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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #180881
Title: VARIABILITY STRUCTURE OF ON-THE-GO SOIL STRENGTH SENSOR DATA

Author
item CHUNG, SUN-OK - NAT INST AG ENG, N KOREA
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken
item TAN, JINGLU - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

Submitted to: ASAE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2005
Publication Date: 7/18/2005
Citation: Chung, S., Sudduth, K.A., Tan, J. 2005. Variability structure of on-the-go soil strength sensor data [CDROM]. American Society of Agricultural Engineers Annual International Meeting. Abstract No. 051039.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: As agricultural machinery has become larger and tillage practices have changed in recent decades, compaction as a result of wheel traffic and tillage has caused increasing concern. If, strategies to manage compaction, such as deep tillage, could be applied only where needed, economic and environmental benefits would result. For such site-specific compaction management to occur, compacted areas within fields must be efficiently sensed and mapped. We previously developed an on-the-go soil strength profile sensor (SSPS) for this purpose. The SSPS measures within-field variability in soil strength at five soil depths up to 50 cm. Determining the spatial structure of SSPS data is useful in site-specific field management since the variability structure determines the required spatial intensity of data collection and is related to the delineation of compaction management zones. In this paper, soil bin and field data were analyzed by spectral and variogram analysis techniques to determine the variability structure of the SSPS data, and to investigate causes and implications of this variability. In the soil bin, we observed a repeating pattern due to soil fracture with an approximate 15-cm period, especially at 10-cm depth. In the field, sill variances in sandy soils were higher at 10- to 20-cm depths, compared to finer-textured soils. Spatial periods between 4 and 6 m were predominant, due to soil strength variability within transects. These findings will facilitate interpretation of soil strength data and enhance application of the SSPS.