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Effect of fertilizers and irrigation on multi‐configuration electromagnetic induction measurements
Author(s) -
Kaufmann Manuela S.,
Hebel Christian,
Weihermüller Lutz,
Baumecker Michael,
Döring Thomas,
Schweitzer Kathlin,
Hobley Eleanor,
Bauke Sara L.,
Amelung Wulf,
Vereecken Harry,
Kruk Jan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/sum.12530
Subject(s) - subsoil , environmental science , topsoil , irrigation , soil texture , soil science , precision agriculture , soil water , agronomy , agriculture , ecology , biology
Abstract Electromagnetic induction ( EMI ) data are often used to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of soil texture, soil water content and soil salinity. We hypothesized that the EMI methodology might thus also offer potential to detect agricultural legacy effects originating from fertilizer application and irrigation of different fields. Therefore, we performed EMI measurements on two long‐term field experiments ( LTFE ) at Thyrow near Berlin (Germany) that differed in agricultural management with regard to long‐term irrigation in combination with mineral ( NPK and lime) and organic amendments (straw and farmyard manure). Two different rigid‐boom multi‐coil EMI instruments were used to measure simultaneously the apparent electrical conductivity ( EC a) over nine different depth ranges to study the entire soil profile from topsoil to deep subsoil. Additionally, soil samples were taken from the different treatments to ground‐truth the measurements and disentangle the nutrient application or irrigation effects from natural soil heterogeneity. The soil samples indicated a rather homogenous soil and the correlation between soil parameters or states were not significant. However, the treatments showed significant differences in measured EC a values. In general, EC a values were largest on regularly irrigated as well as on mineral and organic fertilized plots, with regular irrigation exhibiting the largest impact on EMI records even though the last application was months before the EMI measurement. Overall, this study reveals that EMI data can support the classical in situ assessment of agricultural management effects within LTFE , while offering new potentials in detecting and understanding legacy effects of agricultural management on spatial soil properties at farm level.