Analysis of the Effect of Tilling and Crop Type on Soil Structure Using 3D Laser Profilometry

Bianca B. Barreto (), Fernando P. Rivera, Blair M. McKenzie, Katharine Preedy, Yangminghao Liu, Lionel X. Dupuy, Elisângela Ribeiro and Roberto A. Braga
Additional contact information
Bianca B. Barreto: Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Instrumentação, Rua XV de Novembro 1452, São Carlos 13560-970, SP, Brazil
Fernando P. Rivera: Department of Engineering, Federal University of Lavras, Caixa Postal, Lavras 37200-000, MG, Brazil
Blair M. McKenzie: Geography and Environmental Science, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK
Katharine Preedy: Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, The James Hutton Institute, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
Yangminghao Liu: Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, The James Hutton Institute, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
Lionel X. Dupuy: Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, Neiker, 48160 Derio, Spain
Elisângela Ribeiro: Department of Engineering, Federal University of Lavras, Caixa Postal, Lavras 37200-000, MG, Brazil
Roberto A. Braga: Department of Engineering, Federal University of Lavras, Caixa Postal, Lavras 37200-000, MG, Brazil

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Background and aim: Soil structure is an important indicator of the quality of soil, but detecting the early signs of soil degradation from soil structure is difficult. Developing precise instruments able to diagnose soil structure quickly is therefore critical to improve management practices. Here, the objective is to develop an instrument analysing the roughness of surfaces resulting from the fracture of soil cores, and to test the instrument’s ability to detect changes in soil structure cause by crop type and tillage. We have designed and constructed a 3D laser profilometer suitable for analysing standard soil cores. The 3D soil profiles were first assembled into a 3D surface using image analysis before roughness indicators could be computed. The method was tested by analysing how soil surface roughness was affected by crop varieties (barley and bean) and tillage (conventional tillage and no tillage). Results showed the method is precise and could reliably detect an influence of crop type and tillage on the roughness indicator. It was also observed that tillage reduced the difference in soil structure between the different cultures. Also, the soil in which barley grew had significantly lower roughness, irrespective of the tillage method. This could indicate that the roughness indicator is affected by biopores created by the root system. In conclusion, roughness indicators obtained from the fracture of soil cores can be easily obtained by laser profilometry and could offer a reliable method for assessing the effect of crop types and soil management on soil quality.

Keywords: digital image processing; no-tillage; soil management; soil structure; surface roughness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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