Developments in proximal soil sensing
Craig Lobsey, Raphael Viscarra Rossel
18th PA Symposium - 2015
LAND AND WATER
Outline
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• New soil measurement - Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS)
• Proximal soil sensors for PA
• Developments in soil sensing and applications
• Proximal soil sensing at CSIRO Land and Water
New soil measurement
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Growing demand for good quality, inexpensive (spatial and temporal) soil information - e.g. Precision Agriculture (PA)
The new measurement techniques should more efficiently (cheap, quantitative, rapid) produce spatial & temporal soil information Sensors are good options – technology rapidly improving, sensors are becoming smaller, smarter, cheaper, wireless….
Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS)
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‘…the use of field-based sensors to obtain signals from the soil when the sensor’s detector is in contact with or close to (within 2 m) the soil…’
Viscarra Rossel & McBratney (1998) Viscarra Rossel et al. (2011)
Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS)
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‘…the use of field-based sensors to obtain signals from the soil when the sensor’s detector is in contact with or close to (within 2 m) the soil…’
Viscarra Rossel & McBratney (1998) Viscarra Rossel et al. (2011)
Advantages • Cheaper, many more measurements • Less effort • Quantitative • Multiple sensors • Timely, real time, monitoring • Field-conditions
Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS)
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‘…the use of field-based sensors to obtain signals from the soil when the sensor’s detector is in contact with or close to (within 2 m) the soil…’
Viscarra Rossel & McBratney (1998) Viscarra Rossel et al. (2011)
Advantages • Cheaper, many more measurements • Less effort • Quantitative • Multiple sensors • Timely, real time, monitoring • Field-conditions
…however ● Can be less precise ● Can have large initial
cost ● Many are still research
phase ● Specificity
Operational Proximal Soil Sensing
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PSS techniques
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➔ Non-invasive
➔ Active
➔ Mobile
➔ Indirect
EMI (e.g. EM38, DUALEM)
Gamma Radiometrics (e.g. RS700)
➔ Non-invasive
➔ Passive
➔ Mobile
➔ Indirect
Optical, EC, Ech (Veris MSP)
source: veristech.com
➔ Invasive(in-situ / ex-situ)
➔ Active
➔ Mobile
➔ Indirect / Direct (pH)
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Viscarra Rossel et al. (2011)
Limitations
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PSS measurements are typically indirect
We require sensors that can directly measure key soil attributes of agronomic use (e.g. plant available nutrients, lime requirement, available water…)
…. and measure these properties at depth (e.g. rooting depth)
Newer developments - nutrient sensing
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“Field Nutrient Sensor™” (FNS™)
No-Wait Nitrate™
Mobile on-site NO3-
analysis - UV
360 SOILSCANTM
Mobile on-site NO3-
analysis - Ech
Electrochemical nutrient sensing
project funded by GRDC up to
research prototype stage
Soil sensing @ CSIRO Land and Water
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Developing the Soil Condition ANalysis System (SCANS) - an approach to overcome the difficulties of measuring soil properties to depth (root zone) Geostatistics - mapping and baselining soil carbon stocks
Soil Condition ANalysis System (SCANS)
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• Field deployable scanning system • Analyse PVC lined cores from the Geoprobe®
1) Active gamma-ray attenuation Sensor (0.662 MeV)
2) Vis-NIR spectrometer
3) Camera 137Cs
NaI
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Soil Condition ANalysis System (SCANS)
Soil cores analysed by the SCANS are at field condition (wet and heterogeneous)
SCANS carbon stock measurement
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C fractions + Clay content
+ CEC + ….
Summary
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• Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS) can effectively produce spatial and
temporal soil information for different purposes, e.g. PA,
monitoring, modelling, etc.
• Further development of sensing techniques is needed - more
direct analysis of key properties directly related to production
and that are able to measure in the root zone – e.g. nutrient
status
• We need to develop PSS to allow collection of different
properties that define the condition and function of soil
Land and Water Craig Lobsey Postdoctoral fellow
t +61 2 6246 5634 e [email protected] w www.csiro.au/clw
LAND AND WATER
Thank you Acknowledgements Our project falls under the National Soil Carbon Program,
which is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture.
We thank them for their organisation and support.