Abstract
Measurements of soil matric potential (ψ) are needed in many soil science applications. In the present study, a small matric potential sensor having a length of 30 mm and a diameter of 9.6 mm was developed. The sensor consists of two coils made of lacquer‐coated copper wires embedded in gypsum. The dielectric constant of the gypsum (Kgypsum) was measured with time domain reflectometry (TDR). The gypsum probes were tested in a sandy loam soil using a pressure extractor to obtain the relationship between Kgypsum and ψ, allowing inference of the soil ψ in equilibrium with the sensor. It was shown that the gypsum probe could give ψ estimates with a root mean square error (RMSE) of around 50 kPa in the range of −20 to −1500 kPa. Most of the sensitivity of the sensor was in the −50‐ to −1000‐kPa range.
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