Contactless monitoring and spatial and temporal modelling of variability

in selected soil differentiation properties

TA ČR – Alfa (TA04020888)

Project objective

The project focused on applying advanced geoinformation technologies to research variability in soil differentiation properties and its dynamics.

The project tested soil monitoring using optical sensors outside the visible spectrum, with dynamic calibration based on sensor networks, followed by predictive modelling of spatial and temporal soil variability in a GIS environment.

  • Implementation period: 2015 – 2017

  • Project reference: TA04020888

  • Programme: TA ČR – Alfa

  • Role in the project: team member

Project results

  • The certified methodologies Deployment of Multispectral Optical Sensors for Monitoring Soil Properties and Integration of Imagery with Sensor Network Data provide an overview of the options, platforms, sources and sensors for obtaining multispectral optical imagery suitable for monitoring soil properties. They include verified procedures for measuring optical properties using several types of instruments and instructions for processing and using sensor network data when working with imagery outside the visible spectrum.

  • The AGISED application gateway (monitoring centre) is a web application offering tools for simple management of databases, including remotely connected databases, containing sensor and image data, and for analysing these data. Spatial data can be displayed directly on a map. The gateway also includes scripts for communication over LoRa and Sigfox networks.

  • Sets of specialised GIS maps covering a three-year period show soil sampling locations in relation to terrain heterogeneity and interpolated spatial information about the monitored soil property. Values are categorised to visualise changes in properties.

  • The VO-TA Logger wireless sensor communication unit connects wired and wireless sensors, a camera and other hardware for monitoring soil properties. It communicates wirelessly with other units (wireless network nodes) in the monitored area and with the application gateway (monitoring centre). The principles of the WSN communication protocol for transmitting specific multidimensional data generated by continuous monitoring of defined soil properties are protected by a utility model.

  • The software for modelling spatial and temporal variability in soil properties is an extension for standard GIS products such as ArcGIS. It converts soil analysis data into layers for further GIS work, including format conversion, spatial georeferencing and visualisation. It supports interpolation within defined landscape units, analysis of two or more monitored properties across two or more selected landscape units in both space and time, accompanying tabular output, and other functions.