Soil Moisture Content

The soil moisture content (MC) is a measure of the amount of water present in the soil compared to the dry mass of the soil particles. It is typically expressed as a percentage. In this formula, Mw is the mass of the wet soil just after it's been collected, and Md is the mass of the same soil after it has been dried to remove all moisture. The result represents the water content as a percent of the soil's dry mass.

To measure the soil moisture content, a soil sample is weighed before and after drying, which drives off the water content. This formula is crucial in various fields such as agriculture, soil science, and civil engineering as it helps in understanding the water retention capacity of soils and planning irrigation schedules.