Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Estimation of the rootzone depth above a gravel layer (in wild blueberry fields) using electromagnetic induction method

  • Published:
Precision Agriculture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) fields in the north east Canada are naturally grown in a course textured thin layer of soil and below this layer is a soilless layer of gravel. The root zone depth of this crop varies from 10 to 15 cm. Investigating the depth to the gravel layer below the course textured soil is advantageous, as it affects the water holding capacity of the root zone. Water and nutrient management are the two primary determinants of crop yield and the amount of leaching. The objective of this study was to estimate the depth to the gravel layer using DualEM-2 instrument. A C++ program written in Visual Studio 2010 was used to develop mathematical models for estimating the depth to the gravel layer from the outputs of DualEM-2 sensor. Two wild blueberry fields were selected in central Nova Scotia, Canada to evaluate the performance of DualEM-2 instrument in estimating the rootzone depth above the gravel layer. The mid points of squares created by grid lines were used as the sampling points at each experimental site. The actual depth to the interface was measured manually at selected grid points (n = 50). The apparent ground conductivity (ECa) values of DualEM-2 were recorded and the depth to the interface was estimated for the same sampling points within the selected fields. The fruit yield samples were also collected from the same grid points to identify the impact of the depth to the gravel layer on crop yield. After calibrations, comprehensive surveys were conducted and the actual and estimated depths to the interface were established. The interpolated maps of fruit yield, and the actual (zin) and estimated (\( {\text{z}}_{\text{in}}^{*} \)) depths to the interface were created in ArcGIS 10 software. Results indicated that the zin was significantly correlated with \( {\text{z}}_{\text{in}}^{*} \) for the North River (R 2 = 0.73; RMSE = 0.27 m) and the Carmel (R 2 = 0.45; RMSE = 0.20 m) sites. Results revealed that the areas with shallow depth to the gravel layer were low yielding, indicating that the variation in the depth to the gravel layer can have an impact on crop productivity. Non-destructive estimations of the depth to the gravel layer can be used to develop erosion control strategies, which will result in an increased crop production.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amezketa, E. (2006). An integrated methodology for assessing soil salinization, a pre-condition for land desertification. Journal of Arid Environment, 67, 594–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amezketa, E. (2007). Use of an electromagnetic technique to determine sodicity in saline-sodic soils. Soil Use Management, 23, 278–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bork, E. W., West, N. E., Doolittle, J. A., & Boetttinger, J. L. (1998). Soil depth assessment of sagebrush grazing treatments using electromagnetic induction. Journal of Range Management, 51, 469–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brevik, E. C., Fenton, T. E., & Lazari, A. (2006). Soil electrical conductivity as a function of soil water content and implications for soil mapping. Precision Agriculture, 7, 393–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callegary, J. B., Ferre, T. P. A., & Groom, R. W. (2007). Vertical spatial sensitivity and exploration depth of low-induction-number electromagnetic induction instruments. Vadose Zone Journal, 6, 158–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doolittle, J. A., & Collins, M. E. (1998). A comparison of EM induction and GPR methods in areas of karst. Geoderma, 85, 83–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doolittle, J. A., Sudduth, K. A., Kitchen, N. R., & Indorante, S. J. (1994). Estimating depth to claypans using electromagnetic induction methods. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 49, 572–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inc, Dual E M. (2005). DUALEM-1S and DualEM-2S user’s manual. Milton, ON: DualEM Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, L. J., & Jensen, K. (1996). Protection of lowbush blueberry soils from erosion. Truro, NS: Lowbush Blueberry Fact Sheet, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farooque, A. A., Chang, Y. K., Zaman, Q. U., Groulx, D., Schumann, A. W., & Esau, T. J. (2013). Performance evaluation of multiple ground based sensors mounted on a commercial wild blueberry harvester to sense plant height, fruit yield, and topographic features in real-time. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 91, 135–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleisch, D. (2008). A student’s guide to Maxwell’s equations. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ganatsas, P., & Spanos, I. (2005). Root system asymmetry of Mediterranean pines. Plant and Soil, 278, 75–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gebbers, R., Luck, E., & Heil, K. (2007). Depth sounding with the EM38-detection of soil layering by inversion of apparent electrical conductivity measurements. In J. V. Stafford (Ed.), Proceedings Precision Agriculture 07. (pp. 95–102). Wageningen Academy Publication, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

  • Hendrickx, J. M. H., & Kachanoski, R. G. (2002). Nonintrusive electromagnetic induction. In J. H. Dane & G. C. Topp (Eds.), Methods of soil analysis. Part 4: Physical methods. (pp. 1297–1306). Soil Science Society of America, Madison.

  • Hendrickx, J. M. H., Borchers, B., Corwin, D. L., Lesch, S. M., Hilgendorf, A. C., & Schlue, J. (2002). Inversion of soil conductivity profiles from electromagnetic induction measurements. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66, 673–685.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huth, N. I., & Poulton, P. L. (2007). An electromagnetic induction method for monitoring variation in soil moisture in agroforestry systems. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 45, 63–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inman, D. J., Freeland, R. S., Ammons, J. T., & Yoder, R. E. (2002). Soil investigations using electromagnetic induction and ground-penetrating radar in southwest Tennessee. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66(1), 206–211.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lesch, S. M., Herrero, J., & Rhoades, J. D. (1998). Monitoring for temporal changes in soil salinity using electromagnetic induction techniques. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 62, 232–242.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, J. D. (1865). A dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 155, 459–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBratney, A., Minasny, B., & Whelan, B. M. (2005). Obtaining ‘useful’ high-resolution soil data from proximally-sensed electrical conductivity/resistivity (PSEC/R) surveys. In J. V. Stafford (Ed.) Proceedings of the 5th European Precision Agriculture Conference. (pp. 503–510). Wageningen Academy Publication, Wageningen, The Netharlands.

  • McNeill, J. D. (1980a). Electrical conductivity of soils and rocks. Tech. Note-5. Geonics Ltd, Mississauga, ON.

  • McNeill, J. D. (1980b). Electromagnetic terrain conductivity measurements at low induction numbers. Geonics Ltd. Tech. Note-6. Mississauga, ON.

  • McNeill, J. D. (1997). The application of electromagnetic techniques to environmental geophysical surveys. Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications, 12, 103–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulla, D. J., Bhatti, A. U., Hommond, M. W., & Benson, J. A. (1992). A comparison of winter wheat yield and quality under uniform versus spatially variable fertilizer management. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 38, 301–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine, J. G., White, W. A., Smyth, R. C., Andrews, J. R., & Gibeaut, J. C. (2004). Mapping coastal environments with LIDAR and EM on Mustang Island, Texas, U.S. The Leading Edge, 23(9), 894–898.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saey, T., Simpson, D., Vitharana, U., Vermeersch, H., Vermang, J., & VanMeirvenne, M. (2008). Reconstructing the paleotopography beneath the loess cover with the aid of an electromagnetic induction sensor. Catena, 74, 58–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saey, T., Simpson, D., Vermeersch, H., Cockx, L., & Meirvenne, M. V. (2009). Comparing the EM38DD and DUALEM-21S sensors for depth-to-clay mapping. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 73, 7–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schumann, A. W., & Zaman, Q. U. (2003). Mapping water table depth by electromagnetic induction. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 19(6), 675–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shenk, H. J. (2008). Soil depth, plant rooting strategies and species niches. New Physiology, 178, 223–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shenk, H. J., & Jackson, R. B. (2002). Rooting depths, lateral root spreads, and belowground/aboveground allometries of plants in water-limited environments. Journal of Ecology, 90, 480–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiesson, J., Dabas, M., & Flageul, S. (2009). Detection of resistive features using towed Slingram electromagnetic induction instruments. Archaeological Prospection, 16, 103–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triantafilis, J., & Lesch, S. M. (2005). Mapping clay content variation using electromagnetic induction techniques. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 46, 203–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Triantafilis, J., Huckel, I. A., & Odeh, I. O. A. (2003). Field-scale assessment of deep drainage risk. Irrigation Science, 21, 183–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wait, J. R. (1962). A note on the electromagnetic response of a stratified earth. Geophysics, 27, 382–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, K.T., Thompson, R. L., Beke, G. J., & Nowland, J. L. (1991). Soils of Colchester County, Nova Scotia. Report No. 19. Nova Scotia Soil Survey. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada: Ottawa, ON, p. 201.

  • Wong, M. T. F., Oliver, Y. M., & Robertson, M. J. (2009). Gamma-radiometric assessment of soil depth across a landscape not measurable using electromagnetic surveys. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 73(4), 1261–1267.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yarborough, D. E. (2013). Wild blueberry. University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Orono, Maine. http://umaine.edu/blueberries/newsletters/wild-blueberry-newsletter-january-2013/. Accessed 05 Aug 2015.

  • Zaman, Q. U., Schumann, A. W., & Percival, D. C. (2010). An automated slope measurement and mapping system. HortTechnology, 20(2), 431–437.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Oxford Frozen Foods Ltd., the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Wild blueberry Institute, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture. The authors would like to thank Gary Brown and Doug Wyllie (Farm managers Bragg Lumber Company), Travis Esau, Matthew Morrison, Asena Yildiz and Shoaib Saleem for their assistance during the experiment.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, 39 Cox Road, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada

    Fahad S. Khan, Qamar U. Zaman, Young K. Chang & Ali Madani

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University, 1360 Barrington St, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada

    Aitazaz A. Farooque

  3. Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred, FL, 33850, USA

    Arnold W. Schumann

Authors
  1. Fahad S. Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qamar U. Zaman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Young K. Chang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Aitazaz A. Farooque
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Arnold W. Schumann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ali Madani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qamar U. Zaman.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Khan, F.S., Zaman, Q.U., Chang, Y.K. et al. Estimation of the rootzone depth above a gravel layer (in wild blueberry fields) using electromagnetic induction method. Precision Agric 17, 155–167 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-015-9413-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-015-9413-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation