scholarly journals Correcting Inaccurately Recorded Data due to Faulty Calibration of a Capacitance Water Content Probe

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad N. ElNesr ◽  
A. A. Alazba ◽  
Mohammad A. El-Farrah

Measuring soil water content by capacitance probes requires rigorous calibration to achieve acceptable accuracy. Some of the capacitance probes' users might take several readings using the default device calibrations or other prestored calibrations by mistake. This can lead to logging of faulty readings for periods of up to months or years. This study aimed to (1) study the importance of probe calibration and the level of error that results from using flawed calibrations and (2) to develop a mathematical method to correct the faulty recorded data. This research involved studying eleven scenarios of faulty calibrations including errors in the air/water calibration and in the in-soil calibration. A mathematical method was developed to correct the faulty recorded data and comparisons were made for the data after and before correction. Results indicated that using the manufacturer's default calibration within the software resulted in substantial error values especially for heavy textured soils. It is recommended that users and especially researchers should perform rigorous in-soil calibration wherever the probe is installed, and they should repeat the calibrations whenever the soil structure changed.

2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Huang ◽  
O. O. Akinremi ◽  
R. Sri Rajan ◽  
P. Bullock

Accurate in situ determination of soil water content is important in many fields of agricultural, environmental, hydrological, and engineering sciences. As numerous soil water content sensors are available on the market today, the knowledge of their performance will aid users in the selection of appropriate sensors. The objectives of this study were to evaluate five soil water sensors in the laboratory and to determine if laboratory calibration is appropriate for the field. In this study, the performances of five sensors, including the Profile Probe™ (PP), ThetaProbe™ , Watermark™, Aqua-Tel™, and Aquaterr™ were compared in the laboratory. The PP and ThetaProbe™ were more accurate than the other soil water sensors, reproducing soil water content using factory recommended parameters. However, when PP was installed on a loamy sand in the field, the same soil that was used for the laboratory evaluation, it overestimated field soil water, especially at depth. Another laboratory experiment showed that soil water content readings from the PP were strongly influenced by soil bulk density. The higher the soil bulk density, the greater was the overestimation of soil water content. Two regression parameters, a0 and a1, which are used to convert the apparent dielectric constant to volumetric water content, were found to increase linearly with the soil bulk density in the range of 1.2 to 1.6 Mg m-3. Finally, the PP was calibrated in the field and a good calibration function was obtained with an r2 of 0.87 and RMSE of 2.7%. The values of a0 and a1 obtained in the field were different from factory recommended parameters (a0 = 2.4 versus 1.6 while a1 = 12.5 versus 8.4) and were independent of soil depth, bulk density, and texture. As such, individual field calibration will be necessary to obtain precise and accurate measurement of soil water content with this instrument. Key words: Soil water content, Profile Probe, calibration, soil water content sensor


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (spe) ◽  
pp. 17-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Reichardt ◽  
O. Portezan ◽  
O.O.S. Bacchi ◽  
J.C.M Oliveira ◽  
D. Dourado-Neto ◽  
...  

A neutron probe calibration correction is proposed in order to reduce soil water content variability, assumed to be a consequence of improper calibrations relations. The time stability of spatially measured soil water content data is used to correct the intercepts of linear calibration relations. This procedure reduced the coefficients of variation of soil water content data from 4 to less than 2% in a Rhodic Kanhapludalf.


Biologia ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Csilla Farkas ◽  
Márta Birkás ◽  
György Várallyay

AbstractSoil as the largest potential natural water reservoir in the Carpathian Basin has increasing importance under conditions of predicted climate change resulting in increase of probability of extreme hydrological events. Soil management changes soil structure and has a major effect on soil water, heat and nutrition regimes. In this study the effect of four tillage treatments in combination with catch crop management was studied on soil hydraulic properties and water regime under semi-arid conditions. Investigations were carried out in a long-term soil tillage experiment established on Calcic Chernozem soil in Hungary. Tillage variants comprised mouldboard ploughing, disking, loosening combined with disking and direct drilling. The crop sequence between September 2003 and September 2004 comprised maize (main crop), rye (catch crop) and pea (forage). In May 2004, disturbed samples and undisturbed soil cores were collected from each tillage treatment/catch crop combination. The main soil physical and hydrophysical properties were determined in laboratory. In each treatment, capacitive soil moisture probes were installed up to 80 cm depth to ensure continuous measurement of soil water content. Total soil water amounts of chosen soil layers and soil water content dynamics as a function of depth were evaluated for selected periods in order to quantify the effect of the studied management systems on soil water regime. The main conclusion from the experiment is that under such (or similar) ecological conditions, the uniform, „over-standardized“ adaptation of tillage methods for soil moisture conservation is rather risky, their application needs special care and the future is for site-specific precision technologies. These are, in combination with catch crop application can be efficient measures of environmental protection and soil structure and water conservation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Berli ◽  
Rose M. Shillito ◽  
Jeremy J. Giovando ◽  
Nawa Pradhan ◽  
Jang H. (“Jay”) Pak ◽  
...  

<p>Wildfires can change watershed hydrologic processes and increase the risks for soil erosion, flooding and debris flow after a fire. While fire-induced changes to the soil have significant effects on infiltration and runoff, the physical mechanisms remain unclear. A growing body of research suggests these mechanisms include soil water repellency (SWR) and the alteration of soil structure. The objective of this study was to relate SWR, soil structure, soil moisture to infiltration using a process-based, soil physics approach to better model infiltration into fire-affected soil, The ultimate goal is to improve the prediction of post-fire runoff with process-based hydrology models. Our research shows the effects of SWR and soil structure on infiltration can be captured by the soil hydraulic parameters of sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity, respectively. SWR reduces sorptivity and controls the early stage of infiltration during a storm. Changes in soil structure affect hydraulic conductivity and later stages of infiltration. Additionally, results show SWR can have an effect on unsaturated hydraulic conductivity but does not significantly affect saturated hydraulic conductivity. The study also highlights the important role soil water content plays for post-fire infiltration since both sorptivity and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity are functions of soil water content.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Herbst ◽  
Wolfgang Tappe ◽  
Sirgit Kummer ◽  
Harry Vereecken

<p>Soil respiration causes one of the largest terrestrial carbon fluxes and its accurate prediction is still a matter of on-going research. Understanding the functional link between soil heterotrophic respiration and soil water content is relevant for the estimation of climate change impacts on soil CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. <br>In order to quantify the effect of air-drying and sieving with 2 mm meshes on the soil heterotrophic respiration response to water content we incubated intact cores and sieved samples of two loamy and two sandy agricultural topsoils for six levels of effective soil water saturation. We further measured soil textural properties and the soil water retention characteristics of the soils with the aim to identify potential correlations between soil physical parameters and moisture sensitivity functions of heterotrophic respiration. <br>The incubation of sieved and intact soils showed distinct differences in the response of soil heterotrophic respiration to soil water saturation. The sieved soils exposed threshold-type behaviour, whereas the undisturbed soils exposed a quadratic increase of heterotrophic respiration with increasing effective soil water content. Additionally, we found significant correlations between the moisture response functions of the undisturbed soils and soil textural properties.<br>From the comparison of intact and sieved soil incubations we conclude that the destruction of soil structure by sieving hampers the transferability of measured soil moisture response of heterotrophic respiration to real-world conditions. For modelling purposes we suggest the use of a quadratic function between relative respiration and effective saturation for soils with a clay fraction < 20 %.</p>


Irriga ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
Arthur Carniato Sanches ◽  
Débora Pantojo de Souza ◽  
Fernanda Lamede Ferreira de Jesus ◽  
Rodolfo Guertas Maffei ◽  
Fernando Campos Mendonça ◽  
...  

CALIBRAÇÃO DE SONDA CAPACITIVA EM NITOSSOLO VERMELHO LATOSSÓLICO EUTROFÉRRICO CULTIVADO COM FORRAGEIRAS IRRIGADAS   ARTHUR CARNIATO SANCHES1*; DÉBORA PANTOJO DE SOUZA2; FERNANDA LAMEDE FERREIRA DE JESUS3; RODOLFO GUERTAS MAFFEI4; FERNANDO CAMPOS MENDONÇA5 E JOSÉ RICARDO MACEDO PEZZOPANE6   1Professor Doutor, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Rod. Dourados-Itahum, km 12 – Cidade Universitária, 79804-970, Dourados, MS, Brasil, e-mail: [email protected] 2Doutoranda em Engenharia de Sistemas Agrícolas, Departamento de Engenharia de Biossistemas, ESALQ/USP, Avenida Pádua Dias, 11, 13418-900, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brasil, e-mail: [email protected] 3Professora Doutora, Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Campus Tomé-Açu, Rod. PA 140, km 03, 68680-000, Tomé-Açu, PA, Brasil, e-mail: [email protected] 4Graduando em Agronomia, Departamento de Engenharia de Biossistemas, ESALQ/USP, Avenida Pádua Dias, 11, 13418-900, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brasil, e-mail: [email protected] 5Professor Doutor, Departamento de Engenharia de Biossistemas, ESALQ/USP, Avenida Pádua Dias, 11, 13418-900, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brasil, e-mail: [email protected]   6Pesquisador, Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, Rod. Washington Luiz, Km 234 s/nº, 13560-970, São Carlos, SP, Brasil, e-mail: [email protected]        1 RESUMO   O conhecimento do teor de água no solo é importante para o manejo adequado da irrigação, pois permite estimar a quantidade necessária de água a ser aplicada no tempo correto. Sensores de capacitância são uma alternativa de quantificação do teor de água do solo (θ, m3 m-3), provendo leituras em profundidade de forma prática e rápida. Uma sonda capacitiva foi calibrada em um Nitossolo vermelho Eutroférrico Latossólico cultivado com forrageiras tropicais na área experimental da ESALQ/USP na cidade de Piracicaba (SP), Brasil. Quatro tubos de acesso foram instalados e, a cada duas semanas, foram coletadas amostras com três repetições para cada nível de profundidade, até o final de oito semanas, partindo do θsaturado. Efetuaram-se leituras com o equipamento para cada 0,1 m de solo até 0,7 m de profundidade, juntamente com a coleta das amostras de solo para a determinação de θ em laboratório. Uma equação de potência foi desenvolvida para cada profundidade estudada, como também para todo o perfil do solo. A curva geral de calibração proposta (SF = 0,256*θatual0,3422), ajustada por análise de regressão, foi significativamente relacionada às medidas do equipamento, com alta correlação (r2 = 0,87) e erro-padrão de 0,022 cm3 cm-3. A calibração para cada profundidade tem mostrado maiores coeficientes de correlação nas profundidades menores, minimizando o erro dasestimativas. A calibração feita no local permitiu melhor acurácia do monitoramento da água no solo e assim, proporcionar um melhor manejo da irrigação.   Palavras-chave: sensor, manejo da irrigação, umidade do solo, reflectometria no domínio da frequência.           SANCHES, A. C.; DE SOUZA, D. P.; DE JESUS, F. L. F.; MAFFEI, R. G.; MENDONÇA, F. C.; PEZZOPANE, J. R. M. CAPACITIVE PROBE CALIBRATION IN EUTROFERRIC LATOSOL RED NITOSOL CULTIVATED WITH IRRIGATED FORAGES     2 ABSTRACT   Knowledge of soil water content is important for proper irrigation management because it allows estimating the required amount of water to be applied at the correct time. Capacitance sensors are an alternative for quantification of soil water content (θ, cm3 cm-3), providing depth readings in a practical and fast way. A capacitive probe was calibrated in a Eutroferric Red Nitosol cultivated with irrigated forages at the experimental area of ESALQ/USP in the city of Piracicaba - SP, Brazil. Four access tubes were installed and every 2 weeks samples were collected with 3 replicates for each depth level, for 8 weeks starting from θsaturated. Readings were taken with the equipment for every 0.1 m of soil up to 0.7 m of depth, together with the collection of soil samples for the determination of θ in laboratory. A power equation was developed for each depth studied as well as for the whole soil profile. The proposed general calibration curve (SF = 0.256*θcurrent0.3422), adjusted by regression analysis, was significantly related to the measurements of the equipment, with high correlation (r2 = 0.87), and standard error of 0.022 cm3 cm-3. The calibration for each depth has shown higher correlation coefficients at lower depths, minimizing the error of estimates. On-site calibration allowed better accuracy of soil water monitoring and, thus, better irrigation management.   Keywords: sensor, irrigation management, soil moisture, frequency domain reflectometry.


Author(s):  
M.C.H.Mouat Pieter Nes

Reduction in water content of a soil increased the concentration of ammonium and nitrate in solution, but had no effect on the concentration of phosphate. The corresponding reduction in the quantity of phosphate in solution caused an equivalent reduction in the response of ryegrass to applied phosphate. Keywords: soil solution, soil water content, phosphate, ryegrass, nutrition.


2010 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tóth ◽  
Cs. Farkas

Soil biological properties and CO2emission were compared in undisturbed grass and regularly disked rows of a peach plantation. Higher nutrient content and biological activity were found in the undisturbed, grass-covered rows. Significantly higher CO2fluxes were measured in this treatment at almost all the measurement times, in all the soil water content ranges, except the one in which the volumetric soil water content was higher than 45%. The obtained results indicated that in addition to the favourable effect of soil tillage on soil aeration, regular soil disturbance reduces soil microbial activity and soil CO2emission.


Author(s):  
Justyna Szerement ◽  
Aleksandra Woszczyk ◽  
Agnieszka Szyplowska ◽  
Marcin Kafarski ◽  
Arkadiusz Lewandowski ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-307
Author(s):  
Meijun ZHANG ◽  
Wude YANG ◽  
Meichen FENG ◽  
Yun DUAN ◽  
Mingming TANG ◽  
...  

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