Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3505-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3505-2015
Research article
 | 
10 Aug 2015
Research article |  | 10 Aug 2015

Qualitative soil moisture assessment in semi-arid Africa – the role of experience and training on inter-rater reliability

M. Rinderer, H. C. Komakech, D. Müller, G. L. B. Wiesenberg, and J. Seibert

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Cited articles

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Short summary
A field method for assessing soil moisture in semi-arid conditions is proposed and tested in terms of inter-rater reliability with 40 Tanzanian farmers, students and experts. The seven wetness classes are based on qualitative indicators that one can see, feel or hear. It could be shown that the qualitative wetness classes reflect differences in volumetric water content and neither experience nor a certain level of education was a prerequisite to gain high agreement among raters.
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