An integrated, multisensor system for the continuous monitoring of water dynamics in rice fields under different irrigation regimes

Abstract

The cultivation of rice, one of the most important staple crops worldwide, has very high water requirements. A variety of irrigation practices are applied, whose pros and cons, both in terms of water productivity and of their effects on the environment, are not completely understood yet. The continuous monitoring of irrigation and rainfall inputs, as well as of soil water dynamics, is a very important factor in the analysis of these practices. At the same time, however, it represents a challenging and costly task because of the complexity of the processes involved, of the difference in nature and magnitude of the driving variables and of the high variety of field conditions. In this paper, we present the prototype of an integrated, multisensor system for the continuous monitoring of water dynamics in rice fields under different irrigation regimes. The system consists of the following: (1) flow measurement devices for the monitoring of irrigation supply and tailwater drainage; (2) piezometers for groundwater level monitoring; (3) level gauges for monitoring the flooding depth; (4) multilevel tensiometers and moisture sensor clusters to monitor soil water status; (5) eddy covariance station for the estimation of evapotranspiration fluxes and (6) wireless transmission devices and software interface for data transfer, storage and control from remote computer. The system is modular and it is replicable in different field conditions. It was successfully applied over a 2-year period in three experimental plots in Northern Italy, each one with a different water management strategy. In the paper, we present information concerning the different instruments selected, their interconnections and their integration in a common remote control scheme. We also provide considerations and figures on the material and labour costs of the installation and management of the system.

Economic Performance of Traditional and Modern Rice Varieties under Different Water Management Systems

“…At the RRC experimental site, elements of water balance were continuously monitored by an integrated multi-sensor system [19,20]. The values obtained for the standard, irrigated and alternately irrigated conditions were respectively 2270 mm, 1760 mm, and 680 mm [18].…”

Water Management Options for Rice Cultivation in a Temperate Area: A Multi-Objective Model to Explore Economic and Water Saving Results

“…Treatments carried out concerned cultivation practices differing for sowing modality, water management and irrigation method [10,44]:…”

“…Their respective irrigation amounts, as measured and monitored at field scale [44,45], are shown Rice cultivation is mainly performed under continuous submergence, with a ponded water depth maintained for most of the growing season. A minority of paddy fields are subject to border irrigation, especially whenever water is delivered on rotation of 7 or 15 days [10,26].…”

“…Their respective irrigation amounts, as measured and monitored at field scale [44,45], are shown in Table 1. The irrigation volume applied actually consists in providing more water than the amount needed, which means draining the excess [25,46].…”

Prospects for Improving Gravity-Fed Surface Irrigation Systems in Mediterranean European Contexts

“…This is due to the lack of flow measures and the necessity of building hydraulic structures for reliably measurements. However, modern technologies that are based on optical sensors and on open-hardware devices could be suitable for the continuous and real-time control of flows in complex situations or open-unlined irrigation canals [71][72][73]. The work of Luthi et al [74] on a smartphone application that calculates the flow by analyzing a few seconds of a movie sequence that is recorded by the operator on-site is a good example of such research.…”