Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.3390/agriculture13050971
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Interpreting Conv-LSTM for spatio-temporal soil moisture prediction in China
Author Huang, F.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Shangguan, W.; Li, Q.; Li, L.; Jiang, S.
Source Titel Agriculture-Basel
Year 2023
Department CHS
Volume 13
Issue 5
Page From art. 971
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.e2161bac
Supplements https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/agriculture13050971/s1
Keywords explainable artificial intelligence; deep learning; soil moisture prediction; interpretation
Abstract Soil moisture (SM) is a key variable in Earth system science that affects various hydrological and agricultural processes. Convolutional long short-term memory (Conv-LSTM) networks are widely used deep learning models for spatio-temporal SM prediction, but they are often regarded as black boxes that lack interpretability and transparency. This study aims to interpret Conv-LSTM for spatio-temporal SM prediction in China, using the permutation importance and smooth gradient methods for global and local interpretation, respectively. The trained Conv-LSTM model achieved a high R2 of 0.92. The global interpretation revealed that precipitation and soil properties are the most important factors affecting SM prediction. Furthermore, the local interpretation showed that the seasonality of variables was more evident in the high-latitude regions, but their effects were stronger in low-latitude regions. Overall, this study provides a novel approach to enhance the trust-building for Conv-LSTM models and to demonstrate the potential of artificial intelligence-assisted Earth system modeling and understanding element prediction in the future.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=27110
Huang, F., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Shangguan, W., Li, Q., Li, L., Jiang, S. (2023):
Interpreting Conv-LSTM for spatio-temporal soil moisture prediction in China
Agriculture-Basel 13 (5), art. 971 10.3390/agriculture13050971