Modelling Soil Water Content in a Tomato Field: Proximal Gamma Ray Spectroscopy and Soil–Crop System Models

Agriculture

Domenico Solimando¹  Stefano Anconelli¹  Marco Bittelli²  Giulia Villani²  Marica Baldoncini³  Vincenzo Guidi³  Barbara Fabbri³  Enrico Chiarelli³  KassandraGiulia Cristina Raptis³  Fabio Mantovani³  Carlo Bottardi³  Matteo Albéri³  Virginia Strati³  Fausto Tomei⁴ 

[1] Consorzio Bonifica CER, Via Masi 8, 40137, Bologna, Italy;Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy;Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;Servizio Idro-Meteo-Clima di Bologna Agenzia Regionale Prevenzione, Ambiente ed Energia, Via Po 5, 40139 Bologna, Italy;

关键词: soil water content;    proximal gamma ray spectroscopy;    soil–crop system models;    real-time soil water content monitoring;    non-destructive methods;    CRITeRIA;    AquaCrop;    IRRINET;    tomato crop;   

DOI  :  10.3390/agriculture8040060

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Proximal soil sensors are taking hold in the understanding of soil hydrogeological processes involved in precision agriculture. In this context, permanently installed gamma ray spectroscopy stations represent one of the best space–time trade off methods at field scale. This study proved the feasibility and reliability of soil water content monitoring through a seven-month continuous acquisition of terrestrial gamma radiation in a tomato test field. By employing a 1 L sodium iodide detector placed at a height of 2.25 m, we investigated the gamma signal coming from an area having a ~25 m radius and from a depth of approximately 30 cm. Experimental values, inferred after a calibration measurement and corrected for the presence of biomass, were corroborated with gravimetric data acquired under different soil moisture conditions, giving an average absolute discrepancy of about 2%. A quantitative comparison was carried out with data simulated by AquaCrop, CRITeRIA, and IRRINET soil–crop system models. The different goodness of fit obtained in bare soil condition and during the vegetated period highlighted that CRITeRIA showed the best agreement with the experimental data over the entire data-taking period while, in presence of the tomato crop, IRRINET provided the best results.

【 授权许可】

Unknown