Hill Demonstration Forest HF1 and HF2 riparian buffer and HF2 upland soil moisture data

This data publication contains hourly soil moisture data from three locations (defined as HF1 riparian buffer, HF2 riparian buffer, and HF2 upland) in a pair of watersheds on Hill Demonstration Forest (HF). Hourly soil moisture readings were monitored from 2010-2016 at the HF1 and HF2 riparian buffer locations at depths of 10 centimeters (cm) and 30 cm. At the HF2 upland location hourly soil mositure readings were monitored from 2015-2016 at depths of 10 cm and 60 cm. The HF is located north of Durham, North Carolina and is owned by North Carolina State University. Upland trees were harvested in HF1 watershed from 29 November 2010 to 19 January 2011 as part of a Timber Harvest/Best Management Practices Project, leaving a 15.2-meter (m) riparian buffer on either side of the stream. HF1 is the treatment watershed, and HF2 is the reference watershed. Therefore, no logging activities occurred in HF2. Although HF1 and HF2 are paired and share a watershed boundary line, the clearcut edge in HF1 is 130 m from HF2 monitored riparian buffer trees and poses little chance to create changes in HF2 riparian buffer soil or canopy conditions that would influence their water use. The riparian buffer covers about 8% of the watershed area in both HF1 and HF2.
Large spatial variability in water loss from forest based on measurements and models can be due to differences in soil moisture conditions across the landscape. Decreases in tree water use can be species dependent and can also vary across soil moisture. Thus, quantifying soil moisture is essential to improve water loss estimates from forests and refine the forests role in the hydrological cycle. This data publication is used by USDA Forest Service scientists, staff and cooperators in support of research in hydrology, watershed management, silviculture, and forest ecology in the North Carolina Piedmont Region.