Time-lapse geophysical assessment of agricultural practices on soil moisture dynamics

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Blanchy, G., Watts, C. W., Richards, J., Bussell, J., Huntenburg, K., Sparkes, D. L., Stalham, M., Hawkesford, M. J., Whalley, W. R. and Binley, A. 2020. Time-lapse geophysical assessment of agricultural practices on soil moisture dynamics. Vadose Zone Journal. 19 (1), p. e20080. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20080

AuthorsBlanchy, G., Watts, C. W., Richards, J., Bussell, J., Huntenburg, K., Sparkes, D. L., Stalham, M., Hawkesford, M. J., Whalley, W. R. and Binley, A.
Abstract

Geophysical surveys are now commonly used in agriculture for mapping applications. High-throughput collection of geophysical properties such as electrical conductivity (inverse of resistivity) can be used as a proxy for soil properties of interest (e.g., moisture, texture, salinity). Most applications only rely on a single geophysical survey at a given time. However, time-lapse geophysical surveys have greater capabilities to characterize the dynamics of the system, which is the focus of this work. Assessing the impact of agricultural practices through the growth season can reveal important information for the crop production. In this work, we demonstrate the use of time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys through a series of three case studies illustrating common agricultural practices (cover crops, compaction with irrigation, and tillage with N fertilization). In the first case study, time-lapse EMI reveals the initial effect of cover crops on soil drying and the absence of effect on the subsequent main crop. In the second case study, compaction leading to a shallower drying depth for potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) was imaged by timelapse ERT. In the third case study, larger changes in electrical conductivity over time were observed in conventional tillage compared with direct drill using timelapse EMI. In addition, different N application rates had a significant effect on the yield and leaf area index but only ephemeral effects on the dynamics of electrical conductivity, mainly after the first application. Overall, time-lapse geophysical surveys show great potential for monitoring the impact of different agricultural practices that can influence crop yield.

Year of Publication2020
JournalVadose Zone Journal
Journal citation19 (1), p. e20080
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20080
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeDesigning Future Wheat - WP1 - Increased efficiency and sustainability
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online28 Oct 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted28 Sep 2020
PublisherSoil Science Society of America (SSSA)
ISSN1539-1663

Permalink - https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/983q3/time-lapse-geophysical-assessment-of-agricultural-practices-on-soil-moisture-dynamics

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