Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination

Electromagnetic (EM) sensors are widely used to measure soil water content for different applications. The dielectric response of soil over the operational frequency of EM sensors in the megahertz to gigahertz range can be affected by a number of factors other than soil water content. It is therefor...

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Main Authors: Wenyi Sheng, Wenfeng Ni, Juan D. González-Teruel, Jinghui Xu, Scott B. Jones, David A. Robinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Geoderma
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001302
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author Wenyi Sheng
Wenfeng Ni
Juan D. González-Teruel
Jinghui Xu
Scott B. Jones
David A. Robinson
author_facet Wenyi Sheng
Wenfeng Ni
Juan D. González-Teruel
Jinghui Xu
Scott B. Jones
David A. Robinson
author_sort Wenyi Sheng
collection DOAJ
description Electromagnetic (EM) sensors are widely used to measure soil water content for different applications. The dielectric response of soil over the operational frequency of EM sensors in the megahertz to gigahertz range can be affected by a number of factors other than soil water content. It is therefore beneficial to examine the measurement frequency of sensors, for better understanding the sensor output (i.e., permittivity or circuit response), as well as its impact on water content determination. Previous investigations differed in measurement equipment, tested frequencies, and soil variables and hence found inconsistent conclusions regarding various EM sensors. In this paper, we try to provide comprehensive considerations on measurement frequency for EM sensing of soil water content, which could clarify sensor performance, selecting appropriate sensors, and designing new sensors.
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issn 1872-6259
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
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series Geoderma
spelling doaj-art-f87246dc5d824642b75580a5e4994e2d2025-08-20T02:55:56ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-05-0145711729210.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117292Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determinationWenyi Sheng0Wenfeng Ni1Juan D. González-Teruel2Jinghui Xu3Scott B. Jones4David A. Robinson5College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of Smart Agriculture System Integration, Ministry of Education, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA; Corresponding author.College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; Key Laboratory of Smart Agriculture System Integration, Ministry of Education, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, ChinaDepartment of Plants, Soils, and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USACollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, ChinaDepartment of Plants, Soils, and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USAUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor, Wales, UKElectromagnetic (EM) sensors are widely used to measure soil water content for different applications. The dielectric response of soil over the operational frequency of EM sensors in the megahertz to gigahertz range can be affected by a number of factors other than soil water content. It is therefore beneficial to examine the measurement frequency of sensors, for better understanding the sensor output (i.e., permittivity or circuit response), as well as its impact on water content determination. Previous investigations differed in measurement equipment, tested frequencies, and soil variables and hence found inconsistent conclusions regarding various EM sensors. In this paper, we try to provide comprehensive considerations on measurement frequency for EM sensing of soil water content, which could clarify sensor performance, selecting appropriate sensors, and designing new sensors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001302Electromagnetic sensorDielectric permittivityMeasurement frequencySoil water content
spellingShingle Wenyi Sheng
Wenfeng Ni
Juan D. González-Teruel
Jinghui Xu
Scott B. Jones
David A. Robinson
Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
Geoderma
Electromagnetic sensor
Dielectric permittivity
Measurement frequency
Soil water content
title Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
title_full Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
title_fullStr Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
title_full_unstemmed Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
title_short Considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
title_sort considerations on measurement frequency of electromagnetic sensors for soil water content determination
topic Electromagnetic sensor
Dielectric permittivity
Measurement frequency
Soil water content
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125001302
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AT jinghuixu considerationsonmeasurementfrequencyofelectromagneticsensorsforsoilwatercontentdetermination
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