2020/07/20 by Yannis Mertzanides, Y. Mertzanides, Ioannis Tsakmakis +3
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Geophysical Methods and Applications #Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods #Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
paper · pdf · doi:10.31545/intagr/123943
openalex publication_date 2020/07/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Soil moisture temporal variations play a key role in the hydrological processes occurring in the unsaturated zone, which are critical for annual crop yields. The electrical resistivity tomography technique was applied in a field cultivated with cotton in northern Greece, thereby investigating its potential to serve as a reliable soil moisture-monitoring tool for precision irrigation in highly heterogeneous, clay-rich soils. Repeated surface resistivity measurements were made along two plant lines combined with soil water content measurements conducted with a reference gravimetric method and an electromagnetic sensor. Resistivity pseudo-sections were inverted to produce 2D resistivity models, and time-lapse inversion algorithms were also used, to better calculate the temporal changes in subsurface soil resistivity. The results showed clear spatial and temporal changes in resistivity transects in accordance with rainfall/irrigation and dry periods. The soil resistivity data exhibited a power model relationship with gravimetric soil moisture point measurements and a fair correlation with electromagnetic sensor profiles.