Accurate soil water status measurements across spatial and temporal scales are still a challenging task, specifically at intermediate spatial (0.1-10 ha) and temporal (minutes to days) scales. Consequently, a gap in knowledge limits our understanding of the reliability of the spatial measurements and its practical applicability in agricultural water management. This paper compares the cumulative EM38 (Geonics Ltd., Mississauga, ON, Canada) response collected by placing the sensor above ground with the corresponding soil water content obtained by integrating the values measured with an FDR (frequency domain reflectometry) sensor. In two field areas, characterized by different soil clay content, two Diviner 2000 access tubes (1.2 m) were installed and used to quantify the dimensionless fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW). After the calibration, the work proposes the combined use of the FDR and electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors to measure and map FTSW. A strong correlation (R2= 0.86) between FTSW and EM38 bulk electrical conductivity was found. As a result, field changes of FTSW are due to the variability of soil water content and soil texture. As with the data acquired in the field, more structured patterns occurred after a wetting event, indicating the presence of subsurface flow or root water uptake paths. After assessing the relationship between the soil and crop water status, the FTSW domain includes a critical value, estimated around 0.38, below which a strong reduction of relative transpiration can be recognized.

Rallo, G., Provenzano, G., Castellini, M., Sirera, À.P. (2018). Application of EMI and FDR sensors to assess the fraction of transpirable soil water over an olive grove. WATER, 10(2), 168 [10.3390/w10020168].

Application of EMI and FDR sensors to assess the fraction of transpirable soil water over an olive grove

Provenzano, Giuseppe
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2018-01-01

Abstract

Accurate soil water status measurements across spatial and temporal scales are still a challenging task, specifically at intermediate spatial (0.1-10 ha) and temporal (minutes to days) scales. Consequently, a gap in knowledge limits our understanding of the reliability of the spatial measurements and its practical applicability in agricultural water management. This paper compares the cumulative EM38 (Geonics Ltd., Mississauga, ON, Canada) response collected by placing the sensor above ground with the corresponding soil water content obtained by integrating the values measured with an FDR (frequency domain reflectometry) sensor. In two field areas, characterized by different soil clay content, two Diviner 2000 access tubes (1.2 m) were installed and used to quantify the dimensionless fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW). After the calibration, the work proposes the combined use of the FDR and electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors to measure and map FTSW. A strong correlation (R2= 0.86) between FTSW and EM38 bulk electrical conductivity was found. As a result, field changes of FTSW are due to the variability of soil water content and soil texture. As with the data acquired in the field, more structured patterns occurred after a wetting event, indicating the presence of subsurface flow or root water uptake paths. After assessing the relationship between the soil and crop water status, the FTSW domain includes a critical value, estimated around 0.38, below which a strong reduction of relative transpiration can be recognized.
2018
Rallo, G., Provenzano, G., Castellini, M., Sirera, À.P. (2018). Application of EMI and FDR sensors to assess the fraction of transpirable soil water over an olive grove. WATER, 10(2), 168 [10.3390/w10020168].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
102 2018 Water-10-00168 Rallo Castellini et al.pdf

accesso aperto

Descrizione: published pdf
Dimensione 8.1 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
8.1 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10447/283741
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 24
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 19
social impact