Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data

Balancing cost and performance is typically required when deploying a soil moisture sensor array. The sensor array's performance is essentially dependent on the appropriate placement of the sensors, which is fundamentally a location-allocation problem. In this study, a novel approach based on s...

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Main Authors: Dipankar Mandal, Raj Khosla, Louis Longchamps, Deepak Joshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Smart Agricultural Technology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375525001625
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author Dipankar Mandal
Raj Khosla
Louis Longchamps
Deepak Joshi
author_facet Dipankar Mandal
Raj Khosla
Louis Longchamps
Deepak Joshi
author_sort Dipankar Mandal
collection DOAJ
description Balancing cost and performance is typically required when deploying a soil moisture sensor array. The sensor array's performance is essentially dependent on the appropriate placement of the sensors, which is fundamentally a location-allocation problem. In this study, a novel approach based on spatial association of surface soil moisture (SASM) is presented. It proposes selecting a sub-sample of sensor locations that best represent the spatial distribution of soil moisture while maximizing the variance in soil moisture with the minimum number of sample sites. This approach was tested at two sites with maize cultivated fields in Colorado. Neutron probe readings were collected at 15 cm depth across 41 and 31 locations throughout the entire crop growing season in two maize fields in Colorado. The number of soil sensors were optimized in a range of 17–19 with optimum site configuration for all different data acquisition dates. A global measure of spatial association (GMSA) analysis indicated consistency in spatial pattern between reduced number of sub-samples and original samples. Strategic sensor placement, driven by insights into soil-water dynamics patterns and intrinsic field properties, is essential for informed decision-making in water management within an irrigated maize field.
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spelling doaj-art-b2b3a4e9e63f4d94886e2b1ea669f6142025-08-20T02:16:29ZengElsevierSmart Agricultural Technology2772-37552025-08-011110092910.1016/j.atech.2025.100929Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture dataDipankar Mandal0Raj Khosla1Louis Longchamps2Deepak Joshi3Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; Agro-geoinformatics Lab, School of Agro and Rural Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam 781039, IndiaDepartment of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA; Corresponding author.Department of Soil and Crop Sciences Section, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USADepartment of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USABalancing cost and performance is typically required when deploying a soil moisture sensor array. The sensor array's performance is essentially dependent on the appropriate placement of the sensors, which is fundamentally a location-allocation problem. In this study, a novel approach based on spatial association of surface soil moisture (SASM) is presented. It proposes selecting a sub-sample of sensor locations that best represent the spatial distribution of soil moisture while maximizing the variance in soil moisture with the minimum number of sample sites. This approach was tested at two sites with maize cultivated fields in Colorado. Neutron probe readings were collected at 15 cm depth across 41 and 31 locations throughout the entire crop growing season in two maize fields in Colorado. The number of soil sensors were optimized in a range of 17–19 with optimum site configuration for all different data acquisition dates. A global measure of spatial association (GMSA) analysis indicated consistency in spatial pattern between reduced number of sub-samples and original samples. Strategic sensor placement, driven by insights into soil-water dynamics patterns and intrinsic field properties, is essential for informed decision-making in water management within an irrigated maize field.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375525001625Precision irrigationSensor networkSpatial patternSensor placement
spellingShingle Dipankar Mandal
Raj Khosla
Louis Longchamps
Deepak Joshi
Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
Smart Agricultural Technology
Precision irrigation
Sensor network
Spatial pattern
Sensor placement
title Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
title_full Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
title_fullStr Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
title_full_unstemmed Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
title_short Soil moisture sensor location-allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
title_sort soil moisture sensor location allocation using spatial association of surface moisture data
topic Precision irrigation
Sensor network
Spatial pattern
Sensor placement
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375525001625
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