Evaluation of the soil penetration resistance along a transect to determine the loosening depth

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution of soil strength (measured as cone index, CI) along a 600 m transect and to determine the soil loosening depth necessary to eliminate zones with soil strengths exceeding a threshold value down to a depth of 0.6 m. The transect was located at a site in a glacial drift area which was characterised by sandy deposits overlying boulder clay. A tractor-mounted multi-penetrometer array consisting of four hydraulically driven single vertical penetrometers was used to determine CI at 1-m sampling intervals as a measure of penetration resistance. The spatial fluctuation of the CI readings in general and that of repeatedly averaged readings along the transect was examined. Furthermore, the relationships between the penetration resistance of several soil layers and the relationships between the CI of single penetrometers were identified. Averaged CI values over 5-m intervals were used to determine the depth of soil loosening required. By using various data sub-sets based on the averaged data of the four array mounted penetrometers and simulating several different sampling intervals, treatment intervals and threshold values of soil strength, a sampling interval of about 10 m proved to be sufficiently accurate to determine the loosening depth required.

The role of brush mats in mitigating machine-induced soil disturbances: an assessment using absolute and relative soil bulk density and penetration resistance

“…In civil engineering, high soil penetration resistance is essential for foundations of buildings and other infrastructure; however, in a forest or agricultural setting, high soil penetration resistance may be problematic for root growth. Generally, uninterrupted root growth occurs at a penetration resistance below 1.5 MPa, and values beyond 3.0 MPa are regarded as interrupted root growth (Locher and de Bakker 1990;Domsch et al 2006). This same threshold was used by Bolding et al (2009) to assess the soil disturbance in a fuel reduction operation in southwestern Oregon.…”

Spatial Patterns of Penetration Resistance and Soil Moisture Distribution in a Sandy Loam Soil (Eutric leptosol)

“…The generated maps help in spatially delineating and localizing zones as affected by tillage, wheel traffic and traction and provide extra information in formulating best management practices especially in precision agriculture. Several researchers have attempted map soil compaction (Domsch et al, 2006).…”

Simultaneous measurement of soil water and soil hardness using a modified time domain reflectometry probe and a conventional cone penetrometer

“…Boon et al. , 2005; Domsch et al. , 2006) and thus the combined use of a simple penetrometer and a TDR probe has merit.…”

“…On small or sloping fields, which are common in Japan (Kosugi et al, 2009), manual sampling may be preferred (e.g. Boon et al, 2005;Domsch et al, 2006) and thus the combined use of a simple penetrometer and a TDR probe has merit.…”