Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil

Mulching is used to improve the condition of agricultural soils by covering the soil with different materials, mainly black polyethylene (PE). However, problems derived from its use are how to remove it from the field and, in the case of it remaining in the soil, the possible effects on it. One poss...

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Main Authors: Carmen Moreno, Ignacio Mancebo, Antonio Saa, Marta M. Moreno
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/617408
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author Carmen Moreno
Ignacio Mancebo
Antonio Saa
Marta M. Moreno
author_facet Carmen Moreno
Ignacio Mancebo
Antonio Saa
Marta M. Moreno
author_sort Carmen Moreno
collection DOAJ
description Mulching is used to improve the condition of agricultural soils by covering the soil with different materials, mainly black polyethylene (PE). However, problems derived from its use are how to remove it from the field and, in the case of it remaining in the soil, the possible effects on it. One possible solution is to use biodegradable plastic (BD) or paper (PP), as mulch, which could present an alternative, reducing nonrecyclable waste and decreasing the environmental pollution associated with it. Determination of mulch residues in the ground is one of the basic requirements to estimate the potential of each material to degrade. This study has the goal of evaluating the residue of several mulch materials over a crop campaign in Central Spain through image analysis. Color images were acquired under similar lighting conditions at the experimental field. Different thresholding methods were applied to binarize the histogram values of the image saturation plane in order to show the best contrast between soil and mulch. Then the percentage of white pixels (i.e., soil area) was used to calculate the mulch deterioration. A comparison of thresholding methods and the different mulch materials based on percentage of bare soil area obtained is shown.
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issn 2356-6140
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language English
publishDate 2014-01-01
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series The Scientific World Journal
spelling doaj-art-7c24705c0cdc4dbf90efa3db5d1cd4272025-08-20T02:06:53ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal2356-61401537-744X2014-01-01201410.1155/2014/617408617408Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in SoilCarmen Moreno0Ignacio Mancebo1Antonio Saa2Marta M. Moreno3Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha/Escuela de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Ronda de Calatrava 7, 13071 Ciudad Real, SpainUniversidad de Castilla-La Mancha/Escuela de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Ronda de Calatrava 7, 13071 Ciudad Real, SpainDepartamento de Edafología y Climatología, ETSI Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria sn, 28040 Madrid, SpainUniversidad de Castilla-La Mancha/Escuela de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Ronda de Calatrava 7, 13071 Ciudad Real, SpainMulching is used to improve the condition of agricultural soils by covering the soil with different materials, mainly black polyethylene (PE). However, problems derived from its use are how to remove it from the field and, in the case of it remaining in the soil, the possible effects on it. One possible solution is to use biodegradable plastic (BD) or paper (PP), as mulch, which could present an alternative, reducing nonrecyclable waste and decreasing the environmental pollution associated with it. Determination of mulch residues in the ground is one of the basic requirements to estimate the potential of each material to degrade. This study has the goal of evaluating the residue of several mulch materials over a crop campaign in Central Spain through image analysis. Color images were acquired under similar lighting conditions at the experimental field. Different thresholding methods were applied to binarize the histogram values of the image saturation plane in order to show the best contrast between soil and mulch. Then the percentage of white pixels (i.e., soil area) was used to calculate the mulch deterioration. A comparison of thresholding methods and the different mulch materials based on percentage of bare soil area obtained is shown.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/617408
spellingShingle Carmen Moreno
Ignacio Mancebo
Antonio Saa
Marta M. Moreno
Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
The Scientific World Journal
title Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
title_full Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
title_fullStr Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
title_full_unstemmed Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
title_short Image Analysis to Estimate Mulch Residue in Soil
title_sort image analysis to estimate mulch residue in soil
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/617408
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AT ignaciomancebo imageanalysistoestimatemulchresidueinsoil
AT antoniosaa imageanalysistoestimatemulchresidueinsoil
AT martammoreno imageanalysistoestimatemulchresidueinsoil