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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Application of EMI and FDR Sensors to Assess the Fraction of Transpirable Soil Water over an Olive Grove
Giuseppe ProvenzanoMirko CastelliniGiovanni RalloAngela Puig Sirerasubject
lcsh:Hydraulic engineeringSoil texture0208 environmental biotechnologyGeography Planning and Developmentfraction transpiration soil waterSoil science02 engineering and technologyAquatic ScienceBiochemistryrelative transpirationEM38; FDR sensor; Fraction transpiration soil water; Olive grove; Relative transpiration; Sap flow; Biochemistry; Geography Planning and Development; Aquatic Science; Water Science and Technologylcsh:Water supply for domestic and industrial purposessap flowEMIlcsh:TC1-978CalibrationReflectometrySubsurface flowTemporal scalesolive grove; sap flow; relative transpiration; FDR sensor; EM38; fraction transpiration soil waterTranspirationWater Science and TechnologyPlanning and Developmentlcsh:TD201-500GeographyEM38FDR sensor04 agricultural and veterinary sciencesolive grove020801 environmental engineeringSoil water040103 agronomy & agriculture0401 agriculture forestry and fisheriesdescription
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.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-02-08 | Water |