Measuring moisture in soil

Jon Lawson

Measuring the moisture content in soil can provide critical information on soil and vegetation health – especially useful in applications like crop irrigation management. Proximal soil analysis using a field spectrometer or spectroradiometer, like Spectral Evolution’s PSR+, provides a window into soil and vegetation conditions. By taking in situ measurements rapidly and without preparing or affecting the sample, spectral information related to the main water features found at 1450-1460nm and 1920-1930nm can provide information on soil water content and be used to derive data on canopy and leaf health.

The PSR+ features:

* Fast, full spectrum 350-2500nm measurement with just one scan

* High resolution and high sensitivity for clean and accurate spectra

* Autoshutter, autoexposure, and auto-dark correction before each new scan for easy, one-touch operation

* Small and lightweight with rechargeable Li-ion batteries for field operation – half the weight of competitive instruments

* Reliable field performance with an all photodiode array platform and no moving optical parts to fail

* Single user operation with optional rugged handheld GETAC microcomputer that provides a sunlight readable screen plus the ability to tag spectra with GPS, digital camera images, and audio notes

* Standalone operation with 1,000 scan storage

The PSR+ is equipped with the exclusive DARWin SP Data Analysis software package so you can take advantage of the following analysis features:

* Automatically saves data as an ASCII file for easy use with  3rd party software

* No pre-processing is necessary

* Collect reference or target data with a single click

* Display reflectance/transmittance data (percentage) or absorbance (logarithmic) versus wavelength

* Access 19 vegetation indices through the DARWin SP software – including water-related indices

* Optional EZ-ID software compares a target sample against a library of known samples

* Custom library module allows you to build your own spectral database as you scan.

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