Dielectric constant obtained from TDR and volumetric moisture of soils in southern Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Kaiser,Douglas Rodrigo
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Outros Autores: Reinert,Dalvan José, Reichert,José Miguel, Minella,Jean Paollo Gomes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-06832010000300006
• topic: mathematical models; soil moisture; TDR; calibration

Soil moisture is the property which most greatly influences the soil dielectric constant, which is also influenced by soil mineralogy. The aim of this study was to determine mathematical models for soil moisture and the dielectric constant (Ka) for a Hapludalf, two clayey Hapludox and a very clayey Hapludox and test the reliability of universal models, such as those proposed by Topp and Ledieu and their co-workers in the 80's, and specific models to estimate soil moisture with a TDR. Soil samples were collected from the 0 to 0.30 m layer, sieved through a mesh of 0.002 m diameter and packed in PVC cylinders with a 0.1 m diameter and 0.3 m height. Seven samples of each soil class were saturated by capillarity and a probe composed of two rods was inserted in each one of them. Moisture readings began with the saturated soil and concluded when the soil was near permanent wilting point. In each step, the samples were weighed on a precision scale to calculate volumetric moisture. Linear and polynomial models were adjusted for each soil class and for all soils together between soil moisture and the dielectric constant. Accuracy of the models was evaluated by the coefficient of determination, the standard error of estimate and the 1:1 line. The models proposed by Topp and Ledieu and their co-workers were not adequate for estimating the moisture in the soil classes studied. The adjusted linear and polynomial models for the entire set of data of the four soil classes did not have sufficient accuracy for estimating soil moisture. The greater the soil clay and Fe oxide content, the greater the dielectric constant of the medium for a given volumetric moisture. The specific models, θ = 0.40283 - 0.04231 Ka + 0.00194 Ka² - 0.000022 Ka³ (Hapludox) θ = 0.01971 + 0.02902 Ka - 0.00086 Ka² + 0.000012 Ka³ (Hapludox -PF), θ = 0.01692 - 0.00507 Ka (Hapludalf) and θ = 0.08471 + 0.01145 Ka (Hapludox-CA), show greater accuracy and reliability for estimating soil moisture in the soil classes studied.