Determination of the timing and amount of irrigation of winter cover crops with the use of dielectric constant and capacitance soil water content profile methods

Plant roots are an integral part of soil ecosystems and contribute to various services, including carbon and nutrient cycling, weathering, and soil formation. They also modify soil physical properties (e.g., soil water content, pore size distribution, and bulk density) and impact subsequent crops’ growth. Cover crops have been reported to improve soil and environmental quality by reducing nutrient losses, improving soil water content, and increasing soil organic matter. Understanding the complex interactions between cover crop roots and soil (RS) is of utmost importance. However, cover crop RS interactions have not been critically reviewed. In this article, we investigated the nature of cover crop physical RS interactions and explored the emerging technologies for their study. We also assessed technologies that may be readily applied to the study of physical RS interactions in cover crop systems and discussed ways to improve related research in the future.

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The role of the initial soil water content in the determination of unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity using a tension infiltrometer

Plant Soil and Environment ◽

10.17221/527/2015-pse ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 61 (No. 11) ◽

pp. 515-521 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

S. Matula ◽

M. Miháliková ◽

J. Lufinková ◽

K. Báťková

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Unsaturated Soil ◽

Soil Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Tension Infiltrometer ◽

Initial Soil

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Soil water content estimation using ground penetrating radar data via group intelligence optimization algorithms: An application in the Northern Shaanxi Coal Mining Area

Energy Exploration & Exploitation ◽

10.1177/0144598720973369 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 014459872097336

Author(s):

Fan Cui ◽

Jianyu Ni ◽

Yunfei Du ◽

Yuxuan Zhao ◽

Yingqing Zhou

Keyword(s):

Dielectric Constant ◽

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Error Rate ◽

Ground Penetrating Radar ◽

Volumetric Water Content ◽

Average Error ◽

Average Error Rate ◽

Ground Penetrating

The determination of quantitative relationship between soil dielectric constant and water content is an important basis for measuring soil water content based on ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology. The calculation of soil volumetric water content using GPR technology is usually based on the classic Topp formula. However, there are large errors between measured values and calculated values when using the formula, and it cannot be flexibly applied to different media. To solve these problems, first, a combination of GPR and shallow drilling is used to calibrate the wave velocity to obtain an accurate dielectric constant. Then, combined with experimental moisture content, the intelligent group algorithm is applied to accurately build mathematical models of the relative dielectric constant and volumetric water content, and the Topp formula is revised for sand and clay media. Compared with the classic Topp formula, the average error rate of sand is decreased by nearly 15.8%, the average error rate of clay is decreased by 31.75%. The calculation accuracy of the formula has been greatly improved. It proves that the revised model is accurate, and at the same time, it proves the rationality of the method of using GPR wave velocity calibration method to accurately calculate the volumetric water content.

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