poster - International Conference of Agricultural Engineering

image analysis is well suited and focuses on developing a method to quantify flow patterns
which allows an objective comparison of infiltration patterns observed at different sites or
under different treatments.
Predicted Wetting Area, cm2
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
y = 1.037x ‐ 7E‐14
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Actual Wetting Area, cm2
FIGURE 6: Actual and predicted wetting front area for sandy soil
Predicted
wettingdepth, cm.
50
40
30
20
10
0
y = 2.2x
0 5 10 15 20
Actual wetting depth, cm.
FIGURE 7: Actual and predicted wetting depth for sandy soil
Actual wetting area, cm 2 = 1.037 * predicted wetting area, cm 2 – 7x10 -14 .……… 1
Actual wetting depth, cm = 2.2 * predicted depth area, cm …………….………….2
Overall, using image analysis as a non-contact measurement technique is recommended for
the determination of wetting front patterns in the field or as a source of information for soil
management and eventually agricultural management.
6. Conclusion and Eyes to the Future
Is imaging analysis quantifying the impacts of solute transport? Yes of course it is. The
results showed a general advantage of column experiments, which was save money, effort
and time. This study demonstrated that the proposed image analysis system is feasible for
wetting front patterns. The method allowed us for the first time to quantify soil flow with high
spatial resolution and sufficient accuracy. The results show that the image analysis models
give reasonably good estimates of the wetting front position. Imaging analysis acquires both
spectral and spatial information to detect some subtle features for visualizing and quantifying
solute infiltration into soil. Using imaging techniques with image processing algorithms may
opens a new avenue for inferred useful information from soil characteristics and soil quality
for sustainability. Consequently, the next step will be to propose a predictive soil properties
methodology.