A Low-Field NMR Tool for Soil Moisture

Soils are recognized as an important factor for the food production and for the balance in many ecosystems. In areas where water is scarce, the need to improve its usage has sparked the research of flow in soils, setting the stage for the development of the young science of soil hydrology. Nowadays, as the demand for reliable on-field characterization of soils grows [San1], the realization of heterogeneity in the soil features has fuelled the development of experimental techniques and theoretical models, which; with the help of computational tools of analysis, may elucidate the inherent character of the soil under research. Though they are far from having reached a mature stage yet, firm advances in both can be presented nowadays, as the chapter 2 further explains. For this reason, the science of soil hydrology is experiencing a promising time in the achievement of its long-term scientific goals.