Abstract
The electrical conductivity (EC) of soil is generally measured after soil extraction, so this method cannot represent the in situ EC of soil (e.g., EC of soils with different moisture contents) and therefore lacks comparability in some cases. Using a resistance measurement apparatus converted from a configuration of soil microbial fuel cell, the in situ soil EC was evaluated according to the Ohmic resistance (Rs) measured using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The EC of soils with moisture content from 9.1% to 37.5% was calculated according to Rs. A significant positive correlation (R2 = 0.896, p < 0.01) between the soil EC and the moisture content was observed, which demonstrated the feasibility of the approach. This new method can not only represent the actual soil EC, but also does not need any pretreatment. Thus it may be used widely in the measurement of the EC for soils and sediments.
Highlights
The soil electrical conductivity (EC), associated with soil salinity [1], is measured as one of main soil characteristics in agricultural production and environmental protection. It is influenced by soil moisture content, salts, and amount and type of clays and other factors [2]
EC is evaluated by analyzing their extraction solutions, which does not represent the real-time
EC is evaluated by analyzing their extraction solutions, which does not represent the real-time conductivity of the soil/sediment
Summary
The soil electrical conductivity (EC), associated with soil salinity [1], is measured as one of main soil characteristics in agricultural production and environmental protection. As we know, there’s no other literature describing how to measure soil EC using EIS This method is new and does not need any pretreatment compared to the Sensors 2016, 16, 625; doi:10.3390/s16050625 www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors. Electrochemical technologies, for instance MFC and the electrokinetic technique, are promising remediation approaches for soil/sediment contamination [11,12]. EC is evaluated by analyzing their extraction solutions, which does not represent the real-time conductivity of the soil/sediment. An in situ representation method of EC was devised using the EIS that can continuously monitor the soil/sediment EC, which is a very important index to using the EIS that can continuously monitor the soil/sediment EC, which is a very important index to evaluate the soil characteristics for plant growth and soil organisms.
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