Agronomy Journal Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education
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Published online 1 July 1997
Published in Agron J 89:535-542 (1997)
© 1997 American Society of Agronomy
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
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Measuring Soil Water Content in the Laboratory and Field with Dual-Probe Heat-Capacity Sensors

Julie M. Tarara and Jay M. Ham*

Dep. of Agronomy, Throckmorton Hall, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506-5501.

* Corresponding author (snafu{at}ksu.edu).

Dual-probe heat-capacity sensors were constructed and tested in laboratory and field conditions to determine their application for measuring volumetric soil water content ({theta}v). The dual-probe technique uses a transient heat pulse and a temperature sensor to determine the volumetric heat capacity of the soil (pcp), which can be subsequently converted to {theta}v for a nonswelling soil if bulk density is known. In 1994, 24 dual-probes were simultaneously tested using a multiplexed data acquisition system. In the laboratory, probes were calibrated to the known heat capacity of water. Following calibration, the probes correctly estimated pcp of glass beads and water-saturated glass beads to within 2.2 and 0.2% of their calculated values, respectively. Gravimetric and dual-probe estimates of {theta}v were compared using the Tempe pressure cell technique to desorb soil columns. The two methods agreed to within 0.03 m3 m–3 and 0.04 m3 m–3 in two soil types, over a range of {theta}v from 0.45 m3 m–3 to 0.10 m3 m–3 estimates of the change in {theta}v ({Delta}{theta}v) between desorption steps agreed to within 0.01 m3 m–3. In the field, beneath bare soil, estimates of {theta}v among three dual-probes installed at the same depth agreed, on average, to within 0.02 m3 m–3. The probes detected {Delta}{theta}v within 30 min during the 21-d field trial. Dual-probe and gamma-attenuation measurements of {theta}v agreed to within 0.05 m3 m–3. In 1995, probe design was improved to produce more robust, reliable instruments. Sixteen probes were installed 10 cm beneath a drip-irrigated row crop. A consistent difference in {theta}v of {approx}0.10 m3 m–3 between mulch-covered and bare soil beds was detected during the 25-d trial. The dual-probe heat-pulse technique for measuring {theta}v has direct applicability in agronomic and horticultural production, where small-scale, automated measurements of {theta}v are needed.

Contribution no. 96-470-J from the Kansas Agric. Exp. Stn., Manhattan, KS.

Received for publication June 3, 1996.


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