Recent Advances in Dielectric Properties-Based Soil Water Content Measurements

Dielectric properties are crucial in understanding the behavior of water within soil, particularly the soil water content (SWC), as they measure a material’s ability to store an electric charge and are influenced by water and other minerals in the soil. However, a comprehensive review paper is needed that synthesizes the latest developments in this field, identifies the key challenges and limitations, and outlines future research directions. In addition, various factors, such as soil salinity, temperature, texture, probing space, installation gap, density, clay content, sampling volume, and environmental factors, influence the measurement of the dielectric permittivity of the soil. Therefore, this review aims to address the research gap by critically analyzing the current state-of-the-art dielectric properties-based methods for SWC measurements. The motivation for this review is the increasing importance of precise SWC data for various applications such as agriculture, environmental monitoring, and hydrological studies. We examine time domain reflectometry (TDR), frequency domain reflectometry (FDR), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), remote sensing (RS), and capacitance, which are accurate and cost-effective, enabling real-time water resource management and soil health understanding through measuring the travel time of electromagnetic waves in soil and the reflection coefficient of these waves. SWC can be estimated using various approaches, such as TDR, FDR, GPR, and microwave-based techniques. These methods are made possible by increasing the dielectric permittivity and loss factor with SWC. The available dielectric properties are further synthesized on the basis of mathematical models relating apparent permittivity to water content, providing an updated understanding of their development, applications, and monitoring. It also analyzes recent mathematical calibration models, applications, algorithms, challenges, and trends in dielectric permittivity methods for estimating SWC. By consolidating recent advances and highlighting the remaining challenges, this review article aims to guide researchers and practitioners toward more effective strategies for SWC measurements.