Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments
Soil moisture profile sensors (SMPSs) have a high potential for climate-smart agriculture due to their easy handling and ability to perform simultaneous measurements at different depths. To date, an accurate and easy-to-use method for the evaluation of long SMPSs is not available. In this study, we...
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/14/6581 |
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| author | Felix Nieberding Johan Alexander Huisman Christof Huebner Bernd Schilling Ansgar Weuthen Heye Reemt Bogena |
| author_facet | Felix Nieberding Johan Alexander Huisman Christof Huebner Bernd Schilling Ansgar Weuthen Heye Reemt Bogena |
| author_sort | Felix Nieberding |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil moisture profile sensors (SMPSs) have a high potential for climate-smart agriculture due to their easy handling and ability to perform simultaneous measurements at different depths. To date, an accurate and easy-to-use method for the evaluation of long SMPSs is not available. In this study, we developed laboratory and field experiments to evaluate three different SMPSs (SoilVUE10, Drill&Drop, and SMT500) in terms of measurement accuracy, sensor-to-sensor variability, and temperature stability. The laboratory experiment features a temperature-controlled lysimeter to evaluate intra-sensor variability and temperature stability of SMPSs. The field experiment features a water level-controlled sandbox and reference TDR measurements to evaluate the soil water measurement accuracy of the SMPS. In both experiments, a well-characterized fine sand was used as measurement medium to ensure homogeneous dielectric properties in the measurement domain of the sensors. The laboratory experiments with the lysimeter showed that the Drill&Drop sensor has the highest temperature sensitivity with a decrease of 0.014 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup> per 10 °C, but at the same time showed the lowest intra- and inter-sensor variability. The field experiment with the sandbox showed that all three SMPSs have a similar performance (average RMSE ≈ 0.023 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup>) with higher uncertainties at intermediate soil moisture contents. The presented combination of laboratory and field tests were found to be well suited to evaluate the performance of SMPSs and will be used to test additional SMPSs in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:39:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e1d0456d88b44eaa49e409729e16cd1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:39:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e1d0456d88b44eaa49e409729e16cd12023-11-18T21:19:46ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-07-012314658110.3390/s23146581Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field ExperimentsFelix Nieberding0Johan Alexander Huisman1Christof Huebner2Bernd Schilling3Ansgar Weuthen4Heye Reemt Bogena5Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyAgrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyTRUEBNER GmbH, 67435 Neustadt, GermanyAgrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyAgrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyAgrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanySoil moisture profile sensors (SMPSs) have a high potential for climate-smart agriculture due to their easy handling and ability to perform simultaneous measurements at different depths. To date, an accurate and easy-to-use method for the evaluation of long SMPSs is not available. In this study, we developed laboratory and field experiments to evaluate three different SMPSs (SoilVUE10, Drill&Drop, and SMT500) in terms of measurement accuracy, sensor-to-sensor variability, and temperature stability. The laboratory experiment features a temperature-controlled lysimeter to evaluate intra-sensor variability and temperature stability of SMPSs. The field experiment features a water level-controlled sandbox and reference TDR measurements to evaluate the soil water measurement accuracy of the SMPS. In both experiments, a well-characterized fine sand was used as measurement medium to ensure homogeneous dielectric properties in the measurement domain of the sensors. The laboratory experiments with the lysimeter showed that the Drill&Drop sensor has the highest temperature sensitivity with a decrease of 0.014 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup> per 10 °C, but at the same time showed the lowest intra- and inter-sensor variability. The field experiment with the sandbox showed that all three SMPSs have a similar performance (average RMSE ≈ 0.023 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup>) with higher uncertainties at intermediate soil moisture contents. The presented combination of laboratory and field tests were found to be well suited to evaluate the performance of SMPSs and will be used to test additional SMPSs in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/14/6581soil moisture profile sensorssoil water contentdielectric permittivitysensor-to-sensor variabilitytemperature stability |
| spellingShingle | Felix Nieberding Johan Alexander Huisman Christof Huebner Bernd Schilling Ansgar Weuthen Heye Reemt Bogena Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments Sensors soil moisture profile sensors soil water content dielectric permittivity sensor-to-sensor variability temperature stability |
| title | Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments |
| title_full | Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments |
| title_short | Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments |
| title_sort | evaluation of three soil moisture profile sensors using laboratory and field experiments |
| topic | soil moisture profile sensors soil water content dielectric permittivity sensor-to-sensor variability temperature stability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/14/6581 |
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