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Volume 13
Issue 11
10.3390/agriculture13112077
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Article

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

by
Bianca B. Barreto
1,2,*,
Fernando P. Rivera
2,
Blair M. McKenzie
3,
Katharine Preedy
4,
Yangminghao Liu
4,
Lionel X. Dupuy
5,6,
Elisângela Ribeiro
2 and
Roberto A. Braga, Jr.
2
1
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Instrumentação, Rua XV de Novembro 1452, São Carlos 13560-970, SP, Brazil
2
Department of Engineering, Federal University of Lavras, Caixa Postal, Lavras 37200-000, MG, Brazil
3
Geography and Environmental Science, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK
4
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, The James Hutton Institute, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
5
Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, Neiker, 48160 Derio, Spain
6
Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agriculture 2023, 13(11), 2077; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112077
Submission received: 14 September 2023 / Revised: 21 October 2023 / Accepted: 27 October 2023 / Published: 31 October 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser in Agriculture)
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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 digital image processing; no-tillage; soil management; soil structure; surface roughness

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MDPI and ACS Style

Barreto, B.B.; Rivera, F.P.; McKenzie, B.M.; Preedy, K.; Liu, Y.; Dupuy, L.X.; Ribeiro, E.; Braga, R.A., Jr. Analysis of the Effect of Tilling and Crop Type on Soil Structure Using 3D Laser Profilometry. Agriculture 2023, 13, 2077. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112077

AMA Style

Barreto BB, Rivera FP, McKenzie BM, Preedy K, Liu Y, Dupuy LX, Ribeiro E, Braga RA Jr. Analysis of the Effect of Tilling and Crop Type on Soil Structure Using 3D Laser Profilometry. Agriculture. 2023; 13(11):2077. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112077

Chicago/Turabian Style

Barreto, Bianca B., Fernando P. Rivera, Blair M. McKenzie, Katharine Preedy, Yangminghao Liu, Lionel X. Dupuy, Elisângela Ribeiro, and Roberto A. Braga, Jr. 2023. "Analysis of the Effect of Tilling and Crop Type on Soil Structure Using 3D Laser Profilometry" Agriculture 13, no. 11: 2077. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112077

APA Style

Barreto, B. B., Rivera, F. P., McKenzie, B. M., Preedy, K., Liu, Y., Dupuy, L. X., Ribeiro, E., & Braga, R. A., Jr. (2023). Analysis of the Effect of Tilling and Crop Type on Soil Structure Using 3D Laser Profilometry. Agriculture, 13(11), 2077. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112077

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