TY - JOUR A1 - Bönecke, Eric A1 - Lück, Erika A1 - Rühlmann, Jörg A1 - Gründling, Ralf A1 - Franko, Uwe T1 - Determining the within-field yield variability from seasonally changing soil conditions JF - Precision Agriculture N2 - Crop yield variations are strongly influenced by the spatial and temporal availabilities of water and nitrogen in the soil during the crop growth season. To estimate the quantities and distributions of water and nitrogen within a given soil, process-oriented soil models have often been used. These models require detailed information about the soil characteristics and profile architecture (e.g., soil depth, clay content, bulk density, field capacity and wilting point), but high resolution information about these soil properties, both vertically and laterally, is difficult to obtain through conventional approaches. However, on-the-go electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements of the soil and data inversion tools have recently improved the lateral resolutions of the vertically distributed measurable information. Using these techniques, nearly 19,000 virtual soil profiles with defined layer depths were successfully created for a 30 ha silty cropped soil over loamy and sandy substrates in Central Germany, which were used to initialise the CArbon and Nitrogen DYnamics (CANDY) model. The soil clay content was derived from the electrical resistivity (ER) and the collected soil samples using a simple linear regression approach (the mean R-2 of clay = 0.39). The additional required structural and hydrological properties were derived from pedotransfer functions. The modelling results, derived soil texture distributions and original ER data were compared with the spatial winter wheat yield distribution in a relatively dry year using regression and boundary line analysis. The yield variation was best explained by the simulated soil water content (R-2 = 0.18) during the grain filling and was additionally validated by the measured soil water content with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 7.5 Vol%. KW - Soil process modelling KW - Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) KW - Soil water variability KW - Boundary line analysis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-017-9556-z SN - 1385-2256 SN - 1573-1618 VL - 19 IS - 4 SP - 750 EP - 769 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lück, Erika A1 - Rühlmann, Jörg T1 - Resistivity mapping with GEOPHILUS ELECTRICUS - Information about lateral and vertical soil heterogeneity JF - Geoderma : an international journal of soil science N2 - GEOPHILUS ELECTRICUS (nickname GEOPHILUS) is a novel system for mapping the complex electrical bulk resistivity of soils. Rolling electrodes simultaneously measure amplitude and phase data at frequencies ranging from 1 mHz to 1 kHz. The sensor's design and technical specifications allow for measuring these parameters at five depths of up to ca. 1.5 m. Data inversion techniques can be employed to determine resistivity models instead of apparent values and to image soil layers and their geometry with depth. When used in combination with a global positioning system (GPS) and a suitable cross-country vehicle, it is possible to map about 100 ha/day (assuming 1 data point is recorded per second and the line spacing is 18 m). The applicability of the GEOPHILUS system has been demonstrated on several sites, where soils show variations in texture, stratification, and thus electrical characteristics. The data quality has been studied by comparison with 'static' electrodes, by repeated measurements, and by comparison with other mobile conductivity mapping devices (VERIS3100 and EM38). The high quality of the conductivity data produced by the GEOPHILUS system is evident and demonstrated by the overall consistency of the individual maps, and in the clear stratification also confirmed by independent data. The GEOPHILUS system measures complex values of electrical resistivity in terms of amplitude and phase. Whereas electrical conductivity data (amplitude) are well established in soil science, the interpretation of phase data is a topic of current research. Whether phase data are able to provide additional information depends on the site-specific settings. Here, we present examples, where phase data provide complementary information on man-made structures such as metal pipes and soil compaction. KW - Proximal soil sensing KW - Electrical conductivity KW - Electrical resistivity KW - Phase angle KW - Mapping KW - Soil stratification Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.11.009 SN - 0016-7061 VL - 199 SP - 2 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lück, Erika A1 - Rühlmann, Jörg A1 - Kirchmann, Holger T1 - Properties of soils from the Swedish long-term fertility experiments VI. Mapping soil electrical conductivity with different geophysical methods JF - Acta agriculturae Scandinavica : Section B, Soil and plant science N2 - Swedish long-term soil fertility experiments were used to investigate the effect of texture and fertilization regime on soil electrical conductivity. In one geophysical approach, fields were mapped to characterize the horizontal variability in apparent electrical conductivity down to 1.5 m soil depth using an electromagnetic induction meter (EM38 device). The data obtained were geo-referenced by dGPS. The other approach consisted of measuring the vertical variability in electrical conductivity along transects using a multi-electrode apparatus for electrical resistivity tomography (GeoTom RES/IP device) down to 2 m depth. Geophysical field work was complemented by soil analyses. The results showed that despite 40 years of different fertilization regimes, treatments had no significant effects on the apparent electrical conductivity. Instead, the comparison of sites revealed high and low conductivity soils, with gradual differences explained by soil texture. A significant, linear relationship found between apparent electrical conductivity and soil clay content explained 80% of the variability measured. In terms of soil depth, both low and high electrical conductivity values were measured. Abrupt changes in electrical conductivity within a field revealed the presence of 'deviating areas'. Higher values corresponded well with layers with a high clay content, while local inclusions of coarse-textured materials caused a high variability in conductivity in some fields. The geophysical methods tested provided useful information on the variability in soil texture at the experimental sites. The use of spatial EC variability as a co-variable in statistical analysis could be a complementary tool in the evaluation of experimental results. KW - Conductivity depth model KW - conductivity map KW - electrical resistivity KW - soil heterogeneity Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2010.502124 SN - 0906-4710 VL - 61 IS - 5 SP - 438 EP - 447 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - Oslo ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Simpson, David A1 - Van Meirvenne, Marc A1 - Luck, Erika A1 - Bourgeois, Jean A1 - Ruhlmann, Jörg T1 - Prospection of two circular Bronze Age ditches with multi-receiver electrical conductivity sensors (North Belgium) N2 - Two types of electrical conductivity sensors were evaluated to prospect circular ditches surrounding former Bronze Age burial mounds, complementing aerial photography. The first sensor was based on the electrical resistivity (ER) method, while the second sensor was based on frequency-domain electromagnetic induction (FDEM). Both sensors were designed with multiple receivers, which measure several depth sensitivities simultaneously. First, the sensors were tested on an experimental site where a rectangular structure with limited dimensions was dug in a sandy soil. The structure appeared as a higher conductivity anomaly in the low-conductivity sand. Then, both methods were applied on two Bronze Age sites with different soil properties, which were discovered by aerial photography. The first site, in a sandy soil, gave only very weak anomalies. Soil augering revealed that the ditch filling consisted of the same sandy material as the surrounding, therefore this filling was not able to cause a high-conductivity contrast. Due to its lower sensitivity to noise in the low-conductive range, the ER-sensor produced a more pronounced anomaly than the FDEM-sensor. The second site was located on top of a ridge with a shallow substrate of Tertiary, coastal sediments. The ditch was very clearly visible on the sensor maps as a conductive low. At this location, the soil augering revealed that the ditch was dug through an alternating clay-sand layer and subsequently filled up with silty material from the topsoil. Overall, the shallow receiver separation produced anomalies that were both stronger and that corresponded better to the geometry of the ditches. The other receiver separations provided more information on the natural soil layering, and in the case of the ER-array they could be used to obtain a cross-section of the actual electrical conductivity with 2-D inversion modelling. The results of this study proofed that conductivity sensors can detect Bronze Age ditches, with varying contrast depending on the soil geomorphology. Moreover, the sensor maps combined with soil observations by coring provided insight in the environmental conditions that influence the contrast of the anomalies seen on the aerial photographs and the sensor maps. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03054403 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.03.017 SN - 0305-4403 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Simpson, David A1 - Van Meirvenne, Marc A1 - Luck, Erika A1 - Ruhlmann, Jörg A1 - Saey, Timothy A1 - Bourgeois, Jean T1 - Sensitivity of multi-coil frequency domain electromagnetic induction sensors to map soil magnetic susceptibility N2 - Magnetic susceptibility is an important indicator of anthropogenic disturbance in the natural soil. This property is often mapped with magnetic gradiometers in archaeological prospection studies. It is also detected with frequency domain electromagnetic induction (FDEM) sensors, which have the advantage that they can simultaneously measure the electrical conductivity. The detection level of FDEM sensors for magnetic structures is very dependent on the coil configuration. Apart from theoretical modelling studies, a thorough investigation with field models has not been conducted until now. Therefore, the goal of this study was to test multiple coil configurations on a test field with naturally enhanced magnetic susceptibility in the topsoil and with different types of structures mimicking real archaeological features. Two FDEM sensors were used with coil separations between 0.5 and 2 m and with three coil orientations. First, a vertical sounding was conducted over the undisturbed soil to test the validity of a theoretical layered model, which can be used to infer the depth sensitivity of the coil configurations. The modelled sounding values corresponded well with the measured data, which means that the theoretical models are applicable to layered soils. Second, magnetic structures were buried in the site and the resulting anomalies measured to a very high resolution. The results showed remarkable differences in amplitude and complexity between the responses of the coil configurations. The 2-m horizontal coplanar and 1.1-m perpendicular coil configurations produced the clearest anomalies and resembled best a gradiometer measurement. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issn?DESCRIPTOR=PRINTISSN&VALUE=1351-0754 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2010.01261.x SN - 1351-0754 ER -