Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves

Soil dry depth is a key parameter that determines soil fertility and nutrient availability, ultimately affecting crop yield and quality. However, accurately measuring the dry depth of soil has been a challenge. In this work, we propose using reflective ultrasonic waves to measure dry depth in soil....

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Main Authors: Zhongwei Liang, Chunhui Zhao, Yupeng Zhang, Sheng Long, Jinrui Xiao, Zhuan Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Agronomy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/5/1276
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author Zhongwei Liang
Chunhui Zhao
Yupeng Zhang
Sheng Long
Jinrui Xiao
Zhuan Zhao
author_facet Zhongwei Liang
Chunhui Zhao
Yupeng Zhang
Sheng Long
Jinrui Xiao
Zhuan Zhao
author_sort Zhongwei Liang
collection DOAJ
description Soil dry depth is a key parameter that determines soil fertility and nutrient availability, ultimately affecting crop yield and quality. However, accurately measuring the dry depth of soil has been a challenge. In this work, we propose using reflective ultrasonic waves to measure dry depth in soil. Four soil types, including clay, sandy loam, silty loam, and sandy were prepared and the feasibility of the method was demonstrated through theoretical analysis. An experimental measurement system was established to verify the consistency between ultrasonic measurements and manually measured values. Two statistics were used in Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to evaluate the model fit: R-square (R<sup>2</sup>) and Root mean square error (RMSE). The results indicate that the proposed method provides a higher accuracy in estimating the dry depth of sandy loam and silty loam (R<sup>2</sup> values of 0.9899 and 0.992 for sandy loam, RMSE values of 1.57% and 1.5% for silty loam) than those of the clay and sandy samples (R<sup>2</sup> values of 0.9896 and 0.9874 for clay, RMSE values of 1.66% and 1.77% for sandy). The maximum measurement errors for all the soil type predictions are below 6%; the overall accuracy was acceptable. Our findings suggest that ultrasonic measurement is an efficient and cost-effective approach for measuring soil dry depth, which could enable the precise control of irrigation water usage and the conservation of valuable water resources.
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spelling doaj.art-ee0c7388a8b34205a1a63cfe88a86eb52023-11-18T00:05:46ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952023-04-01135127610.3390/agronomy13051276Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection WavesZhongwei Liang0Chunhui Zhao1Yupeng Zhang2Sheng Long3Jinrui Xiao4Zhuan Zhao5Guangdong Engineering Research Centre for Highly Efficient Utility of Water/Fertilizers and Solar-Energy Intelligent Irrigation, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaGuangdong Engineering Research Centre for Highly Efficient Utility of Water/Fertilizers and Solar-Energy Intelligent Irrigation, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaChina-Ukraine Institute of Welding, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaGuangdong Engineering Research Centre for Highly Efficient Utility of Water/Fertilizers and Solar-Energy Intelligent Irrigation, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Physics and Materials Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSoil dry depth is a key parameter that determines soil fertility and nutrient availability, ultimately affecting crop yield and quality. However, accurately measuring the dry depth of soil has been a challenge. In this work, we propose using reflective ultrasonic waves to measure dry depth in soil. Four soil types, including clay, sandy loam, silty loam, and sandy were prepared and the feasibility of the method was demonstrated through theoretical analysis. An experimental measurement system was established to verify the consistency between ultrasonic measurements and manually measured values. Two statistics were used in Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to evaluate the model fit: R-square (R<sup>2</sup>) and Root mean square error (RMSE). The results indicate that the proposed method provides a higher accuracy in estimating the dry depth of sandy loam and silty loam (R<sup>2</sup> values of 0.9899 and 0.992 for sandy loam, RMSE values of 1.57% and 1.5% for silty loam) than those of the clay and sandy samples (R<sup>2</sup> values of 0.9896 and 0.9874 for clay, RMSE values of 1.66% and 1.77% for sandy). The maximum measurement errors for all the soil type predictions are below 6%; the overall accuracy was acceptable. Our findings suggest that ultrasonic measurement is an efficient and cost-effective approach for measuring soil dry depth, which could enable the precise control of irrigation water usage and the conservation of valuable water resources.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/5/1276soil dry depthultrasonic wavemeasurement error
spellingShingle Zhongwei Liang
Chunhui Zhao
Yupeng Zhang
Sheng Long
Jinrui Xiao
Zhuan Zhao
Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves
Agronomy
soil dry depth
ultrasonic wave
measurement error
title Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves
title_full Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves
title_fullStr Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves
title_full_unstemmed Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves
title_short Accurate and Rapid Measurement of Soil Dry Depth Using Ultrasonic Reflection Waves
title_sort accurate and rapid measurement of soil dry depth using ultrasonic reflection waves
topic soil dry depth
ultrasonic wave
measurement error
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/5/1276
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