.67877	−97.95957
MB7	SE 24‐08‐05 W1	571640	5501962	49.66552	−98.00762
MB8	NW 17‐09‐04 W1	573335	5511606	49.75253	−97.98237
MB9	NW 25‐08‐05 W1	570393	5505108	49.69462	−98.02397
MB10	NE 35-11-01 E1	618431	5537198	49.97536	−97.34829
MB11	SW 20-13-01 W1	602004	5551981	50.11131	−97.57337
MB12	NE 13-14-2 W1	600078	5560695	50.18998	−97.59801
MB13	SE-24-11-15W1	472221	5531210	49.93262	−99.38707
MB14	SE-24-11-15W1	472064	5531265	49.93310	−99.38926
MB15	SE‐24‐11‐15W1	471858	5531268	49.93312	−99.39213
*QTR‐SEC‐TWP‐RGE Easting and Northing are in NAD 83 CSRS UTM Zone 14N.

Description of this image follows — **Figure 1: Map of the RISMA stations in the Carman area, Manitoba. Easting and Northing are in UTM Zone 14N.**

Instrumentation - Manitoba

The following instruments comprised each station from 2011 to 2013:

Data transmission: ADCON Radio transmitter Units (RTU) on Rogers cellular (GSM/GPRS) network linked to a central gateway
Power source: 50W solar panels and two 12 V / 100 AH batteries
Soil moisture sensor: Steven's HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)
Rain gauge: Hydrological Services TB4 tipping bucket rain gauge

The stations underwent an upgrade in 2013 and the following instruments are in use:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific datalogger CR1000‐XT, installed April‐June 2013
Modem: Rogers 4G or LTE Network (HSPA)
Power source: 50-100 W solar panels and two 100 AH batteries
Soil moisture sensor: Steven's HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)
Wind speed/ direction: RM Young wind monitor
Rain gauge: Hydrological Services TB4 tipping bucket rain gauge
Air temperature and relative humidity: Campbell Scientific temperature and relative humidity probe (HC2‐S3 or HC‐S3) installed inside a RM Young radiation shield

Installation Procedure - Manitoba

The Carman-Elm Creek stations were installed in the fall of 2011 and the Sturgeon Creek Stations were installed in the fall of 2013. Detailed descriptions of the Carman-Elm Creek installation procedure, site selection process and the soil profiles are provided by Walker (2012). Information for the Sturgeon Creek and Carberry stations is provided by Eilers (2013) and Eilers (2015), respectively.

General Setup - Manitoba

The meteorological sensors, datalogger, solar panel and battery were installed at the edge of the field (Figure 4). The datalogger and the batteries are located inside the small plywood shelter. The tipping rain bucket is located 2.5 m in the air to avoid interference from the crop with the wind speed/direction sensor installed at a height of 3 m. The air temperature and relative humidity sensor is located inside a radiation shield to reflect solar radiation away. Additionally, the radiation shield is located at a height of 1.5 m on the north side of the shelter, where ever possible. The soil moisture sensors wires run to the shelter and into the datalogger (Figure 4).

Soil Moisture Probe Installation - Manitoba

The soil moisture sensors were installed in a soil pit, located in the field, approximately 6 to 30 m away from the station depending on the farming practices of the landowner (Figure 5). A trench between the soil pit and the station was also dug to protect cables connecting the soil moisture sensors to the datalogger. Care was taken to leave an "undisturbed" pit wall where the sensors were installed. The soil that was removed from the pit was placed on a tarp so that it could be used to backfill the pit with minimal mixing of the soil layers.

The sensor locations were selected and flagged. Three sensors, or replicas, were installed at each depth: 0‐5 cm (vertical), 5 cm (horizontal), 20 cm (horizontal), 50 cm (horizontal) and 100 cm (horizontal). The three replicas were installed to form three columns of sensors according to Figure 6. Within the columns, the sensors are located offset (20 to 30 cm apart) from each other to avoid disturbing the flow to the sensors below.

To install the soil moisture sensors, a soil coring device (1.5 inch diameter × 6 inch long [3.81 × 15.25 cm]) was used to extract an undisturbed soil sample from the pit wall at each flagged sensor location (Figure 7). The soil coring device was hammered into the back wall of the soil pit horizontally and the soil was retained for analysis. Then a long narrow piece of wood was used to scrape the hole clean as the soil moisture probes need to be installed flush with the soil surface. Following, the sensors were inserted into the cavity using a piece of PVC tube for leverage (Figure 7). After installing the sensors, the soil core cavity was backfilled with soil and a mix of soil and bentonite to prevent preferential flow towards the sensor. Once all the sensors were installed, the soil pit and the trench were carefully backfilled.

The soil removed during the coring process was used to do site specific lab calibration (dry down of undisturbed sample) and a soil texture analysis for each sensor depth.

Regular Maintenance - Manitoba

Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada carefully seeds and cuts the crop surrounding the sensors to avoid damage to the soil moisture equipment and to better emulate field conditions. Due to poor performance of the sensors at site MB5, a complete re-installation of the sensors was completed on October 15, 2014 by AAFC employees and has been thoroughly documented (Powers, 2014). Subsequent re-installations have occurred at MB2 (September 16, 2015) and MB4 (September 8, 2016).

Due to heaving during the freeze-thaw process in the spring and winter, the buildup of organic matter at the soil surface, cracks forming in the soil during dry periods, and animals pulling the probes out of the ground, the surface (0-5 cm) and 5 cm probes are often reinserted into the ground. This often occurs throughout the spring and fall, and occasionally throughout the season.

Soil Texture - Manitoba

A hydrometer method was used to determine soil textural composition from samples that were taken during installation.

**Table 2: Soil textures for Manitoba RISMA Stations.**
Station	Depth (cm)	Density (g/cm³)	Sand (%)	Silt (%)	Clay (%)	Classification
MB1	5	1.28	78.8	10.1	11.1	Sandy Loam
MB1	20	1.56	80.2	8.3	11.5	Sandy Loam
MB1	50	1.5	81.5	8.2	10.3	Loamy Sand
MB1	100	1.57	81.0	6.8	12.2	Sandy Loam
MB2	5	1.35	44.9	20.8	34.3	Clay Loam
MB2	20	1.63	62.6	12.9	24.5	Sandy Clay Loam
MB2	50	1.63	65.8	13.2	21.0	Sandy Clay Loam
MB2	100	1.57	75.3	15.0	9.7	Sandy Loam
MB3	5	1.47	47.1	21.1	31.8	Sandy Clay Loam
MB3	20	1.52	45.8	21.3	32.9	Sandy Clay Loam
MB3	50	1.44	31.3	23.7	45.0	Clay
MB3	100	1.41	69.9	17.7	12.4	Sandy Loam
MB4	5	1.33	90.4	0.2	9.4	Sand
MB4	20	1.50	88.7	1.6	9.7	Loamy Sand
MB4	50	1.60	88.7	1.6	9.7	Loamy Sand
MB4	100	1.58	85.6	5.0	9.4	Loamy Sand
MB5	5	1.46	41.4	18.1	40.5	Clay
MB5	20	1.41	22.7	19.5	57.8	Clay
MB5	50	1.33	4.3	27.2	68.5	Heavy Clay
MB5	100	1.32	3.0	27.7	69.3	Heavy Clay
MB6	5	1.21	3.7	24.6	71.7	Heavy Clay
MB6	20	1.39	3.8	21.3	74.9	Heavy Clay
MB6	50	1.31	2.0	25.9	72.1	Heavy Clay
MB6	100	1.31	0.5	27.3	72.2	Heavy Clay
MB7	5	1.40	78.3	9.2	12.5	Sandy Loam
MB7	20	1.59	82.3	5.8	11.9	Loamy Sand
MB7	50	1.57	78.1	8.6	13.3	Sandy Loam
MB7	100	1.58	80.3	8.0	11.7	Sandy Loam
MB8	5	1.22	3.6	33.2	63.2	Heavy Clay
MB8	20	1.38	3.5	22.6	73.9	Heavy Clay
MB8	50	1.38	3.9	23.3	72.8	Heavy Clay
MB8	100	1.50	1.5	27.6	70.9	Heavy Clay
MB9	5	1.53	81.3	6.0	12.7	Sandy Loam
MB9	20	1.60	85.5	3.2	11.3	Loamy Sand
MB9	50	1.53	83.4	5.1	11.5	Loamy Sand
MB9	100	1.58	87.5	6.7	5.8	Loamy Sand
MB10	5	1.05	4.55	24.0	71.6	Heavy Clay
MB10	20	1.27	2.4	13.5	84.1	Heavy Clay
MB10	50	1.24	6.7	22.9	70.4	Heavy Clay
MB10	100	1.30	13.6	44.6	41.8	Silty Clay
MB11	5	1.3	23.8	39.5	36.8	Clay Loam
MB11	20	1.59	25.4	38.8	35.8	Clay Loam
MB11	50	1.64	24.0	46.6	29.3	Clay Loam
MB11	100	1.74	64.9	29.4	5.8	Sandy Loam
MB12	5	1.33	42.1	41.7	16.2	Loam
MB12	20	1.57	36.5	38.7	24.8	Loam
MB12	50	1.65	27.9	45.0	27.1	Loam
MB12	100	1.55	24.9	46.2	28.9	Clay Loam
MB13	5	1.3	81.0	12.0	7.0	Loamy Sand
MB13	20	1.6	81.0	11.0	8.0	Loamy Sand
MB13	50	1.52	73.0	15.0	12.0	Sandy Loam
MB13	100	1.32	19.0	39.0	42.0	Clay
MB14	5	1.4	89.0	7.0	4.0	Sand
MB14	20	1.4	73.0	17.0	10.0	Sandy Loam
MB14	50	1.4	49.0	31.0	20.0	Loam
MB14	100	1.4	23.0	43.0	34.0	Clay Loam
MB15	5	1.52	83.0	11.0	6.0	Loamy Sand
MB15	20	1.5	75.0	15.0	10.0	Sandy Loam
MB15	50	1.5	89.0	9.0	8.0	Loamy Sand
MB15	100	1.42	97.0	3.0	0.0	Sand

Soil Moisture Calibration Equations - Manitoba

The soil moisture calibration equations are based on a regional in‐situ calibration developed by Ojo (2015). The regional calibration equations were applied to the regionally consistent sandy and loam soils, while the site specific lab equations were applied to the more variable clay soils.

Table 3: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Manitoba RISMA stations used for version 1 and 2 of data.

Station	Depth (cm)	Equation (x=√RDC)
MB1	0‐5	0.1059x – 0.1582
MB1	5	0.1059x – 0.1582
MB1	20	0.1059x – 0.1582
MB1	50	0.1059x – 0.1582
MB1	100	0.1059x – 0.1582
MB2	0‐5	0.0748x – 0.0299
MB2	5	0.0748x – 0.0299
MB2	20	0.0748x – 0.0299
MB2	50	0.084x – 0.0773
MB2	100	0.07642x – 0.05692
MB3	0‐5	0.0786x – 0.0766
MB3	5	0.0786x – 0.0766
MB3	20	0.0753x – 0.0551
MB3	50	0.0776x – 0.066
MB3	100	0.07642x – 0.05692
MB4	0‐5	0.1169x – 0.1831
MB4	5	0.1169x – 0.1831
MB4	20	0.1169x – 0.1831
MB4	50	0.1169x – 0.1831
MB4	100	0.1169x – 0.1831
MB5	0‐5	0.0759x – 0.0649
MB5	5	0.0759x – 0.0649
MB5	20	0.0672x – 0.0294
MB5	50	0.0672x – 0.0294
MB5	100	0.0672x – 0.0294
MB6	0‐5	0.0804x – 0.0605
MB6	5	0.0804x – 0.0605
MB6	20	0.0734x – 0.0111
MB6	50	0.0734x – 0.0111
MB6	100	0.0734x – 0.0111
MB7	0‐5	0.0978x – 0.12
MB7	5	0.0978x – 0.12
MB7	20	0.0978x – 0.12
MB7	50	0.0978x – 0.12
MB7	100	0.0978x – 0.12
MB8	0‐5	0.0592x + 0.0635
MB8	5	0.0592x + 0.0635
MB8	20	0.059x + 0.067
MB8	50	0.059x + 0.067
MB8	100	0.059x + 0.067
The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m³/m³ and are based on regional field calibration developed by Ojo (2015). RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant.

Station	Depth (cm)	Equation (x=√RDC)
MB9	0‐5	0.0869x − 0.1159
MB9	5	0.0869x − 0.1159
MB9	20	0.1034x – 0.1603
MB9	50	0.1087x – 0.1548
MB9	100	0.1087x – 0.1548
MB10	0‐5	0.0672x + 0.0807
MB10	5	0.0672x + 0.0807
MB10	20	0.0662x + 0.0865
MB10	50	0.0662x + 0.0865
MB10	100	0.0662x + 0.0865
MB11	0‐5	0.059x + 0.0866
MB11	5	0.059x + 0.0866
MB11	20	0.059x + 0.0866
MB11	50	0.059x + 0.0866
MB11	100	0.1084x − 0.1633
MB12	0‐5	0.0653x + 0.0521
MB12	5	0.0653x + 0.0521
MB12	20	0.0577x + 0.0968
MB12	50	0.0584x + 0.0864
MB12	100	0.0616x + 0.0730
MB13	0‐5	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB13	5	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB13	20	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB13	50	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB13	100	0.0776x − 0.066
MB14	0‐5	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB14	5	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB14	20	0.1059x – 0.1582
MB14	50	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB14	100	0.0616x + 0.0730
MB15	0‐5	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB15	5	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB15	20	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB15	50	0.1059x − 0.1582
MB15	100	0.1059x − 0.1582
The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m³/m³ and are based on regional field calibration developed by Ojo (2015). RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant.

Data - Manitoba

Sensor data is logged every 15 minutes and the data is updated on the AAFC internal server, SOS cloud server and the web portal once per hour.

The data format changed in 2013 with the installation of the additional sensors and new dataloggers. Data recorded prior to 2013 can be requested directly from Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada. Data recorded after June 2013 is provided at the following data portal: Soil monitoring stations. Current conditions, 15‐minute data series and daily data summaries can be visualized and downloaded through the portal.

The headers for the soil moisture sensors are constructed according to:

Depth of measurement in cm, replica or column number, parameter

#1 sensors were installed in column #1
#2 sensors were installed in column #2, which is the middle column (always located between column 1 and 3)
#3 sensors were installed in column #3

15 Minute Data - Manitoba

The following are examples of 15‐minute data headers for station MB1:

MB1 Reading Time (CST): Date and time of the data recordings in Local Standard Time, 24 hour clock

MB1 Ambient Air RHAvg (%): Average relative humidity measured in the past 15 minutes at a 1.5 m height, in percent
MB1 Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average air temperature measured in the past 15 minutes at a 1.5 m height, in °C
MB1 Precipitation (mm): Total amount of rain in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2.5 m height, in mm
MB1 Wind WindDir: Average wind direction in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in cardinal direction
MB1 Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in km/h
MB1 Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in km/h
MB1 Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 3 m height, in km/h
MB1 0-5 cm Depth Sensor 1 Temp (°C): Soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) measured at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in °C
MB1 0-5 cm Depth Sensor 1 WFV (%): Calibrated soil moisture as calculated based on the recorded RDC at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in m³/m³.

The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided above. The soil moisture measured by a 20 cm sensor in column #3, would have the following header:

MB1 20 cm Depth Sensor 3 WFV (%).

Note, the station ID in the header may be provided as MB_1 or MB1 depending on where the data is downloaded. The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the MB1_0 to 5cm_1 example provided above. The soil moisture measured by a horizontal 5 cm sensor in column #2, would have the following header:

MB_1_Hydra_5cm_WFV_2.

The data files for all stations are structured exactly the same and the headers are the same with the exception of Station ID.

Daily Data - Manitoba

The daily data values provided at the data portal (Soil monitoring stations) are calculated at midnight Local Standard Time (CST for MB stations) and cover the previous 24 hour period.

The following is an example of the daily data headers for MB stations:

Reading Time: Date, as year-month-day
Ambient Air RHAvg (%): Average daily relative humidity measured at a 1.5 m height, in percent
Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C
Ambient Air TempMax (°C): Maximum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C
Ambient Air TempMin (°C): Minimum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C
Precipitation Total (mm): Total daily rain amount measured at a 2.5 m height, in mm
Wind WindDir: Average daily wind direction measured at 3 m height, in cardinal direction
Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average daily wind speed measured at a 3 m height, in km/h
Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum daily wind speed measured at a 3 m height, in km/h
Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum daily wind speed measured at a 3 m height, in km/h
0-5 cm Depth Average (°C): Average daily soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in °C
0-5 cm Depth Average WFV (%): Average daily calibrated soil moisture at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in %

The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided above. The daily average soil moisture measured at 20-cm depth would have the following header:

20 cm Depth Average WFV (%).

Data Flags - Manitoba

The HydraProbe data has gone through a basic, automated quality control (QC) procedure where data not meeting the quality standards has either been removed or flagged.

Missing data and data removed by QC process is reported as "NoData" in the data columns and as NA in the flag columns.

The data flags have been modified over time and are considered cumulative after V2.20140214.

V1.20130617: Applied June 27, 2013.

These data flags apply to data downloaded between June 17, 2013, and the application of the next data version.

Original QC Flags

"Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5"

The flags will be listed as OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Out of average range" / "NA"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Readings below zero" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT > 2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0 or greater than 0.60
Flag 2 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero °C and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used
Flag 3 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)
Flag 4 "Readings below zero": activated if Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) or Temperature Corrected Soil Conductivity (CON) is negative
Flag 5 "DLT > 2": activated if the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is greater than 2

V2.20140214: Applied February 14, 2014.

Updates: The automated QC protocol has been adjusted and the soil moisture flags have been modified.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between November 28, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

Meteorological data: The known bad data between June 2013 and November 2013 has been removed. Also new to this version is that the precipitation data will be removed and reported as "NoData" when the air temperature is below freezing point.

Soil Moisture QC Flags: "Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6"

The flags will be listed as OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV average range" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil" / warning: "STC averaged using depth 1 & 2" / "NA"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Out of RDC range" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT >= 1.5" / "NA"
Flag 6 Output: "OK" / "CON >= 0.2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if the Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0.02 or greater than 0.60
Flag 2 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)
Flag 3 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used
Flag 3 "STC averaged using depth 1 & 2": activated when HydraProbe sensor #3 does not measure soil temperature. The average soil temperature from sensor #1 and 2 is used instead. Occurs at some ON stations.
Flag 4 "Out of RDC range": activated when Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is less than 2.4
Flag 5 "DLT >= 1.5": activated when the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5
Flag 6 "CON >= 0.2": activated when temperature corrected soil conductivity (CON) is equal to or larger than 0.2 S/m

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC), conductivity (Con) or dielectric loss tangent is negative as it indicates a malfunctioning sensor.

V3.20141128: Applied November 28, 2014.

Updates: New calibration equations have been implemented for the Sturgeon Creek stations (MB10, 11 and 12) and these stations have been added to the QC automated protocol. The soil moisture flags remain similar to V2.20140214.

Timestamps have been adjusted and will now include both date and time recorded in two time formats: Local Standard Time and Coordinated Universal Time.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between November 28, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

New calibration equations have been implemented on the data and all Manitoba RISMA data have been re-processed using these equations. The new equations were derived from a site-specific calibration methodology developed by Ojo (2015). The data flags have not been modified since the last version and are applied on the data as per previous versions.

Meteorological data: Please note that precipitation data will be removed and reported as "NoData" when the air temperature is below freezing point.

V4.20170104: Applied January 4, 2017.

Updates: New calibration equations have been implemented for the Carberry stations (MB13, 14 and 15) and these stations have been added to the QC automated protocol. The soil moisture flags remain similar to V2.20140214.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between January 4, 2017, and the application date of the next data version.

Non-responsive HydraProbe sensors: HydraProbe sensors that have been non-responsive at 20-cm depths and below will not be replaced with new sensors and thus are now being reported as "NoSensor". Table 4 identifies the sensors that are currently active from those who have been deemed non-responsive as of December 2014.

V5.20170918: Applied September 19, 2017

Updates: Currently, Flag 1 is activated if the soil moisture value is less than 0.02 m³/m³ or greater than 0.60 m³/m³. If values fall outside of this range, then the data is flagged. This flag will remain in place but the soil moisture (WFV) value will be changed to "No Data" if the value is less than 0.02 m³/m³. This will avoid negative values in the dataset.

This update applies to all RISMA data downloaded after September 19, 2017.

Probe Status - Manitoba

Occasionally the HydroProbe sensors stop working. While the surface (0-5 cm) and 5 cm probes are replace, the 20 cm and deeper probes are not replaced. Replacement of the deep probes may result a significant shift in soil moisture due to the recent soil disturbance. Table 4 and Table 5 identifies the sensors that are currently active from those who have been deemed non-responsive in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

**Table 4 : List of sensors for the Manitoba stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014.**
Station	0-5 cm			5 cm			20 cm			50 cm			100 cm
Station	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
MB1	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	NS	A	A	A	A	NS
MB2	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	NS	A	A	NS	A	A	NS	A
MB3	R	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB4	R	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	NS	NS	A	A
MB5	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB6	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NS
MB7	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NS	A
MB8	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB9	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	NS	A	A
MB10	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB11	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB12	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
"A" signifies sensors that are active, "NS" signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies "R" for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

**Table 5 : List of sensors for the Manitoba stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of April 2019.**
Station	0-5 cm			5 cm			20 cm			50 cm			100 cm
Station	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
MB1	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	NS	NS	NS	A	A	A	NS
MB2	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB3	R	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	A	NS	A	NS
MB4	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB5	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB6	R	R	R	R	NS	R	NS	NS	NS	A	A	A	A	NS	NS
MB7	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	NS	A	A	A	A	A	NS	NS
MB8	R	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	NS	NS	A	A
MB9	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	NS	A	A	A	A	NS	NS	A
MB10	R	R	R	R	NS	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB11	R	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB12	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB13	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	A	A	NS	A	NS
MB14	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
MB15	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
"A" signifies sensors that are active, "NS" signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies "R" for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

References - Manitoba

Eilers, R.G. (2013). Sturgeon Creek Soil Moisture Monitoring Stations (SMMS) Soil and Landscape Classification. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Winnipeg, MB. 30pp.

Eilers, R.G. (2015). Carberry Soil Moisture Monitoring Stations – Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification Center (SMMS – CMCDC) Soil and Landscape Classification. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Winnipeg, MB. 18pp.

Ojo, R. (2012). Multi‐depth HydraProbe Calibration. SMAPVEX12: SMAP Validation Experiment 2012. University of Manitoba. 7pp.

Ojo, R., L'Heureux, J., Bullock, P. R., Powers, J., McNairn, H. and A. Pacheco (2015). Calibration and Evaluation of an FDR Sensor for the Real-time In Situ Monitoring for Agriculture Network in Manitoba. Vadose Zone 14, doi:10.2136/vzj2014.08.

Powers, J. (2014). Re-Installation of Hydra-Probes at RISMA Station MB 5. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB. 6pp.

Walker, B.D. (2012). Agri‐Environmental Monitoring – Manitoba: Methodology and landscape descriptions. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Agri‐Environmental Services Branch. Winnipeg, MB and Ottawa, ON. 29 pp.

Saskatchewan Real-time In-situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) Network Metadata

The Saskatchewan monitoring stations were established in 2011 by AAFC to supplement an existing network established by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the University of Guelph. The ECCC‐Guelph network supports a variety of hydrological, land surface modelling and satellite data validation research. The stations were established west of Kenaston, 100 km south of Saskatoon (Table 6 and Figure 8) and are in Canada's Prairie/Boreal Plain Ecozone.

The AAFC sites were installed on four pasture sites to supplement the existing sites which are installed primarily on annual cropland. Cereals, canola and peas are typically grown in this area. The Saskatchewan stations record precipitation, air temperature, wind direction and wind speed, as well as the real dielectric constant, soil moisture and soil temperature using HydraProbe sensors at surface (0‐5 cm), 5 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm, 100 cm and 150 cm depths. There are two to three probes at each depth, or replicates. This replication provides a measurement of spatial variability in soil moisture and redundancy in the event of sensor malfunction.

Station Location - Saskatchewan

**Table 6: Saskatchewan RISMA Station Locations.**
Station ID	Legal Land Description*	Easting	Northing	Latitude	Longitude
SK1	SW 30‐27‐04 W3	390984	5688224	51.33484	−106.56494
SK2	SW 30‐27‐04 W3	391057	5688245	51.335042	−106.563899
SK3	NW 11‐28‐04 W3	397761	5693570	51.384154	−106.469228
SK4	NW 07‐28‐03 W3	401471	5693217	51.381637	−106.415833
*QTR-SEC-TWP-RGE Note that Easting and Northing are provided in UTM Z13 WGS84.

Instrumentation - Saskatchewan

The following instruments were used from 2011-2013:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific datalogger (CR800)
Power source: 40W solar panels and 12V / 100 AH battery
Modem: Bluetree 6800 modems on Bell 3G or LTE Network (HSPA)
Soil moisture sensor: Steven's HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)
Rain gauge: Campbell Scientific tipping bucket rain gauge (CS700)
Wind speed/ direction: RM Young wind monitor (Model 05103)

In 2013 the stations underwent an upgrade and the following instruments are currently used:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific datalogger (CR1000)
Modem: Bluetree 6800 modems on Bell 3G or LTE Network (HSPA)
Power source: 40W solar panels and 12V / 100 AH battery
Soil moisture sensor: Steven's HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)
Rain gauge: Campbell Scientific tipping bucket rain gauge (CS700)
Wind speed/ direction: RM Young wind monitor (Model 05103)
Air temperature and relative humidity: Campbell Scientific temperature and relative humidity probe (HC2‐S3 or HC‐S3) installed inside a RM Young radiation shield (model 41003)

Installation Procedure - Saskatchewan

The stations were installed in the summer of 2011 and detailed descriptions of the installation procedure and the soil profiles are provided by L'Heureux (2011). The four Saskatchewan RISMA stations were installed in pastures, meaning the stations could be installed anywhere on the field without risk of being hit by agricultural machinery. The locations are fenced to prevent cattle from interfering with the sensors.

General Setup - Saskatchewan

The meteorological sensors, datalogger, solar panel, battery and soil moisture probes were installed inside a fenced area, 10 × 20 ft (3.048 × 6.096 m) (Figure 9) to prevent interference from cattle. The tipping rain bucket is located at a height of 1.5 m, to ensure accurate measurement of rainfall while the wind speed/direction sensor is at a 2 m height. The temperature and relative humidity sensor is located inside a radiation shield minimizing influence from solar radiation. The radiation shield is on a 1.5 m fence post located and faces north where ever possible. An illustration of the station layout is shown in Figure 10.

Soil Moisture Probe Installation - Saskatchewan

The soil moisture sensors were installed in a soil pit excavated with a backhoe. Care was taken to leave an "undisturbed" wall where the sensors were installed. The soil removed from the pit was placed on a tarp so that it could be used to backfill the pit with minimal mixing of the soil layers. The sensor locations were selected and flagged. Three sensors, or replicas, were installed at each depth: 0‐5 cm (vertical), 5 cm (horizontal), 20 cm (horizontal), 50 cm (horizontal), where at 100 cm (horizontal) and 150 cm (horizontal) were installed. The replicas were installed to form three columns of sensors except at the 100 cm and 150 cm depths where only two sensors were installed (Figure 11). Within the columns, the sensors are offset from each other, by approximately 1 m, to avoid disturbing the flow to the sensors below.

To install the soil moisture sensors, a soil coring device (2 inch diameter × 3 inch long [5.08 × 7.62 cm]) was used to extract an undisturbed soil sample from the pit wall at each flagged sensor location (Figure 12). The soil coring device was hammered horizontally into the pit wall. The soil removed from each location was retained for analysis. Then, the cavity was scraped clean and smooth as the soil moisture probes need to be installed flush with the soil surface. Next, the sensors were inserted into the cavity left after extracting the soil core using a length of PVC tube for leverage. After installing the sensors, the soil core cavity was backfilled with soil and a mix of soil and bentonite to prevent preferential flow towards the sensor. Once all the sensors were installed, the soil pit and the trench were carefully backfilled.

The soil removed during the coring process was used to do site specific lab calibration (dry down of undisturbed sample) and a soil texture analysis for each sensor location.

Regular Maintenance - Saskatchewan

The plots require very little maintenance and probes have had minimal reinserted since instillation. A few of the surface (0-5 cm) and 5 cm probes have been moved and reinserted. However, in 2019, an annual reinsertion of the surface (0-5 cm) soil probes will occur. This is due to the buildup of soil organic matter on the soil surface and the need to maintain contact with the soil.

Soil Texture - Saskatchewan

A hydrometer method was used to determine soil textural composition from samples that were taken during installation.

**Table 7: Soil textures for Saskatchewan RISMA Stations.**
Station	Depth (cm)	Density (g/cm³)	Sand (%)	Silt (%)	Clay (%)	Classification
SK1	0-5	1.01	14.5	56.3	29.2	Silty Clay Loam
SK1	5	1.07	14.8	56.3	28.9	Silty Clay Loam
SK1	20	1.52	23.0	49.9	27.1	Loam
SK1	50	1.59	11.7	53.2	35.1	Silty Clay Loam
SK1	100	1.81	38.8	31.5	29.7	Clay Loam
SK1	150	1.81	24.0	47.3	28.7	Clay Loam
SK2	0-5	1.10	20.2	55.4	24.4	Silt Loam
SK2	5	1.34	24.3	49.6	26.1	Loam
SK2	20	1.58	21.5	48.6	29.9	Clay Loam
SK2	50	1.69	52.5	26.8	20.7	Sandy Clay Loam
SK2	100	1.87	35.1	25.8	39.1	Clay Loam
SK2	150	1.88	36.2	31.0	32.8	Clay Loam
SK3	0-5	1.31	35.6	36.8	27.6	Loam
SK3	5	1.61	45.1	30.7	24.2	Loam
SK3	20	1.63	49.5	26.1	24.4	Sandy Clay Loam
SK3	50	1.73	41.4	25.2	33.4	Clay Loam
SK3	100	1.86	40.9	31.9	27.2	Loam
SK3	150	2.00	37.1	29.4	33.5	Clay Loam
SK4	0-5	1.25	24.3	44.9	30.8	Clay Loam
SK4	5	1.57	29.1	37.6	33.3	Clay Loam
SK4	20	1.52	26.5	40.7	32.8	Clay Loam
SK4	50	1.59	28.7	38	33.3	Clay Loam
SK4	100	1.57	30.4	36.6	33.0	Clay Loam
SK4	150	1.62	33.5	34.6	31.9	Clay Loam
Note that depth 0‐5 cm indicates the surface (vertically) installed surface sensors.

Soil Moisture Calibration Equations - Saskatchewan

The soil moisture calibration equations are based on a lab calibration from site specific soil cores.

**Table 8: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Saskatchewan RISMA stations.**
Station	Depth (cm)	Equation (x=RDC)
SK1	0-5	(0.00663x² + 1.14948x + 3.525889) / 100
SK1	5	(0.000127x² + 1.43425x + 1.334277) / 100
SK1	20	(0.02280x² + 0.57818x + 2.92099) / 100
SK1	50	(0.02021x² + 0.26598x + 4.32800) / 100
SK1	100	(0.02168x² + 0.62133x + 0.35983) / 100
SK1	150	(0.00873x² + 0.94502x ‐ 1.65041) / 100
SK2	0-5	(0.0107x² + 0.9161x + 4.062) / 100
SK2	5	(0.0152x² + 0.8583x + 2.4355) / 100
SK2	20	(0.0228x² + 0.479x + 3.3194) / 100
SK2	50	(0.0439x² + 0.2804x + 2.0212) / 100
SK2	100	(0.0466x² − 0.4425x + 8.6272) / 100
SK2	150	(‐0.0038x² + 1.3114x ‐ 3.618) / 100
SK3	0-5	(0.01666x² + 0.73262x + 2.38252) / 100
SK3	5	(0.01089x² + 1.05061x − 0.70396) / 100
SK3	20	(0.01827x² + 0.72865x + 0.76218) / 100
SK3	50	(‐0.00794x² + 1.053396x − 2.48302) / 100
SK3	100	(‐0.00267x² + 0.54936x + 2.19025) / 100
SK3	150	(‐0.00602x² + 1.06546x − 4.60197) / 100
SK4	0-5	(0.0217x² + 0.4287x + 4.4967) / 100
SK4	5	(0.0263x² + 0.1246x + 4.8707) / 100
SK4	20	(0.0258x² + 0.1622x + 4.0373) / 100
SK4	50	(0.0171x² + 0.6727x + 0.2673) / 100
SK4	100	(0.0016x² + 0.556x + 1.5024) / 100
SK4	150	(‐0.0056x² + 1.0049x − 2.0664) / 100
The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m³/m³. RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant.

Data - Saskatchewan

Sensor data is logged every 15 minutes and the data is updated on the AAFC internal server, SOS cloud server and the web portal once per hour.

Data format changed in 2013 with the installation of the additional sensors and new dataloggers. Data recorded prior to 2013 can be requested directly from Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada. Data recorded after June 2013 is provided at the following data portal: Soil monitoring stations. Current conditions, 15‐minute data series and daily data summaries can be visualized and downloaded through the portal.

The headers for the soil moisture sensors are constructed according to:

Depth of measurement in cm, replica or column number, parameter

#1 sensors were installed in column #1
#2 sensors were installed in column #2, which is the middle column (always located between column 1 and 3)
#3 sensors were installed in column #3

15 Minute Data - Saskatchewan

The following are examples of 15‐minute data headers for station SK1.

SK1 Reading Time (CST): Date and time reported in Local Standard Time (CST), 24‐hour clock
SK1 Ambient Air RHAvg(%): Average relative humidity in the past 15 minutes measured at a 1.5 m height, in percent
SK1 Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average air temperature in the past 15 minutes measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C
SK1 Precipitation (mm): Total amount of rain in the past 15 minutes measured at a 1.5 m height, in mm
SK1 Wind WindDir: Average wind direction in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, in cardinal direction
SK1 Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, in km/h
SK1 Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, km/h
SK1 Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum wind speed in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2 m height, km/h
SK1 0-5 cm Depth Sensor 1 Temp (°C): Soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) measured at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in °C
SK1 0-5 cm Depth Sensor 1 WFV (%): Calibrated soil moisture as calculated based on the recorded RDC at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in m³/m³

SK1 20 cm Depth Sensor 3 WFV (%).

Note, the station ID in the header may be provided as SK_1 or SK1 depending on where the data is downloaded. The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided above. The soil moisture measured by a horizontal 5 cm sensor in column #2, would have the following header:

SK_1_Hydra_5cm_WFV_2.

The data files for all stations are structured exactly the same and the headers are the same with the exception of Station ID.

Daily Data - Saskatchewan

The daily data values provided on the data portal (Soil monitoring stations) are calculated at midnight Local Standard Time (CST for SK stations) and cover the previous 24 hour period.

The following is an example of the daily data headers for SK stations:

Reading Time (CST): Date, year-month-day
Ambient Air RHAvg(%): Average daily relative humidity measured at a 2 m height, in percent
Ambient Air Temp (°C): Average daily air temperature measured at a 2 m height, in °C
Ambient Air TempMax (°C): Maximum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5vm height, in °C
Ambient Air TempMin (°C): Minimum daily air temperature measured at a 1.5 m height, in °C
Precipitation Total (mm): Total daily rain amount measured at a 1.5 m height, in mm
Wind WindDir: Average daily wind direction measured at a 3 m height, in cardinal direction
Wind WindSpeed (km/h): Average daily wind speed measured at a 2 m height, in km/h
Wind WindSpeedMax (km/h): Maximum daily wind speed measured at a 2 m height, in km/h
Wind WindSpeedMin (km/h): Minimum daily wind speed measured at a 2m height, in km/h
0-5 cm Depth Average (°C): Average daily soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in °C
0-5 cm Depth Average WFV (%): Average daily calibrated soil moisture at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in %

The data from the remaining Steven's HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided above. The daily average soil temperature measured at 20-cm depth would have the following header:

20 cm Depth Average Temp (°C).

Data Flags - Saskatchewan

The HydraProbe data has gone through a basic, automated QC procedure where data not meeting quality standards has either been removed or flagged.

Missing data and data removed by QC process is reported as "NoData" in the data columns and as NA in the flag columns.

The data flags have been modified over time and are considered cumulative after V2.20140214.

V1.20130617: Applied June 27, 2013.

These data flags apply to data downloaded between June 17, 2013, and the application of the next data version.

Original QC Flags

"Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5 "

The flags will be OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each Flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Out of average range" / "NA"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Readings below zero" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT > 2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0 or greater than 0.60
Flag 2 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used.
Flag 3 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)
Flag 4 "Readings below zero": activated if Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) or Temperature Corrected Soil Conductivity (CON) is negative
Flag 5 "DLT > 2": activated if the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is greater than 2

V2.20140214: Applied February 14, 2014.

Updates: The automated QC protocol has been adjusted and the soil moisture flags have been modified.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between February 14, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

Meteorological data: The known bad data between June 2013 and November 2013 has been removed. Also new to this version is that the precipitation data will be removed and reported as "NoData" when the air temperature is below freezing point.

Soil Moisture QC Flags: "Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6"

The flags will be OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each Flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV average range" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil" / warning: "STC averaged using depth 1 & 2" / "NA"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Out of RDC range" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT >= 1.5" / "NA"
Flag 6 Output: "OK" / "CON >= 0.2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if the Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0.02 or greater than 0.60
Flag 2 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data)
Flag 3 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used
Flag 3 "STC averaged using depth 1 & 2": activated when HydraProbe sensor #3 does not measure soil temperature. The average soil temperature from sensor #1 and 2 is used instead. Occurs at some ON stations.
Flag 4 "Out of RDC range": activated when Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is less than 2.4
Flag 5 "DLT >= 1.5": activated when the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5
Flag 6 "CON >= 0.2": activated when temperature corrected soil conductivity (CON) is equal to or larger than 0.2 S/m.

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC), conductivity (Con) or dielectric loss tangent is negative as it indicates a malfunctioning sensor.

V3.20141128: Applied November 28, 2014.

Updates: The soil moisture flags have not been modified from V2.20140214.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between November 28, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

V4.20170104: Applied January 4, 2017.

Updates: No specific updates were applied to the Saskatchewan stations. The soil moisture flags remain similar to V2.20140214.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between January 4, 2017, and the application date of the next data version.

Probe Status - Saskatchewan

Occasionally the HydroProbe sensors stop working. While the surface (0-5 cm) and 5 cm probes are replace, the 20 cm and deeper probes are not replaced. Replacement of the deep probes may result a significant shift in soil moisture due to the recent soil disturbance. Table 9 and Table 10 identifies the sensors that are currently active from those who have been deemed non-responsive in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

**Table 9 : List of sensors for the Saskatchewan stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014.**
Station	0-5 cm			5 cm			20 cm			50 cm			100 cm			150 cm
Station	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
SK1	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
SK2	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
SK3	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
SK4	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
"A" signifies sensors that are active, "NI" signifies sensors which were never installed, "NS" signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies "R" for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

**Table 10: List of sensors for the Saskatchewan stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of October 2018.**
Station	0-5 cm			5 cm			20 cm			50 cm			100 cm			150 cm
Station	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
SK1	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
SK2	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
SK3	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
SK4	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	A	A	NI
"A" signifies sensors that are active, "NI" signifies sensors which were never installed, "NS" signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies "R" for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis. Note the surface (0-5 cm) probes will be annually reinserted starting in 2019.

References - Saskatchewan

L'Heureux, J. (2011). 2011 Installation Report for AAFC‐SAGES Soil Moisture Stations in Kenaston, SK. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Regina, SK.

Ontario Real-time In-situ Soil Monitoring for Agriculture (RISMA) Network Metadata

The Ontario monitoring network (ON1 – ON5) was established in 2010 and 2011 by AAFC at a site of ongoing research in the development and validation of soil moisture retrieval models from active microwave satellites. The network is situated near Casselman, about 50 km east of Ottawa (see Table 11 and Figure 13 ), in Canada's Mixed Wood Plain Ecozone. The location of each station was selected based on soil texture variability across the area, as well as variability at the field level. One additional station is located on Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada's Central Experimental Farm (CEF) in Ottawa.

In the fall of 2015, the ON1 station was discontinued and a new station, labelled ON6, was installed northwest of ON1 within the same soil texture.

The Ontario stations are located at the edge of agricultural fields with annual crops. The fields are seeded in May and harvested in August through to September, leaving the fields fallow for the remainder of the year; often snow covered between December and April. Annual crops generally grown in the area include corn, soybeans and wheat. The deeper (50 cm and 100 cm) soil moisture sensors are located in the field, about 5‐10 m away from the edge, while the shallow sensors (0-5 cm, 5 cm and 20 cm) are located in the grassy area at the edge of the field to avoid interference with farming operations. The Ontario stations record precipitation, as well as real dielectric constant, soil moisture and soil temperature at each depth. Many of the stations have a high water table and 100 cm sensors could only be installed at two stations (ON3 and ON5). Three HydraProbe sensors, or replicas, are installed at each depth. This replication provides a measurement of spatial variability in soil moisture and redundancy in the event of sensor malfunction.

Station Location - Ontario

**Table 11: Ontario RISMA Station Locations.**
Station ID	Legal Land Description	Easting	Northing	Latitude	Longitude	Status
ON1	CON 20 PT LOT 12	505020	5020462	45.33765	−74.93593	Inactive
ON2	CON 15 S PT LOT 9	504077	5027566	45.40160	−74.94790	Active
ON3	CON 17E PT LOT 18	500228	5023235	45.36263	−74.99708	Active
ON4	CON 8 PT GORE LOT CON 9	498489	5017836	45.31403	−75.01928	Active
ON5	CON 16 E PT LOT 18	499754	5024816	45.37686	−75.00314	Active
ON6	CON 18 W PT LOTS 9, 10	504701	5020723	45.3628	−74.93420	Active
CEF1	-	443652	5026024	45.38548	−75.71978	Active
Note that Easting and Northing are provided in UTM Z18 WGS84.

Instrumentation - Ontario

Prior to June 2018, the following instrumentation was used:

Data Transmission: Adcon A755 GSM/GPRS Radio Telemetry Unit (RTU), powered by Adcon 9 VDC 460 mA battery and 4.3 W solar panel
Station power source: 40 W solar panels and 12V / 18 AH batteries
Soil moisture sensor: Steven's HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)
Rain gauge: Tipping bucket rain gauge (Adcon RG1 2mm)
Motion camera: Moultrie MCG-12589

In June 2018, the Ontario RISMA stations underwent a system change with updates to several of the components:

Datalogger: Campbell Scientific CR1000X measurement and control datalogger
Modem: Microhard Bullet-LTE modem on Bell 4G network
Station power source: 40 W solar panels with 12 V / 22 AH batteries
Soil moisture sensor: Steven's HydraProbe II (SDI‐12)
Rain gauge: Adcon RG12 mm tipping rain bucket
Motion camera: Moultrie MCG-12589

Installation Procedure - Ontario

The stations (ON1 to ON5) were installed in the summer of 2010 and 2011. In the fall of 2015, the ON1 station was discontinued and a new station within the same soil texture was installed northwest of ON1 and labelled ON6. The Ontario stations were designed to be low maintenance and to avoid interference from agricultural machinery, particularly the soil moisture sensors. The shallow soil moisture sensors are at the edge of the field, while the deeper soil moisture sensors are buried within the field.

General Setup - Ontario

The stations consist of a datalogger, rain gauge, battery and solar panel (Figure 16) and installed on the edge of the field in a grassy area. The surface (0-5 cm), 5 cm and 20 cm are considered to be the shallow probes and are located in the grassy area on the edge of the field.

The Adcon RTU system had a limited number of variables it could record. For stations recording soil moisture at the 100 cm depth (ON3 and ON5), the soil temperature can only be recorded from two of the soil moisture probes at this depth in order to accommodate the additional space needed to record the soil moisture measurements from the 100 cm sensor.

In June 2018, a new datalogger and modem were installed. The datalogger and modem are now located inside the enclosure and the modem antenna is attached to the main pole below the rain bucket (Figure 15). This datalogger can handle significantly more variables and soil temperature at the 100 cm depth is recorded on all three replicates.

A rain tipping bucket gauge, is installed approximately 2.5 m above ground level, preventing interference from the crop, on the main pole of the station Additionally, the tipping rain bucket is installed on the opposite side of the pole from the solar panel, eliminating interference from the solar panel. As the bucket measures rain fall only, it is removed from the station in late November and installed in April when temperatures are consistently above 0°C.

A motion camera is located inside a housing attached to the central pole. The camera is set to take a photograph when movement is sensed. The photographs are used to verify field activity and possible events affecting soil moisture readings (i.e. spraying).

Soil Moisture Probe Installation - Ontario

The soil moisture probes were buried in two separate pits. A small soil pit at edge of the field was dug for the 5 cm and 20 cm probes, while another deeper pit was dug in the field for the 50 cm and 100 cm probes. The deeper pit is approximately 5 to 10 m from the edge of the field (Figure 16). However, due to the high water table in the Casselman area, the 100 cm sensors could only be installed at two of the Ontario stations (ON3 and ON5).

The soil pits were carefully excavated manually and the soil was carefully placed on a tarp. Additionally, trenches for the sensor’s wires were dug and soil was also placed on a tarp. After the soil pit was excavated, a small and a large undisturbed soil core were taken at each depth for analysis (Figure 17).

The sensor locations were selected and flagged in the soil pit. Three sensors, or replicas, were installed at each depth. A large soil coring device (2 inch diameter × 6 inches long [5.08 × 15.24 cm]) was hammered vertically into the pit wall and the soil carefully set aside (Figure 18). The inside of the cavity left by the soil coring device was scraped clean and smooth as the soil moisture probes need to be installed flush with the soil surface. The soil moisture sensors were installed into the cavity left by the coring device using a short PVC pipe for leverage. The remainder of the soil core hole was filled with a mixture of soil and bentonite to prevent preferential flow towards the sensor. Once all sensors were installed, the soil pit and trench were carefully backfilled to prevent mixing of the soil layers.

Regular Maintenance - Ontario

Given their tendency to shift during freeze-thaw cycles, removal by animals and to effects of soil cracking, the vertical sensors (0-5 cm) are reinserted often to ensure measurements remain accurate. As well, the 5 cm sensors are affected by freeze-thaw cycles, often being heaved to the soil surface, and have to be reinstalled in the spring.

Each spring the area around the shallow soil moisture probes is hand tilled and planted with the same crop as in the field. The plants in this plot are tended to mimic the conditions in the field which includes regularly weeding the plot by hand or cutting surrounding weeds with a weed trimmer.

CEF Station - Ontario - Installation Procedure

The CEF station was installed in the summer of 2010 as an addition to an existing experiment at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre. The station is installed within a fenced area which is cropped seasonally. The installation and setup of the station followed the same procedure as the Cassleman sites. Soil texture analysis was complete earlier as part of the existing experiment on the field.

Soil Texture - Ontario

The small undisturbed soil cores taken during the soil moisture probe instillation were analyzed to determine soil texture using the hydrometer method.

**Table 12: Soil textures for Ontario RISMA Stations based on the soil core extracted during installation.**
Station	Depth (cm)	Density (g/cm³)	Sand (%)	Silt (%)	Clay (%)	Classification
ON1	0-5	1.44	8.3	38.6	53.1	Clay
ON1	5	1.44	8.3	38.6	53.1	Clay
ON1	20	1.38	8.6	39.2	52.2	Clay
ON1	50	1.22	28.4	29.9	41.7	Clay
ON2	0-5	1.32	34.7	45.4	19.9	Loam
ON2	5	1.32	34.7	45.4	19.9	Loam
ON2	20	1.5	36.5	45.9	17.6	Loam
ON2	50	1.6	68.2	25.7	6.1	Sandy Loam
ON3	0-5	1.36	23.8	32.4	43.8	Clay
ON3	5	1.36	23.8	32.4	43.8	Clay
ON3	20	1.42	24.4	29.5	46.1	Clay
ON3	50	1.29	2.4	45.4	52.2	Silty Clay
ON4	0-5	1.36	28.1	43.1	28.8	Clay Loam
ON4	5	1.36	28.1	43.1	28.8	Clay Loam
ON4	20	1.42	10.6	32.8	56.6	Clay
ON4	50	1.29	2.4	53.3	44.3	Silty Clay
ON5	0-5	1.36	51.6	41.9	6.5	Sandy Loam
ON5	5	1.36	51.6	41.9	6.5	Sandy Loam
ON5	20	1.42	47.9	45.6	6.5	Sandy Loam
ON5	50	1.29	71.2	23.8	5	Sandy Loam
ON5	100	1.29	39.7	32.3	28	Clay Loam
ON6	0-5	1.44	8.3	38.6	53.1	Clay
ON6	5	1.44	8.3	38.6	53.1	Clay
ON6	20	1.38	8.6	39.2	52.2	Clay
ON6	50	1.22	28.4	29.9	41.7	Clay
Note that depth 0‐5 cm indicates the vertically installed surface sensors.

CEF Station - Ontario - Soil texture

Soil texture analysis was completed prior to the instillation of the soil monitoring station as part of a previous experiment. Soil texture analysis was provided (Gregorich, personal communication, 2019) during the instillation of the station.

**Table 13: Soil textures for CEF RISMA Station based on soil texture analysis from the pre-existing experiment on the same site.**
Station	Sand (%)	Silt (%)	Clay (%)	Classification
CEF1	67.9	20	12.1	Sandy loam

Soil Moisture Calibration Equations - Ontario

The soil moisture calibration equations are based on Seyfried (2005) and Bellingham (2007). Additionally, soil moisture calibrations were verified by field testing and lab calibration. The soil cores from the sites were taken and site specific functions were developed, however the texture based equations from Seyfried (2005) and Bellingham (2007) were found to reduced error when compared to field collected gravimetric samples (Canisius, 2011).

**Table 14: The soil moisture calibration equations for the Ontario RISMA stations.**
Station	Depth (cm)	Equation (x=RDCTempCorr=RDC 1.011 / (1.045-0.00225 STC))
ON1	0-5	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON1	5	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464 x²) + (0.0032414 x³)) / 100
ON1	20	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464 x²) + (0.0032414 x3)) / 100
ON1	50	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464 x²) + (0.0032414 x³)) / 100
ON2	0-5	0.109 * √x − 0.179
ON2	5	0.109 * √x − 0.179
ON2	20	0.109 * √x − 0.179
ON2	50	0.109 * √x − 0.179
ON3	0-5	(‐20.93 + (6.553x) + (‐0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON3	5	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON3	20	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON3	50	0.1088 * √x − 0.1738
ON3	100	0.1088 * √x − 0.1738
ON4	0-5	0.1033 * √x − 0.1768
ON4	5	0.1033 * √x − 0.1768
ON4	20	(−20.93 + (6.553x) (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON4	50	0.1088 * √x − 0.1738
ON5	0-5	0.1105 * √x − 0.1725
ON5	5	0.1105 * √x − 0.1725
ON5	20	0.109 * √x − 0.179
ON5	50	0.109 * √x − 0.179
ON5	100	0.1033 * √x − 0.1768
ON6	0-5	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON6	5	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON6	20	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
ON6	50	(−20.93 + (6.553x) + (−0.2464x²) + (0.0032414x³)) / 100
The soil moisture calibration equations output soil moisture as m³/m³. RDCTempCorr is the temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant RDC is the non‐temperature corrected Real Dielectric Constant STC is soil temperature in degrees Celsius.

CEF Station - Ontario - Soil Moisture Calibration Equations

The soil calibration equation for the CEF station uses Bellingham's (2007) Loam 1 equation on all sensor depths.

(0.109√x) – 0.179

Data - Ontario

Sensor data is logged every 15 minutes and the data is updated on the AAFC internal server, SOS cloud server and the web portal once per hour.

Data format changed in 2013 with the installation of the additional sensors and the new dataloggers. Data recorded prior to 2013 can be requested directly from Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada. Data recorded after June 2013 is provided at the following data portal: Soil monitoring stations. Current conditions, 15‐minute data series and daily data summaries can be visualized and downloaded through the portal.

The headers for the soil moisture sensors are constructed according to:

Depth of measurement in cm, replica or column number, parameter

#1 sensors were installed in column #1
#2 sensors were installed in column #2, which is the middle column (always located between column 1 and 3)
#3 sensors were installed in column #3

15 Minute Data - Ontario

The following are examples of 15‐minute data headers for station ON2:

ON2 Reading Time (EST): Date and time of the data recordings in Local Standard Time (EST), 24 hour clock
ON2 Precipitation (mm): Total amount of rain in the past 15 minutes measured at a 2.5 m height, in mm
ON2 0-5 cm Depth Sensor 1 Temp (°C): Soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) measured at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in °C.
ON 2 0-5 cm Depth Sensor 1 WFV (%): Calibrated soil moisture as calculated based on the recorded RDC at 0‐5cm (vertical surface sensor) in column #1, in m³/m³.

ON2 20 cm Depth Sensor 3 WFV (%).

Note, the station ID in the header may be provided as ON_1 or ON1 depending on where the data is downloaded. The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the 0 to 5 cm_1 example provided above. The soil moisture measured by a horizontal 5 cm sensor in column #2, would have the following header:

ON_1_Hydra_5cm_WFV_2.

The data files for all stations are structured exactly the same and the headers are the same with the exception of Station ID.

Daily Data - Ontario

The daily data values provided at the data portal (Soil monitoring stations) are calculated from midnight Local Standard Time (EST for ON stations) for the previous 24 hour period.

The following is an example of the daily data headers for ON stations:

Reading Time (EST): Date, year-month-day
Precipitation Total (mm): Total daily amount of rain measured at 2.5 m height, in mm
0-5 cm Depth Average (°C): Average daily soil temperature (HydraProbe parameter F) at 0‐5 cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in °C
0-5 cm Depth Average WFV (%): Average daily calibrated soil moisture at 0‐5cm (vertical surface sensor) for all columns, in %

The data from the remaining Stevens HydraProbe sensors follow the exact pattern as the example provided above. The daily average soil moisture measured at 20-cm depth would have the following header:

20 cm Depth Average WFV (%).

Data Flags - Ontario

The HydraProbe data has gone through a basic, automated QC procedure where data not meeting quality standards has either been removed or flagged.

Missing data and data removed by QC process is reported as "NoData" in the data columns and as NA in the flag columns.

The data flags have been modified over time.

V1.20130617: Applied June 27, 2013.

These data flags apply to data downloaded between June 17, 2013, and the application of the next data version. Original QC Flags

"Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5"

The flags will be OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each Flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Out of average range" / "NA"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Readings below zero" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT > 2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0 or greater than 0.60.
Flag 2 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used
Flag 3 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data).
Flag 4 "Readings below zero": activated if Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is negative
Flag 5 "DLT > 2": activated if the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is greater than 2. Note that since Imaginary Dielectric Permittivity is not recorded at Ontario stations, this flag is not relevant.

V2.20140214: Applied February 14, 2014.

Updates: The automated QC protocol has been adjusted and the soil moisture flags modified.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between February 14, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

Meteorological data: The known bad data between June 2013 and November 2013 has been removed. Soil Moisture QC Flags:

"Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6"

The flags will be OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each Flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV average range" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil" / warning: "STC averaged using depth 1 & 2" / "NA"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Out of RDC range" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT >= 1.5" / "NA" Flag 6 Output: "OK" / "CON >= 0.2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if the Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0.02 or greater than 0.60
Flag 2 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data).
Flag 3 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used
Flag 3 "STC averaged using depth 1 & 2": activated when HydraProbe sensor #3 does not measure soil temperature. The average soil temperature from sensor #1 and 2 is used instead. Occurs at some ON stations.
Flag 4 "Out of RDC range": activated when Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is less than 2.4
Flag 5 "DLT >= 1.5": activated when the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5. Note that since Imaginary Dielectric Permittivity is not recorded at Ontario stations, this flag is not relevant.
Flag 6 "CON >= 0.2": activated when temperature corrected soil conductivity (CON) is equal to or larger than 0.2S/m. Note that since conductivity is not recorded at Ontario stations, this flag is not relevant.

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC) is negative as it indicates a malfunctioning sensor.

V3.20141128: Applied November 28, 2014.

The soil moisture flags have not been modified from V2.20140214.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between November 28, 2014, and the application date of the next data version.

V4.20170104: Applied January 4, 2017.

Updates: A new station ON6 has been installed in the Ontario network. A new calibration equation has been implemented for this station and added to the QC automated protocol. Station ON1 has been discontinued and removed from the QC automated protocol. The soil moisture flags remain similar to V2.20140214.

These updates apply to all RISMA data (June 2013 to current) downloaded between January 4, 2017, and the application date of the next data version.

Non-responsive HydraProbe sensors: HydraProbe sensors that have been non-responsive at 20-cm depths and below will not be replaced with new sensors and thus are now being reported as "NoSensor". Table 15 and Table 16 identifies the sensors that are currently active from those who have been deemed non-responsive.

V5.20171024: Applied October 24, 2017

Updates: three 100 cm probes have been installed in ON3 station. The soil moisture flags remain similar to V2.20140214

V6.20180613: Applied on June 13, 2018

Updates: The Ontario stations have undergone an upgrade, including a datalogger capable of handling more sensors and channels. With this upgrade, all RISMA stations have the same quality control procedure and flags. The flags remain similar to Vs.20140214.

"Flag1,Flag2,Flag3,Flag4,Flag5,Flag6"

The flags will be OK, NA or an error message. Here are the possible outputs for each Flag:

Flag 1 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV range" / "NA"
Flag 2 Output: "OK" / "Out of WFV average range" / "NA"
Flag 3 Output: "OK" / "Frozen soil"
Flag 4 Output: "OK" / "Out of RDC range" / "NA"
Flag 5 Output: "OK" / "DLT >= 1.5" / "NA"
Flag 6 Output: "OK" / "CON >= 0.2" / "NA"

Flag 1 "Out of WFV range": activated if the Soil Moisture (m³/m³) is less than 0.02 or greater than 0.60
Flag 2 "Out of WFV average range": activated if Soil Moisture value (m³/m³) is more than 10% different from the average, i.e. if there are sudden changes in soil moisture (these could be due to rain events or data noise; the flag is there to assist in interpretation along with rain gauge data).
Flag 3 "Frozen soil": activated if the soil temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and indicates that the soil moisture readings should not be used.
Flag 4 "Out of RDC range": activated when Real Dielectric Constant (RDC) is between 0 and 2.4.
Flag 5 "DLT >= 1.5": activated when the Dielectric Loss Tangent (DLT = Imaginary Dielectric Constant / Real Dielectric Constant) is equal to or larger than 1.5.
Flag 6 "CON >= 0.2": activated when temperature corrected soil conductivity (CON) is equal to or larger than 0.2 S/m.

The HydraProbe data is removed if real dielectric constant (RDC) is negative as it indicates a malfunctioning sensor.

Probe Status - Ontario

**Table 15: List of sensors for the Ontario stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of December 2014.**
Stations	0-5 cm			5 cm			20 cm			50 cm			100 cm
Stations	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
ON1	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
ON2	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	NS	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
ON3	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
ON4	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
ON5	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
CEF1	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
"A" signifies sensors that are active "NI" signifies sensors which were never installed "NS" signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies "R" for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

**Table 16: List of sensors for the Ontario stations that have been deemed unresponsive as of July 2018.**
Stations	0-5 cm			5 cm			20 cm			50 cm			100 cm
Stations	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
ON1	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	DS	NI	NI	NI
ON2	R	R	R	R	R	NS	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
ON3	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	NS	A	A	A	A
ON4	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
ON5	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	NS	A	A	A	A
ON6	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
CEF1	R	R	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	NI	NI	NI
"A" signifies sensors that are active "NI" signifies sensors which were never installed "NS" signifies sensors have been disconnected due to failure or anomalies "R" for sensors which are replaced or reinserted on a regular basis.

References - Ontario

Bellingham, K. (2007). The Stevens HydraProbe Inorganic Soil Calibrations. Stevens Water Monitoring Systems, Portland, Oregon. 5pp.
www.stevenswater.com/resources/documentation/hydraprobe_inorganic_soil_calibrations.pdf (Accessed July 23, 2018).

Canisius, F. (2011). Calibration of Casselman, Ontario Soil Moisture Monitoring Network. Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Ottawa, ON. 37pp.

Seyfried, MS, LE Grant, E Du and K Humes. (2005). Dielectric Loss and Calibration of the HydraProbe Soil Water Sensor. Vadose Zone Journal 4: 1070‐1079.