Soil moisture - Aquapro

Parameter to be measured:

Soil moisture

Method:

Capacitance (radio-frequency)

Advantages:

• Cheap to take measurements at many locations and at many depths
• Repeatability because of fixed access tubes

Disadvantages:

The measurement scale is in %Aquapro. In order to convert to volumetric moisture content an additional calibration needs to be done. Percent Aquapro and volumetric moisture content are linearly related for most soils.

What to watch out for:

• Stones and air pockets around the access tube influence the readings. It is very important to carefully install the access tubes.
• You can install tubes longer than 1 m but if the access tubes warp a little bit (and are thus no longer perfectly straight) it is difficult to insert the probe in the tube and the probe may break when you pull the probe out of the access tube.

Links

Projects that used the above equipment:

Panola

Other related web sites:

Aqua Da Vinci