[en] Abstract Agriculture is facing immense challenges. We have to produce enough food while safe-guarding the environment for future generations. This results in the need to use less water and fertilizer, and to harness soil quality. Key to achieving this goal is improving the understanding of processes and interactions governing the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum of agricultural ecosystems. Geophysical tools have great potential to better characterize and quantify these processes noninvasively from the plot to landscape scale. Nevertheless, a number of challenges remain for geophysical results to be better exploited by different scientific communities and by decision-makers. In this special section, we explore ongoing research in the relatively new field of agrogeophysics, and we provide an overview of potential applications and highlight future research needs.
Bai, Z. G., Dent, D. L., Olsson, L., & Schaepman, M. E. (2008). Global assessment of land degradation and improvement 1. Identification by remote sensing. ISRIC—World Soil Information.
Blanchy, G., Watts, C. W., Richards, J., Bussell, J., Huntenburg, K., Sparkes, D. L., Stalham, M., Hawkesford, M. J., Whalley, W. R., & Binley, A. (2020). Time-lapse geophysical assessment of agricultural practices on soil moisture dynamics. Vadose Zone Journal, 19, e20080. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20080
Brown, M., Heinse, R., Johnson-Maynard, J., & Huggins, D. (2021). Time-lapse mapping of crop and tillage interactions with soil water using electromagnetic induction. Vadose Zone Journal, 20, e20097. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20097
Cimpoiaşu, M. O., Kuras, O., Wilkinson, P. B., Pridmore, T., & Mooney, S. J. (2021). Hydrodynamic characterization of soil compaction using integrated electrical resistivity and X-ray computed tomography. Vadose Zone Journal, 20, e20109. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20109
Ehosioke, S., Nguyen, F., Rao, S., Kremer, T., Placencia-Gomez, E., Huisman, J. A., Kemna, A., Javaux, M., & Garré, S. (2020). Sensing the electrical properties of roots: A review. Vadose Zone Journal, 19, e20082. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20082
Kuhl, A. S., Kendall, A. D., van Dam, R. L., Hamilton, S. K., & Hyndman, D. W. (2021). Root water uptake of biofuel crops revealed by coupled electrical resistivity and soil water content measurements. Vadose Zone Journal, 20, e20124. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20124
Longo, M., Piccoli, I., Minsasny, B., & Morari, F. (2020). Soil apparent electrical conductivity-directed sampling design for advancing soil characterization in agricultural fields. Vadose Zone Journal, 19, e20060. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20060
McBratney, A. B., Santos, M. L. M., & Minasny, B. (2003). On digital soil mapping. Geoderma, 117, 3–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(03)00223-4
Minasny, B., Whelan, B. M., Triantafilis, J., & McBratney, A. B. (2013). Pedometrics research in the vadose zone: Review and perspectives. Vadose Zone Journal, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2012.0141
Rentschler, T., Werban, U., Ahner, M., Behrens, T., Gries, P., Scholten, T., Teuber, S., & Schmidt, K. (2020). 3D mapping of soil organic carbon content and soil moisture with multiple geophysical sensors and machine learning. Vadose Zone Journal, 19, e20062. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20062
Romero-Ruiz, A., Linde, N., Baron, L., Solazzi, S. G., Keller, T., & Or, D. (2021). Seismic signatures reveal persistence of soil compaction. Vadose Zone Journal, 20, e20140. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20140
Romero-Ruiz, A., Linde, N., Keller, T., & Or, D. (2018). A review of geophysical methods for soil structure characterization. Reviews of Geophysics, 56, 672–697. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018RG000611
Tso, C.-H. M., Kuras, O., & Binley, A. (2019). On the field estimation of moisture content using electrical geophysics: The impact of petrophysical model uncertainty. Water Resources Research, 55, 7196–7211. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR024964
Viscarra Rossel, R. A., McBratney, R. A., & Minsasny, B. (2010). Proximal soil sensing. Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8859-8
von Hebel, C., Reynaert, S., Pauly, K., Janssens, P., Piccard, I., Vanderborght, J., van der Kruk, J., Vereecken, H., & Garré, S. (2021). Toward high-resolution agronomic soil information and management zones delineated by ground-based electromagnetic induction and aerial drone data. Vadose Zone Journal, 20, e20099. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20099