Field Performance and Calibration Strategies for Low-Cost Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors
(2026) In Sensors 26(11).- Abstract
Low-cost capacitive (LCC) soil moisture sensors have considerable potential for precision agriculture due to their low cost, low energy consumption, and suitability for IoT-based systems. However, their field performance and the transferability of laboratory calibration to field conditions remain insufficiently documented. The objective of this study was to evaluate the field performance of LCC sensors calibrated in the laboratory and to assess practical calibration strategies for field application. Laboratory calibration was performed for eight soil types, and field performance was evaluated in four experiments under different soil and climatic conditions. The sensors showed high accuracy under laboratory conditions, with RMSE values... (More)
Low-cost capacitive (LCC) soil moisture sensors have considerable potential for precision agriculture due to their low cost, low energy consumption, and suitability for IoT-based systems. However, their field performance and the transferability of laboratory calibration to field conditions remain insufficiently documented. The objective of this study was to evaluate the field performance of LCC sensors calibrated in the laboratory and to assess practical calibration strategies for field application. Laboratory calibration was performed for eight soil types, and field performance was evaluated in four experiments under different soil and climatic conditions. The sensors showed high accuracy under laboratory conditions, with RMSE values of 0.002–0.022 m3/m3 for soil-specific calibration, but substantially larger errors when laboratory-derived calibrations were applied directly in the field (RMSE 0.055–0.191 m3/m3). Soil-specific field calibration gave the highest accuracy (RMSE 0.005–0.036 m3/m3), whereas a simplified one-point calibration also improved performance considerably (RMSE 0.006–0.078 m3/m3) while requiring much less effort. Sensor performance declined at high water contents and under saline conditions. The results show that low-cost capacitive sensors can be used for reliable field soil moisture monitoring.
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- author
- Strypsteen, Glenn LU ; Persson, Magnus LU ; Miroshnychenko, Mykola and Rakonjac, Nikola
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- calibration, field experiments, irrigation management, low-cost capacitance sensor, soil moisture
- in
- Sensors
- volume
- 26
- issue
- 11
- article number
- 3291
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:42280809
- scopus:105041420371
- ISSN
- 1424-8220
- DOI
- 10.3390/s26113291
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 15fe8ddb-e3d2-4f54-bd30-f915bfc798b9
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-11 11:35:00
- date last changed
- 2026-09-08 13:18:10
@article{15fe8ddb-e3d2-4f54-bd30-f915bfc798b9,
abstract = {{<p>Low-cost capacitive (LCC) soil moisture sensors have considerable potential for precision agriculture due to their low cost, low energy consumption, and suitability for IoT-based systems. However, their field performance and the transferability of laboratory calibration to field conditions remain insufficiently documented. The objective of this study was to evaluate the field performance of LCC sensors calibrated in the laboratory and to assess practical calibration strategies for field application. Laboratory calibration was performed for eight soil types, and field performance was evaluated in four experiments under different soil and climatic conditions. The sensors showed high accuracy under laboratory conditions, with RMSE values of 0.002–0.022 m<sup>3</sup>/m<sup>3</sup> for soil-specific calibration, but substantially larger errors when laboratory-derived calibrations were applied directly in the field (RMSE 0.055–0.191 m<sup>3</sup>/m<sup>3</sup>). Soil-specific field calibration gave the highest accuracy (RMSE 0.005–0.036 m<sup>3</sup>/m<sup>3</sup>), whereas a simplified one-point calibration also improved performance considerably (RMSE 0.006–0.078 m<sup>3</sup>/m<sup>3</sup>) while requiring much less effort. Sensor performance declined at high water contents and under saline conditions. The results show that low-cost capacitive sensors can be used for reliable field soil moisture monitoring.</p>}},
author = {{Strypsteen, Glenn and Persson, Magnus and Miroshnychenko, Mykola and Rakonjac, Nikola}},
issn = {{1424-8220}},
keywords = {{calibration; field experiments; irrigation management; low-cost capacitance sensor; soil moisture}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{11}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Sensors}},
title = {{Field Performance and Calibration Strategies for Low-Cost Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s26113291}},
doi = {{10.3390/s26113291}},
volume = {{26}},
year = {{2026}},
}