scholarly journals The Effect of Soil Iron on the Estimation of Soil Water Content Using Dielectric Sensors

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 598
Author(s):  
George Kargas ◽  
Paraskevi Londra ◽  
Marianthi Anastasatou ◽  
Nick Moustakas

Nowadays, the estimation of volumetric soil water content (θ) through apparent dielectric permittivity (εa) is the most widely used method. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the high iron content of two sandy loam soils on estimating their water content using two dielectric sensors. These sensors are the WET sensor operating at 20 MHz and the ML2 sensor operating at 100 MHz. Experiments on specific soil columns, in the laboratory, by mixing different amounts of water in the soils to obtain a range of θ values under constant temperature conditions were conducted. Analysis of the results showed that both sensors, based on manufacturer calibration, led to overestimation of θ. This overestimation is due to the high measured values of εa by both sensors used. The WET sensor, operating at a lower frequency and being strongly affected by soil characteristics, showed the greatest overestimation. The difference of εa values between the two sensors ranged from 14 to 19 units at the maximum actual soil water content (θm). Compared to the Topp equation, the WET sensor measures 2.3 to 2.8 fold higher value of εa. From the results, it was shown that the relationship θm-εa0.5 remained linear even in the case of these soils with high iron content and the multi-point calibration (CALALL) is a good option where individual calibration is needed.

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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Amanda ◽  
Joseph Pearson Brian ◽  
Shad Ali Gul ◽  
Moore Kimberly ◽  
Osborne Lance

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3414
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Provenzano ◽  
Giovanni Rallo ◽  
Ceres Duarte Guedes Cabral de Almeida ◽  
Brivaldo Gomes de Almeida

This study aimed to develop a new model, valid for soil with and without expandable characters, to estimate volumetric soil water content (θ) from readings of scaled frequency (SF) acquired with the Diviner 2000® sensor. The analysis was carried out on six soils collected in western Sicily, sieved at 5 mm, and repacked to obtain the maximum and minimum bulk density (ρb). During an air-drying process SF values, the corresponding gravimetric soil water content (U) and ρb were monitored. In shrinking/swelling clay soils, due to the contraction process, the variation of dielectric permittivity was affected by the combination of the mutual proportions between the water volumes and the air present in the soil. Thus, to account for the changes of ρb with U, the proposed model assumed θ as the dependent variable being SF and ρb the independent variables; then the model’s parameters were estimated based on the sand and clay fractions. The model validation was finally carried out based on data acquired in undisturbed monoliths sampled in the same areas. The estimated θ, θestim, was generally close to the corresponding measured, θmeas, with Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) generally lower than 0.049 cm3 cm−3, quite low Mean Bias Errors (MBE), ranging between −0.028 and 0.045 cm3 cm−3, and always positive Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency index (NSE), confirming the good performance of the model.


1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Barry ◽  
André P. Plamondon ◽  
Jean Stein

An analysis of hydrologic soil properties and the prediction of volumetric soil water content during four summers have been done for a site located in the balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) forest of the Lac Laflamme watershed. The hydrologic properties were used to identify three different soil layers, THIRSTY, a soil moisture model using the Penman evapotranspiration formula, was applied to predict daily volumetric water content of these layers. Predictions of soil moisture with the calibrated model were close to the observed data for the median layer (20–60 cm from the soil surface) and less accurate for the surface layer (0–20 cm) where important transpiration activities take place. The model appeared unreliable for predicting soil water content of the bottom layer (60–100 cm) which was often saturated by groundwater. The calibration of the model required modifications of the observed values of the available water content at field capacity and the relative root density factor and was adjusted with the crop coefficient of the Penman evapotranspiration formula. These modifications of observed physical parameters raise the question of the feasibility of extrapolating the model to other sites without extensive calibration. The high sensitivity to variations of the crop coefficient applied to the evapotranspiration equation indicated that a more physically based transpiration model, supported by field-oriented process studies, would be required to improve the model's performance.


2017 ◽  
pp. 1.9-1.19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afua Mante ◽  
Ramanathan Sri Ranjan

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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