Measurement of volumetric water content by TDR in saline soils

Time-domain reflectometry (TDR) evaluates the bulk dielectric constant, K, of the soil by measuring the travel time of an electromagnetic pulse through a sensor, and through it estimates the volumetric water content. We show that for saline soils the effects of conductivity and frequency on the travel time cannot be neglected and that, as a result, TDR systematically overestimates the water content in saline soils. Simultaneously the bulk electrical conductivity of soils can be estimated by TDR. The equivalent impedance after multiple reflections is related to the bulk electrical conductivity, σ This relation differs from sensor to sensor and requires calibration for each individual sensor. A method is proposed for correcting the volumetric water content in saline soils. First, the bulk electrical conductivity, o, is estimated from the equivalent impedance at a specific equivalent distance of cable, several times the actual length of the sensor. The zero-salinity dielectric constant, K_O, of this soil is obtained by correcting the apparent K as a function of the measured bulk electrical conductivity. The volumetric water content is estimated from K_o. The correction of K is a function of the equivalent frequency of the electromagnetic pulse. The imaginary part of the dielectric constant is primarily due to ohmic losses. The model, which calculates the velocity of propagation of the electromagnetic pulse and which takes into consideration the imaginary part, performs reasonably well. An empirical approach based on calibration gave slightly better results.     

Calibration of the time‐domain reflectometer and determination of the volumetric water content of the soil profile in an ultisol of Costa Rica

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine if time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) could be used to measure the water content at different depths in the O‐to‐75 cm soil layer. Probes of three wires (1/8 inch diameter and 30 cm exposed length) were installed in field plots differing in current crop‐fertilization history. Measurements of volumetric water content using bulk density and gravimetric water content were made to calibrate the TDR method. Comparison of water contents determined by TDR with those from gravimetric samples showed that there is a linear relationship (small offset but same slope) of water content with depth, indicating that there is little difference in volumetric water content from the 0 to 75 depth. However, the TDR method gives consistently lower water content values as compared with values obtained by gravimetric determination. Continuous measurements of profile soil water content with TDR in wet and dry periods during the year indicated that the mayor differences in volumetric water content correspond to the first 30 cm depth.     

运用时域传输技术测定不同类型土壤的含水率

针对时域反射（TDR）技术测定含盐土壤、有机质质量分数高的土壤和红壤含水率过程中存在不适用的问题,该文应用一种基于时域传输（TDT）原理的水分测试仪,通过室内土柱试验,研究该仪器在不同类型的土壤上测定土壤含水率的适用性。研究结果表明：在风沙土、褐土和潮土3种类型的土壤上,土壤体积含水率和TDT输出的电压之间存在显著的线性关系,且可以用统一的线性关系计算土壤含水率,其估计标准误差是0.026 cm3·cm-3;在盐土（EC值为11.12 dS·m-1,含盐量为59.5 g·kg-1）上,土壤体积含水率和TDT输出电压值之间的线性关系仍然存在,其估计标准误差是0.025 cm3·cm-3;在栗钙土（有机质质量分数67.95 g·kg-1）和红壤上,土壤体积含水率和TDT输出的电压值之间的关系可以用三次多项式表示,校正关系式估计标准误差分别是0.028和0.015 cm3·cm-3。因此,基于TDT原理的水分测试仪能被广泛地应用于不同类型土壤的含水率测定,尤其在盐土、有机质质量分数高的土壤和红壤含水率的测定上表现出优于TDR技术的特点。     

透射式探地雷达探测土壤含水率

探地雷达可以进行土壤含水率的快速探测,但普通反射式雷达容易受反射层位难确定的影响造成探测误差。该研究使用透射式探地雷达对不饱和含水壤土及砂土所构建的物理模型进行透射式探测,通过起跳时间对比标定的方法,精确计算了介质中雷达波波速和土壤的相对介电常数。最后通过统计分析,发现以Topp模型公式形式为基础的三次多项式具有最高拟合优度,并修正了Topp公式中的参数后,分别建立起非饱和壤土和砂土体积含水率与介电常数的经验公式及其适用范围。最后,通过试验对比验证了该方法对砂土含水率的测量相对误差为13.20%,较时域反射TDR(time domain reflectometry)方法低14.34%,壤土为9.48%,较TDR方法低15.79%,测量精度明显高于TDR方法。因此该方法可替代TDR方法用于特定条件下土壤含水率的准确检测。     

Laboratory calibration of time domain reflectometry to determine moisture content in undisturbed peat samples

Time domain reflectometry (TDR), while widely used to measure volumetric water content (θ) and bulk electrical conductivity (BEC) in unsaturated granular soils, remains less studied in peat than mineral soils. Empirical models commonly used in mineral soils are not applicable to peat for accurate determination of θ from measured apparent dielectric permittivity (?). Past studies for peat report highly variable calibrations, and suggest differences in origin of organic matter, degree of decomposition and bound water to explain such variability. This study shows that bound water appears to have minimal impact on calibration because of its negligible volumetric fraction at the low bulk densities of peat. Increased volumetric air fraction at the same θ values attributed to high porosity of peat makes the ?‐θ relationships of mineral soils inapplicable. Temperature effects on ? resulted in a correction factor for θ. The temperature correction factor decreased with decreasing θ and was determined experimentally to lie between ?0.0021 m³ m^?3 per °C for θ≥ 0.79 m³ m^?3 and ?0.0005 m³ m^?3 per °C for θ = 0.35 m³ m^?3. The decreasing value of the correction factor with θ can be explained by dependence of the ?‐θ relationship on properties of free water alone. Temperature dependence of BEC was close to that of soil solution. Maxwell‐De Loor's four‐phase mixing model (MDL) based on physical properties of the multiphase soil system can efficiently simulate the effect of increased air volume and varying soil temperature on the ?‐θ relationship in peat. In addition, linear ?‐θ calibration in peat can be improved when BEC is included in the calibration equation.     

Influence of gravimetric water content and bulk density on the dielectric properties of soil

Moisture content and bulk density largely characterize physical and mechanical soil status and behaviour. A nondestructive determination of these soil properties is essential. Time domain reflectometry (TDR), although widely accepted for determination of volumetric water content, θ, has its limitations, and recently a frequency domain (FD) sensor has been developed and tested. An equation relating relative permittivity, ?′, to gravimetric water content, w, and bulk density, p, was established for three soil types (sand, sandy loam and clay). If ?′ and w are known, our model can be used to calculate bulk density and associated volumetric water content, θ, keeping in mind that θ= pw. Utilization is found in long-term monitoring of moisture fluctuations or short-term detection of traffic-induced soil compaction.     

Kinetics and adsorption of metolachlor and atrazine and the conversion products (deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine) in the soil profile of a river basin

The adsorption kinetics and adsorption parameters of metolachlor, atrazine, deethylatrazine (DEA), deisopropylatrazine (DIA) and hydroxyatrazine (HA) were investigated in a soil profile in a maize field formed from recent alluvial deposits in a river basin in Greece. We used the batch equilibrium method modified to simulate field conditions as closely as possible for the use and practices related to soil applied pre‐emergence herbicides. Pseudo‐equilibrium times, determined by kinetic studies, were achieved after 16, 16, 24, 24 and 48 hours for metolachlor, DIA, DEA, HA and atrazine, respectively. At pseudo‐equilibrium the percentage of the adsorbed amount increased in the order of DEA (10%) < DIA (14%) < atrazine (27%) < metolachlor (43%) ≪ HA (94%) which indicates that more than 57% of all compounds except for HA are in solution and available for transport to deeper soil layers when conditions similar to those simulated in the laboratory exist in the field. Adsorption isotherms of all compounds and in most of the cases correlated well with the Freundlich model and adsorption coefficients (K_f) decreased with increased soil depth. Principal component and multiple regression analyses confirmed the importance of the soil organic carbon content on the adsorption capacity of soils for all compounds except HA in the plough layers (0–40 cm). In the subsurface soils (40–110 cm) variables such as clay content and pH were more important. For HA, the K_f values determined for the plough and subsurface soil layers were better correlated with clay content and pH. Also in the subsurface soils, the variation in organic carbon content was not correlated with the variation of K_f values. Thus calculated K_oc‐f‐values misrepresent the adsorptive capacity of these soils towards the compounds studied.     

基于探地雷达早期信号振幅包络值的黏性土壤含水率探测

为了验证探地雷达探测黏性土壤含水率的精确性,利用探地雷达早期信号振幅包络法平均值方法(average amplitude envelope, AEA)对降雨前后野外农田表层(0.3 m)土壤含水率进行探测,并利用TDR探测土壤含水率以作对比。研究结果显示,土壤水分含量与黏粒含量具有一定相关性。在大面积范围内(1 000 m长测线),TDR2次探测土壤平均含水率分别为14.16、16.91 cm~3/cm~3;AEA方法 2次探测土壤平均含水率分别为14.62、17.88 cm~3/cm~3,与TDR实测含水率差值分别为0.46、0.97 cm~3/cm~3,2种方法探测所得含水率具有极显著的相关性(P0.01),相关系数分别为0.825、0.814。小范围内(40 m×40 m)降雨前后TDR 2次探测黏性土壤含水率分别为14.11、16.77 cm~3/cm~3。AEA 2次探测土壤平均含水率分别为14.86 cm、17.46 cm~3/cm~3,比TDR实测含水率分别大0.74、0.69 cm~3/cm~3。AEA与TDR探测所得含水率相关系数分别为0.701、0.827(P0.01),研究结果表明利用探地雷达AEA方法能够获得与TDR实测精度相近的黏性土壤含水率。利用常规探地雷达共中心点法及共偏移距方法对研究区黏性土壤含水率探测结果显示,这2种方法均不能有效地探测黏性土壤含水率。     

Temperature dependence of time domain reflectometry–measured soil dielectric permittivity

The purpose of this study is to determine the temperature influence on the soil bulk dielectric permittivity, ?_b, calculated from the measurement of the electromagnetic‐wave velocity of propagation along the parallel waveguide in a TDR probe, i.e., a probe working in time domain reflectometry technique. The experimental evidence shows that the existing models do not completely describe the temperature effect. However, it has been confirmed that the observed temperature effect is the result of two competing phenomena: ?_b increases with temperature following the release of bound water from soil solid particles, and ?_b decreases with temperature increase following the temperature effect of free water molecules. It has been found that there is a soil type–characteristic moisture value, θ_eq, named the equilibrium water content, at which both competing phenomena compensate each other. The equilibrium water content, θ_eq, is correlated with the soil specific surface area. Based on knowledge of θ_eq, a temperature‐correction formula is presented that adjusts the TDR soil‐moisture measurements at various temperatures to the corresponding value at 25°C. This decreases the absolute measurement error of soil moisture, θ_TDR, by the factor of 2 as compared to the uncorrected values.     

Modelling moisture‐induced soil reflectance changes in cultivated sandy soils: a case study in citrus orchards

The value of hyperspectral imagery in agricultural management has been amply demonstrated. Despite this, image interpretation is often drastically impeded by changes in soil moisture content (SMC). Soil moisture variations dominate the spectral reflectance in the 350–2500‐nm wavelength domain and affect the effectiveness of spectral indices used to monitor variations in soil and vegetation properties. Consequently, removing soil moisture effects in spectral images is critical and would provide a significant breakthrough for agricultural remote sensing. Yet, current available soil moisture reflectance models fail to properly address the moisture‐induced reflectance changes occurring within soils of the same texture class. This very much limits the operational implementation of these models, particularly in agricultural fields where within‐field variations in soil characteristics such as organic matter and clay content prevail. In this study, the effect of SMC on the reflectance in the 400–2500‐nm spectral domain was studied for six sandy soils located in citrus orchards in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. In a series of experiments, novel insights into soil moisture reflectance modelling of sandy cultivated soils are provided. The wavelength and soil‐specific variations in model parameters are mechanistically modelled and a general model for moist reflectance of cultivated sand soils is presented and successfully tested. Model comparison and validation demonstrate that the model fit of soil‐type‐specific models can be approximated (R² = 0.82; RRMSE = 0.14) while a significant increase in model fit compared with the traditional general models (R² = 0.59; RRMSE = 0.28) was achieved.     

Compost Effects on Soil Physical Properties And Field Nursery Production

Field production of ornamental shrubs often results in significant topsoil removal and degradation of surface soil physical properties. Building soil organic matter through compost amendments is one way to ameliorate effects from topsoil removal in woody ornamentals production. We amended field soils with three composts to evaluate their effects on soil physical properties and shrub biomass production. Specifically, we applied either duck manure-sawdust (DM), potato cull-sawdust-dairy manure (PC) or paper mill sludge-bark (PMB) composts to a Plano silt loam soil using two application methods: 2.5 cm of compost incorporated into the top 15 cm of soil (incorporated-only) or 2.5 cm of compost incorporated plus 2.5 cm of compost applied over the soil surface (mulched). We grew three shrub species from liners: Spirea japonicum ‘Gumball’, Juniper chinensis ‘Pfitzeriana’, and Berberis thunbergia ‘Atropurpurea’. Shrub species and soil amendment treatments were established in triplicate in a randomized split plot design. Total soil carbon (TC), bulk density (ρb), aggregate stability, soil moisture retention capacity (MRC), volumetric moisture content (θ_v), and saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) were measured over three years (1998 to 2000). We measured above and below ground shrub dry matter production at the end of the first (1998) and second (1999) growing seasons. Mulched treatments resulted in 15%-21% higher TC than the incorporated-only and no-amendment control treatments. Bulk density decreased with increasing TC contents. Greater aggregate stability and the formation of larger aggregates were related to increased TC. Field moisture retention capacity tended to be higher in the incorporated treatments compared to the mulched and nonamended control treatments. Compost amended treatments increased saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) sevenfold over the nonamended control. There were no compost effects on shrub biomass until the second year of growth. Barberry was the only species to respond significantly and positively to compost application. Specifically, mulched DM compost produced 39-42% greater total Barberry biomass than the other compost treatments and the nonamended control. Our findings showed that compost effects on soil physical properties differed among composts and their subsequent effects on shrub growth were species specific.     

Soil hydraulic and physico-chemical properties of Ultisols and Inceptisols in south-eastern Nigeria

Understanding soil water dynamics and storage is important to avoid crop failure on highly weathered, porous and leached soils. The aim of the study was to relate soil moisture characteristics to particle-size distributions and chemical properties. On average, Atterberg limits were below 25% in the A-horizon and not more than26.56% in the B-horizon, whereas soil bulk density was between 1.27 and 1.66Mgm^?3. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) was generally between 0.20 and 5.43 cm h^?1 in the top soil and <1.31 cm h^?1 in the subsoil. The higher K_sat values for the A-horizons were attributed to the influence soil microorganisms operating more in that horizon. The amount of water retained at field capacity or at permanent wilting point was greater in the B-horizons than in the A-horizons, suggesting that clay accumulation in the B-horizon and evapotranspiration effects in the A-horizon may have influenced water retention in the soils. Soil moisture parameters were positively related to clay content, silt content, exchangeable Mg²⁺, Fe₂O₃ and Al₂O₃, and negatively related to sand content, SiO₂, sodium absorption ratio, exchangeable sodium percentage and bulk density. The low clay content may explain why drainage was so rapid in the soils.     

Water-stable aggregates and organic matter pools in a calcareous vineyard soil under four soil-surface management systems

Abstract. Vineyards in Champagne, France are generally situated on slopes where the soils are subject to erosion. Therefore it is important to find a soil‐surface management practice that protects the soil against water erosion. We assessed the potential of mulches or grass covers to stabilize soil aggregates in a calcareous sandy loam from a vineyard in Champagne after 9 years under different management systems. Four different treatments were studied: (i) a bluegrass (Poa pratensis) surface cover between the vine rows (GC) with bare soil under the vines (R); two organic mulches of (ii) coniferous (CB) or (iii) poplar (PB) bark that covered the entire soil surface, and (iv) bare soil between the rows as a control. The bark amendments were applied every 3 years at rates of 61 and 67 t ha^?1 for the PB and CB treatments, respectively. The kinetics of soil disaggregation in water fitted a power law (A=K t^?D), in which K was the fraction of water‐stable >200 μm aggregates remaining after 1 hour of wet‐sieving. In the 0–5 cm layer, aggregate stability was greater for GC (K=21.7), CB (K=15.2) and PB (K=13.6) than for the control (K=10.5) and R (K=11.8). In the 0–20 cm layer, CB also stabilized soil aggregates (K=14.0–15.0); but PB did not. Structural stability was more strongly related to total organic carbon (R²=0.64, P <0.001) than to microbial biomass carbon (R²=0.54, P<0.001). A bluegrass cover enhanced structural stability in the 0–5 cm and 0–20 cm layers (K=14.2), probably because of intense root development and rhizodeposition enhancing microbially produced metabolites, such as carbohydrates. Establishing grass cover or applying bark mulch are effective agricultural practices that improve soil aggregate stability and thus should reduce soil erosion. The vegetative growth of the vines was greater on the soils amended with bark mulches and less on the grass covered soils compared with the control soil; however, no difference in wine quality was observed among the different treatments.     

An Improved Calibration Determining Soil Bulk Density with Time Domain Reflectometry

Soil bulk density (ρ _b ) is one of the most important parameters in the study of agriculture and geotechnical engineering. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) has been used to accurately determine ρ _b based on the relationships among ρ _b , θ _g , and dielectric constant (K). The objective of this study is to develop a simple and accurate TDR equation to measure soil bulk density. Laboratory measurements of soils with different textures were carried out to establish the TDR–bulk density equation, and then the performance of this improved equation was evaluated with independent soils in laboratory and field conditions. Results indicated that the established equation could provide accurate ρ _b estimation, where the TDR–bulk density equation was associated with <5% error both under laboratory and field conditions. It indicated that in the study of tillage management and geotechnical engineering, the established equation could be employed as a useful reference method for bulk density measurement when using TDR.     

Performance of a non‐nuclear resonant frequency capacitance probe. I. Calibration and field testing

Abstract

Accurate and rapid methods for in situ measurement of soil water content of field soils are required for assessment of plant growth conditions, crop water balance, and irrigation scheduling. Advances in electronics have made possible the recent development of a commercially available non‐nuclear resonant frequency capacitance probe (Troxler Sentry 200‐AP) for measuring water content of various materials. However, the performance of this probe to measure soil water content of the field soils in situ has not been widely reported. This study was undertaken to identify the need for field calibration and to understand the calibration process and evaluate the performance of the capacitance probe. A field calibration curve for a Uchee loamy sand was made for the Sentry 200‐AP probe. In situ volumetric soil water content obtained using this calibration curve differed markedly from those obtained using the factory calibration provided with the probe. The capacitance probe was found to be more sensitive at the lower range (<40%) of soil volumetric water content. However it appears to be reliable and to give reproducible results.     

黄土丘陵缓坡风沙区不同土地利用类型土壤水分变化特征

为研究黄土丘陵缓坡风沙区不同土地利用类型下的土壤水分变化规律,采用时域反射仪TDR在山西省五寨县分别对玉米农地、柠条林地、苜蓿草地0-100 cm土层进行连续3年的土壤水分观测,掌握不同土地利用类型土壤含水量的季节变化规律和垂直分布特征。结果表明:(1)农林草地土壤水分随时间的变化曲线基本呈"M"形分布,三者季节变化规律相似,但土壤含水量差异达到极显著水平(P<0.01),表现为苜蓿草地>柠条林地>玉米农地;(2)玉米农地与柠条林地土壤含水量随土层深度的增加呈"S"形分布,苜蓿草地的变化趋势与两者完全相反,玉米农地仅土壤表层0-20 cm含水量与降水存在显著相关性,柠条林地和苜蓿草地0-60 cm土壤含水量均与降水显著相关;(3)土壤含水量具有明显的垂直分布特征,在0-100 cm土层层中,随着土层深度的增加,玉米农地CV先逐渐降低后保持稳定,柠条林地CV始终持续降低,苜蓿草地CV先呈现波动变化后明显降低,三者整体表现为表层土壤含水量变异系数大于深层;(4)0-100 cm范围内,玉米农地的土壤层自上而下依次可划分为速变层、活跃层2个层次,柠条林地和苜蓿草地的土壤层划分为速变层、活跃层和次活跃层3个层次。本研究结果表明林地和草地在涵养土壤水分方面优于农田,林地和草地为黄土丘陵缓坡风沙区适宜的土地利用方式,为该区域土壤水分管理及水土资源的合理开发利用提供理论依据。     

Adsorption and translocation of sulfur in some tropical acid soils

In view of growing concern about sulfur (S) deficiency, we attempted to study the effect of soil characteristics on the adsorption and translocation of S in soils. Laboratory experiments were conducted with five surface soils collected from three regions in the state of Orissa (Eastern India). In an adsorption study, all the soils were equilibrated with graded doses of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄). Freundlich adsorption isotherms provided good fit to S adsorption data. Free Fe₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ in the soils were primarily responsible for retaining added S in soils. Further, studies on the movement of sulfate‐S in 30‐cm plexiglass columns, where radio‐labeled S along with water (5 cm) was applied as gypsum and K₂SO₄, showed that K₂SO₄‐S migrated deeper than gypsum‐S. Sulfur moved deeper in case of initially water‐saturated soils than in initially air‐dry soils.     

Re-evaluation of the structural properties of some British swelling soils

The structural condition of swelling soils can be assessed from their shrinkage curves. We re‐evaluated data on six British swelling soils using modern methods to model the void ratio, e, as a function of the moisture ratio, ?. The points on the e–? curve were fitted with a constitutive shrinkage equation using an unbiased least‐squares, curve‐fitting program. The shrinkage curves were then differentiated to obtain their slopes, σ(?), which were used to calculate the overburden potentials, Ω. The slope functions were subsequently differentiated to obtain the curvatures, κ(?), from which the maximum curvature at the wet end was used to separate the structural shrinkage, S_c, from the proportional (unsaturated) shrinkage. At the point of maximum curvature, S_c and the volumetric air content, θ_ac, were calculated and found to correspond closely to those reported previously. Water retention curves were constructed and fitted using the van Genuchten equation, from which the α coefficient appears an important structural parameter. The structural condition of a swelling soil appears to be well described by its air content at the point of maximum curvature, its van Genuchten α coefficient, and a parameter describing the effect of the overburden potential.     

Translocation of soils to stimulate climate change: CO2 emissions and modifications to soil organic matter

The effect of climate change on CO₂ emissions was studied on undisturbed soil monoliths (40‐cm diameter, 25‐cm high), which were translocated to warmer zones than their place of origin. Thirty‐two months after the translocation, a climatic factor deduced from the moisture content of the soil and from the effective mean temperature (temperatures in excess of 5°C) revealed that translocation increased the potential of the climate to enhance the biological processes by between 73% and 26% compared with what the soil would support in its place of origin. At the end of the study, the transported soils had lost a large proportion of both total carbon and nitrogen (between 20 and 45%). During the experiment, the CO₂ emissions from the soils, measured under field conditions, were quite variable, but were usually greater than from soils in situ. The variation in labile C in the soil throughout the experiment was calculated from a first‐order kinetic equation for organic matter decay. The relative CO₂ emissions, expressed in terms of the labile carbon fraction in the soils, were clearly greater in those translocated soils that underwent the most intensive climate change, which indicates that the variations in emissions over time are basically a function of the size of the labile organic matter pool.     

土壤—根系微区养分状况的研究 Ⅰ.微钾玻璃电极的应用

生长在土壤中的植物,其根系与土壤接触界面间的养分状况直接反映了两者的需求关系.了解这一微区的养分状况,对探讨养分从土壤向根系转移的机理和有效利用都具有重要意义,有关这方面的研究七十年代以来逐渐引起了重视^[1].但是,由于微区的研究在很大程度上取决于研究方法,既要求测定范围小,分辨力高,也要求有一定的精确性,同时更重要的是养分状况需要保持原位.