Create a Daily Soil Summary

This tutorial describes how to create a daily soil data summary for a single station in Report Generator. The example will use a Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) station (Site 2015, Adams Ranch) to create a report which summarizes soil moisture and soil temperature at three depths for the last 30 days.

Step 1: Select station

1. Start Report Generator.
2. Select the Create/Modify Report tab.
3. Add the Adams Ranch SCAN station to the Selected Stations list. In Select network: select SCAN from the dropdown list.
4. In Enter station(s): enter 2015 (the station ID for Adams Ranch). Optionally, enter the first few characters of the Station Name to activate the auto-fill capability.
5. Select the Add button to add Station 2015 to the Selected Stations list.

The Adams Ranch station is now the selected station for the custom report.

Step 2: Select columns

The next step is to determine the data columns which will be part of the single station report. For this tutorial, we will add columns to display the previous 30 day's soil moisture percentage at three depths (2', 8", and 20") for the Adams Ranch station.

1. In the Select Columns pane, ensure the Data tab is selected.
2. In the Element area, select soil moisture percent.
3. Set Depth to -2", Value Type to Value, Function to Mean, and Function Interval to Hourly.
4. Select the Add button to add the element to the Manage Selected Columns list.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4, using the Depths -8" and -20".
6. Select the Add button to add each depth to the Manage Selected Columns list.

7. Next, in the Element area, select soil temperature observed. 
8. Set Depth to -2", Value Type to Value, Function to Mean, and Function Interval to Hourly.
9. Select the Add button to add the element to the Manage Selected Columns list.

   

10. Repeat Steps 8 and 9, using the Depths -8" and -20".
11. Select the Add button to add each depth to the Manage Selected Columns list.

Soil moisture and soil temperature data at depths of -2", -8", and -20" will be reported on an hourly mean basis for the Adams Ranch SCAN station (2015).

Now that the data types are selected, it's time to determine the layout of the final report.

Step 3: Determine report layout

For this example, the initial report will be generated with a frequency of monthly and Standard (non-grouped) layout.

1. In the Select Time Period, Layout, and Units pane, select the following:

Frequency = Daily
Report Instantaneous Data As = Start of Period 
Time Period = Last 30 Days, All Months, and All Days
Layout = Time Series
Units = English
Output Format = HTML

Step 4: Generate the report

Now that the station has been identified, the data types and their order defined, and the look and feel of the final report determined, it's time to generate the report and analyze the results.

1. Select the  button. The results of the report are displayed in the View Report tab.

Note that mean hourly soil moisture and soil temperature data are displayed for three depths (-2", -8", and -20") for the last 30 days for the Adams Ranch station (2015).

2. To change the report from tabular to chart view, select Chart from the Layout drop-down menu.

Tip: To save the results of the report, select the CSV icon () from the Output Format dropdown list. Use the Layout, Units, and Time Period menus to change the output of the report.

Tip: To save the chart in a graphics format, select the  button. Right click the image and select Save image as... to save to a format such as .png or .jpg.

This completes the Create a Daily Soil Data Summary tutorial. If you'd like to create your own summary report, click here to open Report Generator.