Factory-Calibrated Soil Water Sensor Performance Using Multiple Installation Orientations and Depths

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Gary W. Marek ◽  
Thomas H. Marek ◽  
Kevin R. Heflin ◽  
Dana O. Porter ◽  
Jerry E. Moorhead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Clay Loam Soil ◽  
Neutron Moisture ◽  
Loam Soil

Abstract. The use of soil water sensors is commonly advocated to aid and improve irrigation management in crop production systems. However, there are concerns about how sensor type, installation technique, sensor orientation, and soil texture may affect sensor accuracy. A field study was conducted to compare the performance of three commercially available soil water sensors (Acclima 315L, Decagon GS1, and Campbell Scientific 655) and a soil water potential sensor (Watermark 200SS) using different installation orientations of horizontal insertion, laid horizontal placement, and vertical insertion at depths of 15, 46, and 76 cm (6, 18, and 30 in.) in an irrigated clay loam soil field. Results indicated all sensors demonstrated similar trends of soil water content in response to wetting events (precipitation and irrigation) at the 15 cm depth following a 4-month settling period prior from the start of the growing season. Comparatively, the Acclima 315L performed well using horizontal insertion compared to calibrated neutron moisture meters (NMMs) at depths of 46 and 76 cm with R2 of 0.73 and 0.96 and slopes of 1.36 and 1.47, respectively. In addition, water storage in the 0.9 m soil profile integrated using the horizontally inserted Acclima 315L across the three depths matched closely with profile water storage determined by the NMMs with a mean difference (MD) and root mean square error (RMSE) of 25.7 and 36.4 mm. However, site-specific corrections or calibrations for each sensor type are required for accurate soil water content estimations with this clay loam soil for irrigation management applications. Keywords: Corn, Irrigation management, Neutron moisture meter, Soil water content, Soil water sensors, Semi-arid region.

Time series outlier and intervention analysis: Irrigation management influences on soil water content in silty loam soil

2012 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 105-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basem Aljoumani ◽  
Jose A. Sànchez-Espigares ◽  
Nuria Cañameras ◽  
Ramon Josa ◽  
Joaquim Monserrat
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Intervention Analysis ◽  
Silty Loam ◽  
Loam Soil

scholarly journals Soil water potential during different phenological phases of coffee irrigated by center pivot

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adão W. P. Evangelista ◽  
Luiz A. Lima ◽  
Antônio C. da Silva ◽  
Carla de P. Martins ◽  
Moisés S. Ribeiro
Keyword(s):  
Water Potential ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Field Capacity ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Center Pivot ◽  
Phenological Phases

Irrigation management can be established, considering the soil water potential, as the limiting factor for plant growth, assuming the soil water content between the field capacity and the permanent wilting point as available water for crops. Thus, the aim of this study was to establish the soil water potential interval during four different phenological phases of coffee irrigated by center pivot. The experiment was set at the experimental area of the Engineering Department at the Federal University of Lavras, in Brazil. The coffee variety planted is designated as Rubi, planted 0.8 meters apart, with rows spaced 3.5 meters apart. The treatments corresponded to the water depths applied based on different percentages of Kc and reference evapotranspiration (ET0) values. Sensors were used to measure the soil water potential interval, installed 25 centimeters depth. In order to compare the results, it was considered as the best matric potential the one that was balanced with the soil water content that resulted in the largest coffee productivity. Based on the obtained results, we verified that in the phases of fruit expansion and ripening, the best results were obtained, before the irrigations, when the soil water potential values reached -35 and -38 kPa, respectively. And in the flowering, small green and fruit expansion phases, when the values reached -31 and -32 kPa, respectively.

Calibration and evaluation of a capacitance probe in agricultural soils in northeast Brazil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceres Duarte Guedes Cabral de Almeida ◽  
Lais Barreto Franco ◽  
José Ediclécio Barbosa dos Santos ◽  
Brivaldo Gomes de Almeida ◽  
Giuseppe Provenzano
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Sandy Clay Loam ◽  
Sandy Clay ◽  
Disturbed Soil ◽  
Capacitance Probe

<p>Soil water content is an important parameter for irrigation management. Among the indirect methods to determine soil water content (SWC), there are electronic sensors, that need site-specific calibration to increase the accuracy of the measurements. In this research, a capacitance probe (Diviner 2000®, Sentek Pty Ltda., Australia) was calibrated for two agricultural soils. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Brazil. The textural classes of soils were sandy clay loam (66% sand) and sandy (95% sand). Undisturbed and disturbed soil samples were collected in the soil top layer (0-30 cm). The disturbed soil samples were initially air-dried, passed through a 4.75 mm mesh sieve, and then introduced to fill eight vessels (four replications for each soil). These vessels, equipped with drainage holes, have lower and upper diameters of 15 cm and 25 cm, respectively, and height of 22.5 cm (4.66 L). In each pot, a 5 cm layer of gravel with an average diameter of 2 cm covered with bidim® geotextile was disposed before introducing the soil. During filling, the soil was compacted to reach the same bulk density measured on the undisturbed samples (sandy clay loam: 1.54 g cm<sup>-3</sup> and sandy: 1.50 g cm<sup>-3</sup>). In the center of each pot, a PVC access tube was installed. According to the manufacturer's recommendation, during calibration, the probe normalization was performed. The pots were wetted by capillary rise and, once saturated, they were placed on a bench for drainage. After this process stopped each pot was daily weighed at a fixed time (8 a.m.), and the sensor reading was acquired until when the daily mass variations became negligible. Data were used for regression analysis to fit the site-specific calibration equation and to evaluate the mean error. Linear calibration equations, characterized by R<sup>2</sup>=0.931 and 0.986, were obtained for the sandy clay loam and the sandy soil, respectively. The mean errors (ME) associated with the manufacturer’s equation resulted in -0.05 and -0.01 for sandy clay loam and for sandy soil and decreased after calibration. The results confirmed the suitability of the manufacturer's equation in sandy soils. On the other hand, the manufacture’s equation slightly underestimated SWC, in sandy clay loam soil, especially in the range above 0.26 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>-3</sup>. The Diviner 2000 probe can be therefore successfully used to support irrigation management in irrigated areas with soils similar to those investigated because it is easy to operate and allows fairly accurate estimations of soil water content.</p>

WATER CONTENT AND SOIL CORE VOLUME ON BROOKSTON CLAY LOAM

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. STONE ◽  
K. C. WIRES
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Total Porosity ◽  
Soil Core ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Loam Soil ◽  
Core Volume

Soil core volumes, from a long-term fertility experiment on Brookston clay loam, were adjusted for soil water content at sampling to explain large year-to-year fluctuations in bulk density and porosity. Adjusting the long-term soil core data decreased values of bulk density, total porosity, and air-filled porosity and reduced the variation between years. However, the year-to-year variation remained highly significant. Year-to-year fluctuations in bulk density and porosity on Brookston clay loam soil do not appear to be solely the result of changes in soil volume due to differences in soil water content at the time of sampling. Key words: Shrinkage, bulk density, porosity

Modelling soil water dynamics and crop water use in a soybean-wheat rotation under chisel tillage in a sandy clay loam soil

Geoderma ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 327 ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukhtar Ahmad ◽  
Debashis Chakraborty ◽  
Pramila Aggarwal ◽  
Ranjan Bhattacharyya ◽  
Ravender Singh
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Clay Loam Soil ◽  
Sandy Clay Loam ◽  
Crop Water Use ◽  
Loam Soil

scholarly journals The impact of broadleaved woodland on water resources in lowland UK: I. Soil water changes below beech woodland and grass on chalk sites in Hampshire

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 596-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Roberts ◽  
P. Rosier
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Water Potential ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Eddy Correlation ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
Water Potential Measurements ◽  
Shallow Soils

Abstract. The possible effects of broadleaved woodland on recharge to the UK Chalk aquifer have led to a study of evaporation and transpiration from beech woodland (Black Wood) and pasture (Bridgets Farm), growing in shallow soils above chalk in Hampshire. Eddy correlation measurements of energy balance components above both the forest and the grassland enabled calculation of latent heat flux (evaporation and transpiration) as a residual. Comparative measurements of soil water content and soil water potential in 9 m profiles under both forest and grassland found changes in soil water content down to 6 m at both sites; however, the soil water potential measurements showed upward movement of water only above a depth of about 2 m. Below this depth, water continued to drain and the soil water potential measurements showed downward movement of water at both sites, notwithstanding significant negative soil water potentials in the chalk and soil above. Seasonal differences occur in the soil water content profiles under broadleaved woodland and grass. Before the woodland foliage emerges, greater drying beneath the grassland is offset in late spring and early summer by increased drying under the forest. Yet, when the change in soil water profiles is at a maximum, in late summer, the profiles below woodland and grass are very similar. A comparison of soil water balances for Black Wood and Bridgets Farm using changes in soil water contents, local rainfall and evaporation measured by the energy balance approach allowed drainage to be calculated at each site. Although seasonal differences occurred, the difference in cumulative drainage below broadleaved woodland and grass was small.

HYDRUS (2d/3d) simulation of water flow through sandy loam soil under potato cultivation in Southern Manitoba

2017 ◽  
pp. 1.9-1.19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afua Mante ◽  
Ramanathan Sri Ranjan
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Crop Evapotranspiration ◽  
Reference Crop Evapotranspiration ◽  
Loam Soil ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Reference Crop

The HYDRUS (2D/3D) modeling tool was used to simulate water flow through subsurface-drained sandy loam soil under potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivation in Southern Manitoba. The model was used to simulate water flow through a 2-D model domain of dimensions, 15 m width × 2.5 m depth. The model was calibrated and validated with field data measured during the growing season of year 2011 at the Hespler Farms, Winkler, Manitoba. Field measurements, including soil water content and watertable depth, for two test plots under subsurface free drainage were used for the calibration and validation. Weather data were also obtained to estimate reference crop evapotranspiration, which was used as input data in the model. Based on the reference crop evapotranspiration, and crop coefficient of the potato crop, the actual crop evapotranspiration was estimated and compared to the simulated actual crop evapotranspiration results. The results showed that the model was able to account for 50% to 78% of the variation in the estimated actual crop evapotranspiration. With respect to water flow through the soil, the observed soil water content and the simulated soil water content were compared using graphical and quantitative analysis. Based on the coefficient of determination (R2), the model accounted for 68% to 89% variation in the observed data. The intercept of the regression line varied from 0.01 to 0.08, and the slope, 0.75 to 0.99. The Nash–Sutcliffe modeling efficiency coefficient (NSE) varied from 0.62-0.89, the Percent bias (PBIAS) values varied from -1.99% to 1.16%. The root mean square error-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR) values varied from 0.33 to 0.61. The values for the evaluation parameters show that the model was able to simulate the water flow through the soil profile reasonably well.

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