Abstract
In this study, we investigated the relationship between ground-penetrating radar (GPR) response and agriculture properties of soil with a view to understanding how the constraint of soil degradation may influence the properties. GPR field data measurements were made at a location with soil types, properties, and disturbances caused by tractor movement. The data were processed, and empirical equations relating soil physical properties and material properties of soil media were considered for the analysis of the field data. The results showed a change in the reflection coefficient and increase in the GPR wave velocity when comparing the records of the initial parts of the GPR records, lasting about 2.5 ns, of the signal response of soil subjected to compaction as a result of 10 tractor passes, with those obtained prior to movement of the tractor. The summation of the absolute value of GPR wave amplitude in the analyzed results clearly shows that the amplitude of the signal corresponding to the compressed ground is twice and even three times smaller than the amplitude recorded before the tractor runs. The results prompted the design of a relatively simple method for tracking changes in soil properties based on the results of GPR measurements, which show that zones subjected to direct tire pressure are easy to delineate and are not limited to the part that is directly under the tire, but extend about 0.5 m. It thus shows that there is a relationship between the penetration resistance induced by a change in porosity and changes in the coefficient of reflectivity and the velocity of radar waves.
Highlights
Soil is a collection of living and non-living matter that forms a three-dimensional body covering the surface of the earth
The most dependable and basic classification of soil is based on physical properties and texture, which define the particles that make up the soil
Such a change should result in a change in the reflection coefficient and an increase in ground-penetrating radar (GPR) wave velocity
Summary
Measurements were made on soil used for cultivation of crops in part of Krakow, Poland, with compaction induced by the movement of tractors to simulate farming activity. The soil’s texture, especially its ability to retain nutrients and water, is crucial (Brown 2007) All of these characteristics make loam soil useful for agricultural purposes, which informed the choice of the location for the study. The back-scattered pulses are collected by a receiving antenna, and the data are presented as signal amplitudes versus travel time in the form of an image (radargrams, Fig. 3). To improve the signal-tonoise ratio (SNR), the measured data were scrutinized This was made possible using Reflexw software developed by Sandmeier Consulting, Germany (Sandmeier 2012). Subsequent to the processing, moving-average calculations were performed on the data which have been hitherto converted into the matrices form The essence of this operation is to remove effects of random noise that may obliterate the targeted response, which may hamper optimal interpretation
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