Spatial patterns of soil temperature on sloping lands are related to the amount of solar irradiance at the surface. Since soil temperature is a critical determinant of many biological processes occurring in the soil, an accurate prediction of soil temperature distribution could be beneficial to agricultural and environmental management. However, at least two problems are identified in soil temperature prediction over natural sloped surfaces. One is the complexity of converting solar irradiances to corresponding soil temperatures, and the other, if the first problem could be solved, is the difficulty in handling large volumes of geo-spatial data. Recent developments in geographic information systems (GIS) provide the opportunity and tools to spatially organize and effectively manage data for modeling. In this paper, a simple model for conversion of solar irradiance to soil temperature is developed within a GIS environment. The irradiance-temperature conversion model is based on a geophysical variable consisting of daily short- and long-wave radiation components calculated for any slope. The short-wave component is scaled to accommodate a simplified surface energy balance expression. Linear regression equations are derived for 10 and 50 cm soil temperatures by using this variable as a single determinant and based on a long term observation data set from a horizontal location. Extendability of these equations to sloped surfaces is tested by comparing the calculated data with the monthly mean soil temperature data observed in Iowa and at 12 locations near the Tennessee - Kentucky border with various slope and aspect factors. Calculated soil temperature variations agreed well with the observed data. Finally, this method is applied to a simulation study of daily mean soil temperatures over sloped corn fields on a 30 m by 30 m resolution. The outputs reveal potential effects of topography including shading by neighboring terrain as well as the slope and aspect of the land itself on the soil temperature.

• Jin I. Yun
• S. Elwynn Taylor