Remote- and Ground-Based Sensor Techniques to Map Soil Properties

Farm managers are becoming increasingly aware of the spatial variability in crop production with the growing availability of yield monitors. Often this variability can be related to differences in soil properties (e.g., texture, organic matter, salinity levels, and nutrient status) within the field. To develop management approaches to address this variability, high spatial resolution soil property maps are often needed. Some soil properties have been related directly to a soil spectral response, or inferred based on remotely sensed measurements of crop canopies, including soil texture, nitrogen level, organic matter content, and salinity status. While many studies have obtained promising results, several interfering factors can limit approaches solely based on spectral response, including tillage conditions and crop residue. A number of different ground-based sensors have been used to rapidly assess soil properties “on the go” (e.g., sensor mounted on a tractor and data mapped with coincident position information) and the data from these sensors compliment image-based data. On-the-go sensors have been developed to rapidly map soil organic matter content, electrical conductivity, nitrate content, and compaction. Model and statistical methods show promise to integrate these groundand image-based data sources to maximize the information from each source for soil property mapping.