Evaluation of agricultural non-point source pollution using an in-situ and automated photochemical flow analysis system

Abstract

Off-line leachate collection from agricultural landscapes cannot guarantee precise evaluation of agricultural non-point source (ANPS) due to geospatial variations, time, and transportation from the field to the laboratory. Implementing an in-situ nitrogen and phosphorous monitoring system with a robust photochemical flow analysis is imperative for precision agriculture, enabling real-time intervention to minimize non-point source pollution and overcome the limitations posed by conventional analysis in laboratory. A reliable, robust and in-situ approach was proposed to monitor nitrogen and phosphorous for determining ANPS pollution. In this study, a home-made porous ceramic probe and the frequency domain reflectometer (FDR) based water content sensors were strategically placed at different soil depths to facilitate the collection of leachates. These solutions were subsequently analyzed by in-situ photochemical flow analysis monitoring system built across the field to estimate the concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen. After applying both natural and artificial irrigation to the agricultural landscape, at least 10 mL of soil leachates was consistently collected using the porous ceramic probe within 20 min, regardless of the depth of the soil layers when the volumetric soil water contents are greater than 19%. The experimental results showed that under different weather conditions and irrigation conditions, the soil water content of 50 cm and 90 cm below the soil surface was 19.58% and 26.08%, respectively. The average concentrations of NH4+-N, NO3−-N, PO43− are 0.584 mg/L, 15.7 mg/L, 0.844 mg/L, and 0.562 mg/L, 16.828 mg/L and 0.878 mg/L at depths of 50 cm and 90 cm below the soil surface, respectively. Moreover, the comparison with conventional laboratory spectroscopic analysis confirmed R2 values of 0.9951, 0.9943, 0.9947 average concentration ranges of NH4+-N, NO3−-N, and PO43−, showcasing the accuracy and reliability of robust photochemical flow analysis in-situ monitoring system. The suggested monitoring system can be helpful in the assessment of soil nutrition for precision agriculture.