Effect of Surface Roughness and Vegetation on the Proximal Soil Moisture Sensor
ISEMA conference 2016, Florence, Italy
Tan, A. E. C, Richards, S., Platt, I., Woodhead, I.
Abstract
A method of measuring soil moisture with proximal electromagnetic sensors that were mounted on irrigators had been developed. Techniques from the impulse (ultra-wideband) radar were applied, which enabled the measurement of soil reflection at resolutions smaller than the antenna beamwidths of the radar. In this paper, we briefly presented the sensing methodology, design, prototyping, measurement and results of the proposed sensor. Measured result of pasture ground at different ground conditions were presented, demonstrating the viability of the sensor in estimating the soil moisture. Of particular interest was the performance of the sensor on pasture grounds with different grass heights and surface texture.