July 2026 issue

Volume 71, Issue 7

What happens just underneath the Earth’s surface is responsible for our agricultural systems, regulates our climate, and supports our infrastructure. A multistate group of soil scientists recently published a Vadose Zone Journal review that outlines key areas of research happening in this unsaturated zone. Knowledge gaps turn into research opportunities as the scientists review what we know—and don’t know—about how soil moisture, the hydrologic cycle, emerging soil contaminants, and more.

Read the article. 

Cover photo: Soil scientist Dong Wang uses a probe to collect soil moisture data as technician Matt Gonzales and agricultural engineer Jim Gartung record grape canopy cover with a spectral camera. Photo by Stephen Ausmus, USDA-ARS.