Evaluation of an inexpensive sensor to measure soil color

Stiglitz, Roxanne; Mikhailova, Elena A.; Post, Christopher J.; Schlautman, Mark A.; Sharp, Julia L.

doi:10.1016/j.compag.2015.11.014

Cited by 66 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Color results can be recorded in various color systems such as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), XYZ (red, green, and blue), and CIEL*a*b* (lightness, redness, and yellowness), thereby making statistical analysis of the results easier to conduct than when using the Munsell color notation. Stiglitz et al (2016) showed that the Nix Pro color sensor was able to produce consistent color results very similar to that of a standard laboratory colorimeter (Konica Minolta CR‐400) under both moist and dry soil conditions, making it a promising method of soil color identification. Although the Nix Pro sensor showed promising results for the researchers, it is important to determine how receptive others are to this new technology as a method of color identification.…”

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confidence: 89%

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Teaching Soil Color Determination Using an Inexpensive Color Sensor

Stiglitz

Mikhailova

Post

et al. 2016

Natural Sciences Education

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Core Ideas Soil color is indicative of many soil characteristics. This article describes teaching students color identification using traditional Munsell color chart and sensor based technology. Students preferred using a soil color sensor over a color chart. As new technologies are introduced to soil science it is important to determine the potential and preference for such innovations among users. The Nix Pro color sensor, an inexpensive mobile color sensor, was tested by college students for its ability to determine soil color in comparison with the use of a traditional Munsell color chart. Sixty‐four Clemson University students from various fields of study (forestry, wildlife biology, and environmental and natural resources) had a hands‐on experience with the Nix Pro color sensor and the Munsell color chart during FNR 2040: Soil Information Systems course taught in the fall of 2015. Students completed a laboratory exercise to determine soil color using the two methods of color determination (Munsell color chart and Nix Pro). Students then filled out a survey providing answers to 15 questions related to their previous experience with soil color analysis, the ease of use of the two color analysis methods, and which method of color analysis they preferred. Eighty‐three percent of the students preferred to use the Nix Pro color sensor over the Munsell color chart, 76% judged the Nix Pro to be less subjective to environmental conditions, and 91% believed the Nix Pro to be less subjective to user sensitivities. Student responses to survey questions regarding use of the Nix Pro color sensor were positive overall, indicating that there is great potential in using the new color sensor in teaching soil science. Impact Statement We taught students in an introductory‐level soil science course different methods of color analysis. A questionnaire provided after the lab exercise showed that 83.1% of the students preferred the Nix Pro color sensor over the Munsell color chart. The average student found the Nix Pro color sensor very easy to use, and many students reported that they enjoyed the laboratory experience. The overall results of the questionnaire indicate that the Nix Pro is a valuable teaching device and that students are receptive to learning the importance of soil color analysis and its methods.

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confidence: 89%

“…Recent research conducted by Stiglitz et al (2016) evaluated the Nix Pro color sensor (Fig. 1b) as a new method for soil color determination.…”

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confidence: 99%

Teaching Soil Color Determination Using an Inexpensive Color Sensor

Stiglitz

Mikhailova

Post

et al. 2016

Natural Sciences Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Smart and Tovey [12] studied particles below 20 μm using electron microscopy. Additionally, optical methods are frequently used in many areas such as colour analysis [13,14], plant root analysis [15,16], determination of organic matter [17,18], soluble matter analysis [19,20], soil water interaction [21,22]. Chaney et al [23] compared results of four different analysis devices (two devices are based on laser diffraction and other two uses X-Ray) with traditional hydrometer method.…”

Section: Radius (Mm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating soil texture with laser-guided Bouyoucos

Orhan

Kilinc

2019

Automatika

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The main objective of estimating soil texture is to determine amounts of components of the soil. While the analysis of coarse particles is performed by sieving, Bouyoucos-hydrometer method is used to determine percentages of small particles (silt and clay, also sand). However, these traditional methods require expertise, laboratory environment, sensitive equipment and a long-time period. All of these requirements are overcome by "Laser-Guided Bouyoucos" which is proposed in this study. The proposed device estimates the amount of components of soil by passing laser light through the beaker and evaluates the changes in the magnitude of light. Besides, the device requires no expert or laboratory medium for measurements, can be built using easy-to-find and cheap equipment, and most importantly, can be mobile for in-situ use. Several soil samples preanalysed by Bouyoucos-hydrometer method are used in this study. The error of the proposed device was calculated by summing the absolute errors of sand, silt and clay components, and the average of all errors is only 2.25%. Although more soil samples are needed to test the system, according to the successful results on the used dataset, we believe that soil texture can be analysed quickly without an expert or a laboratory.

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“…Fortunately, there are a number of color systems to classify the color of soils that can be used in soil science (Viscarra Rossel et al, 2006). Recently, an inexpensive color sensor (Nix Pro TM ) was evaluated for its ability to determine soil color (Stiglitz et al, 2016a). The Nix Pro TM produces color results in lightness to darkness, redness to greenness, and yellowness to blueness (CIEL*a*b* notation) and other color systems, is rechargeable and portable, and has its own light source making it a great mobile alternative to the Munsell Color Chart.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using an inexpensive color sensor for rapid assessment of soil organic carbon

et al. 2017

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Quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for soil management, precision agriculture, soil mapping and carbon dynamics research. Inexpensive sensor technologies offer the potential for rapid quantification of SOC in laboratory samples as well as in the field. The objective of this study was to use a commercially-available color sensor to develop SOC prediction models for both dry and moist soils from the Piedmont region of South Carolina. Thirty-one soil samples were analyzed for lightness to darkness, redness to greenness, and yellowness to blueness (CIEL*a*b*) color using a Nix Pro TM color sensor. Soil color was measured under both dry and moist soil conditions and the depth of each soil sample was also recorded. Using L*, a*, b* and soil depth for each sample as initial predictors, regression analyses were conducted to develop SOC prediction models for dry and moist soils. The resulting residual plots, root mean squared errors (RMSE), and coefficients of determination (R 2) were used to assess model fits for predicting the SOC content of soil. Cross validation was conducted to determine the efficiency of the predictive models and the mean squared prediction error (MSPE) was calculated. The final models included soil depth, L*, and a* as independent variables (dry soils R 2 = 0.7978 and MSPE = 0.0819, moist soils R 2 = 0.7254 and MSPE = 0.1536). The results suggest that soil color sensors have potential for rapid SOC determination, and soil depth and color are useful in predicting SOC content in soils.

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Evaluation of an inexpensive sensor to measure soil color

Cited by 66 publications

References 12 publications

Teaching Soil Color Determination Using an Inexpensive Color Sensor

Teaching Soil Color Determination Using an Inexpensive Color Sensor

Estimating soil texture with laser-guided Bouyoucos

Using an inexpensive color sensor for rapid assessment of soil organic carbon

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