The Schaefertal catchment is one of the intensive research sites in the TERENO Harz/Central German Lowland Observatory. During the last years it has been equipped with a multi-scale monitoring framework for measuring soil moisture content from the point to the small catchment scale. Research in the Schaefertal catchment predominantly aims at the physical description of hydrological processes at the small catchment scale with the aid of new measurement technologies and numerical models. Knowledge gained from these intensive measurements and related detailed process studies will in the future be used to transfer observation and monitoring concepts and process understanding to larger or less instrumented catchments.