The Network of Measurement Stations for Physical Parameters of the Soils of Catalonia (XMS-Cat) is a project initiated in 2015 by the ICGC. It began in the Tremp basin, replacing manual stations with automatic stations that continuously record soil moisture and temperature. Since 2023, new stations have also been installed in other regions, maintaining a focus on the same type of crop, specifically rainfed vineyards. The data generated are aligned with international monitoring standards promoted by the International Soil Moisture Network (Dorigo et al., 2021; ISMN, 2023).

The XMS-Cat viewer aims to generate and provide continuous data on soil temperature and moisture at different depths and across various areas of Catalonia, with a special focus on wine-producing regions. These data, combined with the measurements of further environmental parameters, support various studies such as:

• the determination of soil climatic diets according to Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 1999). 
• environmental studies on climate change, using these parameters as indicators of the resilience and resistance of ecosystems (Bradford et al., 2019). 
• hydrological studies, such as the calculation of the water balance for the recharge of aquifers, among others (Robinson et al., 2003; SSSA, 2017).

The main users of this viewer are the following:

• Farmers and crop managers: to optimize irrigation and agricultural practices based on accurate soil moisture and temperature data (pest prediction, irrigation optimization, etc.). 
• Researchers and scientists: to study the characteristics and behavior of soils in different environmental conditions. 
• Public administrations: to plan and implement policies related to agriculture and land management.

Viewer ICGC XMS-Cat

In the viewer, users can access data on soil physical parameters from active stations, their geographic locations, and pedological information about the soils where they are installed. From the Soil Base Maps tab, users can also activate Geoindex-Soils layers related to the Soil Map of Catalonia at 1:250,000 scale (ICGC & DARP, 2019) and the assessment of climatic regimes in Catalonia based on the Soil Taxonomy classification (ICGC, 2014).

Data can be searched by date (day/month/year and time), with options for graphical visualization and CSV download. Available data includes:

• Soil moisture (m³/m³) and relative air humidity (%H₂O).
• Soil moisture (m³/m³) and total rainfall (l/m²).
• Soil temperature (ºC) and air temperature (ºC).

Full window viewer 

Use of the collected data

Soil moisture is the water stored in the most superficial layer of our planet and is an essential variable in numerous processes and applications such as:

• flood forecasting.
• water availability and retention.
• agricultural drought monitoring.
• fire prevention.
• water resources management.

Soil temperature is important for:

• plant productivity and development.
• nutrient cycle rates.
• soil microfauna activity.

Both parameters are also useful for:

• Soil classification (taxonomy) through climate regimes.
• Evaluating feasibility and sensors requirements for developing small Earth observation satellites.
• Geotechnics applications (soil mechanics), providing fundamental parameters for landslide control and slope stability assessment.

Operation of Stations and Technologies Used
 

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Figure 1. Diagram of a station for measuring physical soil parameters.

The stations that make up the network are equipped with four multiparametric soil sensors installed at 5, 20, 50, and 100 cm depths. These are capacitive sensors as described by Bogena et al. (2007) and Rosenbaum et al. (2010), which measure soil temperature and moisture (Topp et al., 1980; Ledieu et al., 1986).

The installation of these multiparametric sensors and the interpretation of the data are adapted to the methodological criteria established by the Soil Science Society of America for physical soil analysis (SSSA, 2017), ensuring the quality and comparability of the results obtained.

Each station is also equipped with environmental sensors: a rain gauge, a pyranometer, and a temperature and relative humidity probe for air measurements. These sensors are mounted on a 3-meter-high steel tower.

A weatherproof cabinet houses the data acquisition system, power system, and data communication system.

The station perimeter is marked and protected by a fence (Figure 1).

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Figure 2. Conceptual diagram of the XMS-Cat.

Data recordings are every 30 minutes. The acquisition systems are equipped with a telemetry -system modem with a SIM- card powered by a 30 W photovoltaic panel, which allows the data to be sent automatically to the ICGC server. 

The data are uploaded and organized in the spatial database management system NetMon© (ICGC measurement and control station monitoring system) from which and through a web service they can be consulted, analyzed and downloaded.

These data are public and accessible through the ICGC-Network of Physical Parameters Stations for Soil Measurement (XMS-Cat) Viewer, in which the edaphological information of each station can also be accessed (Figure 2).

Installation of stations

The installation of the station is carried out in two phases:

• In a first phase, excavations are made for the foundations of the tower and for the installation of the buried sensors. A description of the soil is also carried out in which the different horizons are identified and analyzed in the laboratory, since this edaphic knowledge will be basic to understand the data obtained by the sensors at different depths.
• In the second phase, the tower is installed with the environmental sensors, the solar panel and the cabinet with the power supply, data capture and sending system, where all the sensors are connected. These stations are installed on the edge of the plot, outside the cultivation area.

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Installation process of the Llívia station (Cerdanya)

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Sensor installation process at 5, 20, 50 and 100 cm

Implementation status (May 2025)

The project began in 2013 in the Tremp basin with manual sensors in vineyard fields linked to a high-altitude wine initiative. These sensors had limitations (manual download, power issues), which did not guarantee continuous data collection. To tackle stated issues, in 2016, replacement with automatic stations featuring remote transmission capabilities began.

Currently, the network includes 19 stations distributed across several Catalan regions: Alt Empordà, Alt Urgell, Cerdanya, Noguera, Osona, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Solsonès and Bages.

Finally, the integration of XMS-Cat data into the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) portal (https://ismn.earth/en/dataviewer/) broadens the reach of these data for international research, offering points of comparison and cross-validation with other global soil networks (Dorigo et al., 2021).

References

• Bradford, J. B., Schlaepfer, D. R., Lauenroth, W. K., Palmquist, K. A., Chambers, J. C., Maestas, J. D., Campbell, S. B. (2019). Climate-Driven Shifts in Soil Temperature and Moisture Regimes Suggest Opportunities to Enhance Assessments of Dryland Resilience and Resistance. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 358 p. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00358.
• Bogena, H. R., Huisman, J. A., Oberdörster, C., Vereecken, H. (2007). Evaluation of a low-cost soil water content sensor for wireless network applications. Journal of Hydrology, 344 (1–2): 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.06.032.
• Dorigo, W. A., Gruber, A., Scanlon, T., Ford, T. W., Hahn, S., & Van der Schalie, R. (2021). The International Soil Moisture Network: Serving Earth system science for over a decade. Earth System Science Data, 13 (4): 2345–2364. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2345-2021.
• ICGC (2014). Estimació dels règims climàtics de Catalunya segons la classificació de la Soil taxonomy (SSS, 1999). Informes tècnics de l’Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya, ED-0005/14, 40 p., Generalitat de Catalunya.
• ICGC i DARP (2019). Mapa de sòls de Catalunya 1:250.000 (MSC250M). Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya i Departament d’Agricultura Ramaderia i Pesca, Barcelona. Generalitat de Catalunya. ISBN: 978-84-393-9821-9 (imprès), 978-84-393-9836-3 (GeoPDF).
• ISMN (2023). International Soil Moisture Network Data viewer. https://ismn.earth/en/dataviewer/.
• Ledieu, J. P. De Ridder, De Clerck, P., Dautrebande S. (1986). A method of measuring soil moisture by time-domain reflectometry. Journal of Hydrology, 88 (3–4): 319-328.
• Robinson, D. A., Jones, S. B., Wraith, J. M., Or, D., & Friedman, S. P. (2003). A review of advances in dielectric and electrical conductivity measurement in soils using time domain reflectometry. Vadose Zone Journal, 2 (4): 444–475. https://doi.org/10.2113/2.4.444.
• Rosenbaum, U., Huisman, J. A., Weuthen, A., Vereecken, H., Bogena, H. R. (2010). Sensor-to-sensor variability of the ECH2O EC-5, TE, and 5TE sensors in dielectric liquids. Vadose Zone Journal, 9 (1): 181–186. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2009.0036.
• SSSA (2017). Methods of soil analysis: Physical methods (SSSA Book Series No. 5). Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America.
• Soil Survey Staff (1999). Soil taxonomy: A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys (2nd ed.). USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 436.
• Topp, G. C., Davis, J. L.,  A. P. Annan (1980). Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: measurements in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resources Research,  16 (3): 574-582.  https://doi.org/10.1029/WR016i003p00574.