Testing Soil Moisture Equipment

Forest soil scientists from across the country were asked to participate in testing commercially available soil moisture equipment. Soil moisture equipment has been widely used in agricultural applications. San Dimas Technology and Development Center was asked to test soil water content measurement tools that could be used to quantify soil water content. The intent of the soil moisture project is to provide a reliable tool to soil scientists and other resource professionals that accurately determine soil water content to avoid adverse impacts to soils from heavy equipment operation. One of the easiest tools to prevent compaction of soils is to avoid heavy equipment operation when soils are too wet.

In order to test equipment, we looked to different geographic areas across the country where soil scientists were faced with this issue. The equipment selection criteria included: cost, ease of use, and any data capture capabilities. Participants were asked to compare the findings with a gravimetric soil moisture test.

The following soil scientists offered to field test equipment and provide feedback on the effectiveness of each device to assess soil moisture.

 Equipment information links:

http://www.geneq.com/catalog/en/tdr300.html

http://www.ravalco.com/Aquaterr_Instruments.html

http://www.delmhorst.com/products_soil.html