Our intention is to arm you with all the knowledge and resources necessary to choose the best soil moisture sensor that suits your applications. We are exploring the most often asked query. What distinguishes a point measurement from a profile measurement in terms of the soil moisture sensor?
In order to determine how much water is held in soil horizons, the soil moisture sensor monitors the soil’s water content. Water in soil is not immediately measured by a soil moisture sensor. Instead, they track changes in another soil characteristic that is predictably connected to the water content.
To determine the amount of soil moisture, every sensor manufacturer employs a different technology; for a thorough description of the types available, we advise that you learn the different technologies here.
What Does a Soil Moisture Sensor Offer?
One type of sensor utilized to determine the water’s volumetric content in soil is the soil moisture sensor. As the soil moisture’s gravimetric dimension needs to be removed, dried, in addition to sample weighting. The sensors measures its volumetric water potential indirectly using the electrical resistance, neutron interaction, dielectric constant, and other soil laws as well as moisture content replacement.
The relationship between the computed property and soil moisture needs to be changed and could alter depending on environmental conditions like temperature, soil type, or electric conductivity. This soil moisture can have an impact on the reflected microwave emission, which is mostly used in hydrology and agriculture.
Soil Moisture Sensor Types
There seem to be three basic categories of a soil moisture sensor, and each one has a unique method for obtaining measurements in the field and calculating levels of soil moisture. Each variety fills a particular requirement in the marketplace and has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Volumetric sensors
The quantity of soil water is directly measured by the volumetric soil moisture sensor. The majority of sensor types are included in this category, including sensors for heat dissipation, neutron moisture probe, and standard di-electric sensors.
This same three types of the dielectric sensors available for purchase are capacitance or FDR sensors, TDR sensors, and TDT sensors. These sensors measures the soil’s dielectric constant, which is a specific electrical property that is dependent on the content of soil moisture.
Tensiometers
Water is retained by soil particles either by adhesion or tension. The tension between the water molecules and soil particles is measured by tensiometers, which is the soil moisture sensor. Plants must overcome this tension in order to attract water molecules from soil particles to their roots in order to access the water.
How difficult it is for the plant to extract some water is shown by the potential of the soil matric or the tension reading of the soil moisture. A vertical, as well as a water-filled tube having a form of porous tip known as a tensiometer can be put into soil at appropriate depths; when the soil takes the water from its porous tip, a vacuum is created. Because water molecules are more difficult to pull away from soil particles in drier soils, the vacuum is stronger.
The solid state sensor
Solid state sensor, which cost $35 to $60 for every sensor unit, are the most affordable choice for determining the moisture content of the soil. Gypsum blocks as well as the granular matrix sensor are typical forms of the solid state type of the soil moisture sensor. To test the soil’s electrical resistance, they employ two electrodes.
Because electrical current may more easily move through water than through dry soil, more water present in soil will lower electrical resistance, while less water would raise resistance. This water tension gets computed to assess the soil moisture available to plants after this electrical resistance has been measured. Gypsum blocks have electrodes embedded within a porous gypsum block that must remain in contact with the ground.
Applications of the Soil Moisture Sensor
The following are some uses for the soil moisture sensor.
Agriculture
90% of water utilized worldwide is for agriculture irrigation. Crop irrigation will be optimized by keeping track of soil moisture inside its root zone. The advantages of using the soil moisture sensor to optimize irrigation schedule include higher crop yields, water savings, runoff protection for nearby water resources, cost savings on electricity and fertilizer, and higher farmer profitability.
Study on erosion
Property as well as natural water system suffer yearly losses of millions dollars due to erosion brought on by modifications in the land use. Hydrologists must keep track of rainfall, sediment, as well as soil moisture to comprehend erosion’s causes and forecast where and when erosion will occur. The rate of soil water infiltration depends on the moisture content of the soil.
The rate of infiltration will be adequate to stop runoff when the soil gets dry. When rainstorms occur during a period of wet soil, overland flow of water may happen. Monitoring the soil moisture forms a crucial input factor for models that forecast erosion.
Dust Management
Regional ecosystems as well as human health can suffer from poor quality of air caused by airborne particles. Traffic from vehicles on any unpaved roads could cause severe dust issues. Several forms of asbestos are naturally prevalent in the soil in some parts of the Southwest of the US. To avoid dangerous dust conditions, local officials shut unpaved roads according to soil moisture levels.
Models for predicting drought
Regional drought may have a significant negative impact on the economy as well as places lead to hunger in some of the areas all over the world. Scientists are now better understanding the budgets of regional water as well as hydrological processes thanks to developments in environmental modeling and computer processing techniques.
Changes in the regional moisture in the soil are a crucial input for the models for drought forecasting. To anticipate and describe hazardous droughts, the long term data for soil moisture across vast areas can be employed.
Conclusion
We can infer from the information provided above that the sensor measures the volumetric content of water in the soil, which is ideal for studies in the fields of soil science, agricultural science, botany, biology, horticulture, and environmental science.
