Special issue on proximal soil sensing

GEODER-11178; No of Pages 1 Geoderma xxx (2012) xxx

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Preface

Special issue on proximal soil sensing

This special issue presents a collection of articles describing the research presented at the Second Global Workshop on Proximal Soil Sensing (PSS) hosted by McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada on May 15–18, 2011 and held under the auspices of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) Working Group on Proximal Soil Sensing (WG-PSS). Sixty scientists from 18 countries participated in the workshop where current scientific and technology challenges pertaining to the field of PSS were discussed. PSS is defined as the use of field-based sensors to obtain signals from the soil when the sensors' detector is in contact with, or close proximity to (within 2 m) the soil (Viscarra Rossel and McBratney (1998), Viscarra Rossel et al., 2011). The sensors detect signals corresponding to physical measures, which can be linked to different soils and their properties. According to a proposed classification (Viscarra Rossel et al., 2011), proximal soil sensors may be described by the manner in which they measure (invasive or non-invasive), the source of their energy (active or passive), the way in which they operate (stationary or mobile), and the inference used in measuring the target soil property (direct or indirect). In terms of the physical phenomena involved in the measurements, a large number of PSS systems use the soil's ability to reflect or emit energy in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum from high-frequency gamma-rays and X-rays to ultraviolet, visible, infra-red and radio-waves. PSS systems may rely on the ability of soil particles to conduct and accumulate an electrical charge, while others quantify the mechanical interaction between the sensor and soil, and others use ion-selective potentiometry. Whatever the approach, proximal soil sensors facilitate the collection of large amounts of (spatial and temporal) data using cheaper, simpler, and less laborious techniques, which, as a whole, are very informative. The measurements can be made in the field from the surface or within the soil profile, and this information is produced almost instantaneously. Hummel et al. (1996), Sudduth et al. (1997), Adamchuk et al. (2004) and Shibusawa (2006) provide a review of mobile (on-the-go) proximal soil sensing solutions. A book entitled “Proximal Soil Sensing” (Viscarra Rossel et al., 2010) includes selected research articles presented at the first High Resolution Digital Soil Sensing and Mapping Workshop hosted by the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia on February 5–8, 2010. This special issue begins with the work of Lueck and Ruehlmann as well as that of Sudduth et al. who explore the extendibility of electrical resistivity mapping to determine both spatial and vertical changes in soil physical characteristics. Hedley et al. illustrate the potential for the use soil electrical conductivity maps to be integrated with a wireless sensor network to optimize soil water management. Although

most of the articles pertain to agricultural landscapes, De Shmedt et al. used electromagnetic induction sensing as an archeological tool. Articles by Nocita et al., Ramirez-Lopez et al., Brodsky et al., Kodaira et al., and Kweon et al. focus on the analysis of optical soil reflectance measurements in the visible and near-infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dierke et al. have studied the capabilities of gamma-ray radiometry, while Van Meirvenne et al. and Piikki et al. have looked into combining gamma-ray with other sensors to improve the quality of soil measurements. Benedetto et al. have integrated several different types of PSS systems. Finally, Coulouma et al. discuss the use of seismic sensors. This selection of diverse and interesting research results will extend your knowledge of the applicability of PSS methods to improve your understanding of spatial and temporal soil variability. We hope that this issue will stimulate additional research worldwide to examine new and creative approaches to proximal soil sensing. We also invite any interested colleagues to participate in the future activities coordinated through the IUSS WG-PSS (www.proximalsoilsensing. org). References Adamchuk, V.I., Hummel, J.W., Morgan, M.T., Upadhyaya, S.K., 2004. On-the-go soil sensors for precision agriculture. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 44, 71–91. Hummel, J.W., Gaultney, L.D., Sudduth, K.A., 1996. Soil property sensing for site-specific crop management. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 14, 121–136. Shibusawa, S., 2006. Soil sensors for precision agriculture. In: Srinivasan, A. (Ed.), Handbook of Precision Agriculture. Principles and Applications. Food Products Press, New York, New York, USA, pp. 57–90. Sudduth, K.A., Hummel, J.W., Birrell, S.J., 1997. Sensors for site-specific management. In: Pierce, F.T., Sadler, E.J. (Eds.), The State of Site-Specific Management for Agriculture. ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, pp. 183–210. Viscarra Rossel, R.A., McBratney, A.B., 1998. Laboratory evaluation of a proximal sensing technique for simultaneous measurement of clay and water content. Geoderma 85, 19–39. Viscarra Rossel, R.A., McBratney, A., Minasny, B. (Eds.), 2010. Proximal Soil Sensing. Springer, New York, New York, USA. Viscarra Rossel, R.A., Adamchuk, V.I., Sudduth, K.A., McKenzie, N.J., Lobsey, C., 2011. Proximal soil sensing: an effective approach for soil measurements in space and time, chapter 5. Advances in Agronomy 113, 237–283.

Viahceslav Adamchuk Guest Editor Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel Guest Editor

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Please cite this article as: Adamchuk, V., Viscarra Rossel, R.A., Special issue on proximal soil sensing, Geoderma (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.geoderma.2012.10.010