CALIBRATING TMS-4 SENSORS FOR CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF SOIL WATER CONTENT AND ASSESSING EFFECTS OF COMPOST AMENDMENT ON SENSOR PERFORMANCE

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41210%2F23%3A96555" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41210/23:96555 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://icefsss-2023.com/" target="_blank" >https://icefsss-2023.com/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

CALIBRATING TMS-4 SENSORS FOR CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF SOIL WATER CONTENT AND ASSESSING EFFECTS OF COMPOST AMENDMENT ON SENSOR PERFORMANCE

Original language description

Continuous monitoring of soil water content (SWC) using automated sensors is widely employed for research and practice. Promising among these sensors are the TMS-4 sensors by Tomst Inc. due to their convenience, independence, long battery life, and affordability. They measure SWC in surface layer (14 cm), soil temperature and air temperature (1 and 15 cm above the soil surface), making them suitable for monitoring microclimate changes induced e.g. by mulching. However sensor’s accuracy and precision can be affected by the sensor-to-sensor differences or by various soil conditions including installation mistakes. Aim of this study was to carry out the individual sensor calibration for soil of research locality in Velké Hostěrádky in order i) to improve the precision of the measurements compared to factory calibration; ii) to evaluate the sensor precision by using four brand new sensors; iii) to evaluate the sensor accuracy affected by organic matter (compost) added to the soil. In addition, obtained calibration equations were used to evaluate field measurement at the locality over 8 months. Soil was repacked into calibration container to achieve a target dry bulk density of 1.37 g/cm3, matching the natural field value, in prepared SWC levels from 0 % to 35 %. Real SWC and BD were determined by gravimetric method (in 5 repetitions for each SWC). Results showed significant differences between factory and individual calibration. While factory calibration was based on quadratic equations, we found logarithmic equations more reliable. One of the four tested sensors performed differently from the others. Finally, compost admixture (equivalent of 20 t/ha) has influence on sensor performance. TMS-4 signal has significantly lower values for the soil amended by compost, especially in the dry range. In conclusion, TMS-4 sensors are recommended but should be used with an adequate number of repetitions and tested before field application.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40104 - Soil science

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů