Using Apparent Electrical Conductivity to Delineate Field Variation in an Agroforestry System in the Ozark Highlands

Greater adoption and better management of spatially complex, conservation systems such as agroforestry (AF) are dependent on determining methods suitable for delineating in-field variability. However, no work has been conducted using repeated electromagnetic induction (EMI) or apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) surveys in AF systems within the Ozark Highlands of northwest Arkansas. As a result, objectives were to (i) evaluate spatiotemporal ECa variability; (ii) identify ECa-derived soil management zones (SMZs); (iii) establish correlations among ECa survey data and in situ, soil-sensor volumetric water content, sentential site soil-sample EC, and gravimetric water content and pH; and (iv) determine the optimum frequency at which ECa surveys could be conducted to capture temporal changes in field variability. Monthly ECa surveys were conducted between August 2020 and July 2021 at a 4.25 ha AF site in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The overall mean perpendicular geometry (PRP) and horizontal coplanar geometry (HCP) ECa ranged from 1.8 to 18.0 and 3.1 to 25.8 mS m−1, respectively, and the overall mean HCP ECa was 67% greater than the mean PRP ECa. The largest measured ECa values occurred within the local drainage way or areas of potential groundwater movement, and the smallest measured ECa values occurred within areas with decreased effective soil depth and increased coarse fragments. The PRP and HCP mean ECa, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation (CV) were unaffected (p > 0.05) by either the weather or growing/non-growing season. K-means clustering delineated three precision SMZs that were reflective of areas with similar ECa and ECa variability. Results from this study provided valuable information regarding the application of ECa surveys to quantify small-scale changes in soil properties and delineate SMZs in highly variable AF systems.