Cover Image

Monitoring irrigation in small orchards with cosmic-ray neutron sensors

Due to their unique characteristics, cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNSs) have potential in monitoring and informing irrigation management, and thus optimising the use of water resources in agriculture. However, practical methods to monitor small, irrigated fields with CRNSs are currently not availabl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brogi, Cosimo (Author) , Pisinaras, Vassilios (Author) , Köhli, Markus (Author) , Dombrowski, Olga (Author) , Hendricks Franssen, Harrie-Jan (Author) , Babakos, Konstantinos (Author) , Chatzi, Anna (Author) , Panagopoulos, Andreas (Author) , Bogena, Heye Reemt (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 21 February 2023
In: Sensors
Year: 2023, Volume: 23, Issue: 5, Pages: 1-27
ISSN:1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s23052378
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052378
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/5/2378
Get full text
Author Notes:Cosimo Brogi, Vassilios Pisinaras, Markus Köhli, Olga Dombrowski, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen, Konstantinos Babakos, Anna Chatzi, Andreas Panagopoulos and Heye Reemt Bogena
Description
Summary:Due to their unique characteristics, cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNSs) have potential in monitoring and informing irrigation management, and thus optimising the use of water resources in agriculture. However, practical methods to monitor small, irrigated fields with CRNSs are currently not available and the challenges of targeting areas smaller than the CRNS sensing volume are mostly unaddressed. In this study, CRNSs are used to continuously monitor soil moisture (SM) dynamics in two irrigated apple orchards (Agia, Greece) of ~1.2 ha. The CRNS-derived SM was compared to a reference SM obtained by weighting a dense sensor network. In the 2021 irrigation period, CRNSs could only capture the timing of irrigation events, and an ad hoc calibration resulted in improvements only in the hours before irrigation (RMSE between 0.020 and 0.035). In 2022, a correction based on neutron transport simulations, and on SM measurements from a non-irrigated location, was tested. In the nearby irrigated field, the proposed correction improved the CRNS-derived SM (from 0.052 to 0.031 RMSE) and, most importantly, allowed for monitoring the magnitude of SM dynamics that are due to irrigation. The results are a step forward in using CRNSs as a decision support system in irrigation management.
Item Description:Gesehen am 19.12.2023
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s23052378

Similar Items