Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297121
Title: Soil

Author
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken
item KIM, HAK - Seoul National University
item MOTAVALLI, PETER - University Of Missouri

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/18/2013
Publication Date: 11/4/2014
Citation: Sudduth, K.A., Kim, H.J., Motavalli, P.P. 2014. Soil. In: Moretto, L., Kalcher, K. editors. Environmental Analysis by Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors, Vol. 1: Fundamentals. New York, NY: Springer. p. 23-61.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil is a diverse natural material characterized by solid, liquid, and gas phases that impart unique chemical, physical, and biological properties. Soil provides many key functions, including supporting plant growth and providing environmental remediation. Monitoring key soil properties and processes is important in many agricultural and environmental applications. As soil properties vary in both space and time, sensor-based approaches are needed to provide the spatially and temporally dense data required. Here, we provide an introduction to soil and its properties and processes that are important from agricultural and environmental perspectives. We discuss the use of sensors for soil analysis, with a focus on in-situ sensing using both stationary and mobile proximal soil sensors. A detailed discussion of electrochemical sensor applications is given, with emphasis on mobile sensing of bulk soil apparent electrical conductivity and the use of ion-selective electrodes for quantifying plant-available soil nutrients.