The Performance of the DES Sensor for Estimating Soil Bulk Density under the Effect of Different Agronomic Practices

Ahmed Abed Gatea Alshammary,Mustafa Al-Maliki,Michael Norton,Akif Kaynak,Will P Gates,Abbas Z Kouzani,Sui Yang Khoo,Jesús Rodrigo-Comino

doi:10.3390/geosciences10040117

Ahmed Abed Gatea Alshammary, Mustafa Al-Maliki + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10040117

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Abstract

The estimation of soil wet bulk density (ρn) and dry bulk density (ρb) using the novel digital electromechanical system (DES) has provided information about important parameters for the assessment of soil quality and health with a direct application for agronomists. The evaluation of the DES performance is particularly appropriate for different tillage methods, mulching systems, and fertilizers used to increase soil fertility and productivity, but currently, there is a lack of information, particularly in the arid areas in underdeveloped countries. Therefore, the main aim of this study was the application of a novel digital electromechanical system (DES) to evaluate bulk density, wet (ρn) and dry (ρb), under different soil treatments according to the variations in thermal efficiencies (ηth), microwave penetration depths (MDP), and specific energy consumption (Qcon) in an experimental area close to Baghdad (Iraq). The experimental design consisted of 72 plots, each 4 m2. The agronomic practices included two different tillage systems (disc plough followed by a spring disk and mouldboard plough followed by a spring disk) and twelve treatments involving mulching plastic sheeting combined with fertilizers, to determine their effect on the measured soil ρn and ρb and the DES performance in different soils. The results indicated that soil ρn and ρb varied significantly with both the tillage systems and the mulching systems. As expected, the soil ρn and ρb, MDP, and Qcon increased with an increase in the soil depth. Moreover, the tillage, soil mulching, and soil depth value significantly affected ηth and Qcon. A strong relationship was identified between the soil tillage and MDP for different soil treatments, leading to the changes in soil ρb and the soil dielectric constant (ε’).

Highlights

Computers and mechatronic techniques (CMT) used in production agriculture bring substantial benefit to both researchers and enterprises operating in developing countries [1,2]
The values of thermal energy were noted to be dependent on the agronomic practices and soil depth, which demonstrated a significant impact on the microwave penetration depth (MDP) values
The highest ηth value (17.8%) at the soil depth of 0 to 10 cm was recorded, possibly because of the increase in the evaporated soil moisture as compared with the values of 16.9% and 15.8% at the soil depths of 10 to 20 and 20 to 30 cm, respectively. These results disagree with the findings reported in [13], which showed that the ηth value increased with an increase in the soil depth because of the influence of μ under different soil textures; here, the increase in the ηth value was followed by an increase in the soil depth and the moisture content

Summary

Introduction

Computers and mechatronic techniques (CMT) used in production agriculture bring substantial benefit to both researchers and enterprises operating in developing countries [1,2]. Despite several studies using these methods to measure soil ρb , in a recent review, Al-Shammary et al [6] noted that soil ρb measurement methods continue to be difficult to use, being time-consuming and leading to mistakes, when the sampling is carried out at different soil depths, as well as different moisture conditions and rock fragment contents. Another major limitation is the difficulty of controlling the quality of soil ρb measurements and the loss or gain of moisture by the samples [11,12]

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