Comparing Machine Learning Algorithms to Enhance Volumetric Water Content Prediction in Low-Cost Soil Moisture Sensor
Abstract
Measuring soil moisture is possible either with directly using gravimetric test or indirectly using soil moisture sensor. Direct measurements offer accuracy but are not efficient in field measurements. On the other hand, indirect measurement offers remote measurement that will facilitate the user but lacks in accuracy. This research aims to compare and identify the best machine learning model that can improve indirect measurement (soil moisture sensor prediction) using direct measurement (gravimetric test) as a response variable. This research uses linear regression, K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) and Decision Tree models. The three models were then compared based on Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The results suggested that KNN (0.02939128) had the smallest RMSE value followed by decision tree (0.05144186) and linear regression model (0.05172371).
Downloads
References
K. Nath, P. C. Nayak, and K. S. Kasiviswanathan, “Soil volumetric water content prediction using unique hybrid deep learning algorithm,” Neural Comput Appl, vol. 36, no. 26, pp. 16503–16525, Sep. 2024, doi: 10.1007/S00521-024-09991-6.
H. Wan, H. Qi, and S. Shang, “Estimating soil water and salt contents from field measurements with time domain reflectometry using machine learning algorithms,” Agric Water Manag, vol. 285, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108364.
S. Adla, F. Bruckmaier, L. F. Arias-Rodriguez, S. Tripathi, S. Pande, and M. Disse, “Impact of calibrating a low-cost capacitance-based soil moisture sensor on AquaCrop model performance,” J Environ Manage, vol. 353, Feb. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120248.
E. Pekel, “Estimation of soil moisture using decision tree regression,” Theor Appl Climatol, vol. 139, no. 3–4, pp. 1111–1119, Feb. 2020, doi: 10.1007/S00704-019-03048-8/METRICS.
M. Thenmozhi, P. Subbiah, J. Justina Michael, and R. Theobard, “Optimizing Agricultural Irrigation through Real-Time Data Prediction,” Proceedings of the 2nd IEEE International Conference on Networking and Communications 2024, ICNWC 2024, 2024, doi: 10.1109/ICNWC60771.2024.10537511.
R. K. Halder, M. N. Uddin, M. A. Uddin, S. Aryal, and A. Khraisat, “Enhancing K-nearest neighbor algorithm: a comprehensive review and performance analysis of modifications,” Journal of Big Data 2024 11:1, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1–55, Aug. 2024, doi: 10.1186/S40537-024-00973-Y.
P. K. Syriopoulos, N. G. Kalampalikis, S. B. Kotsiantis, and M. N. Vrahatis, “kNN Classification: a review,” Ann Math Artif Intell, pp. 1–33, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.1007/S10472-023-09882-X/METRICS.
R. G. McClarren, “Decision Trees and Random Forests for Regression and Classification,” Machine Learning for Engineers, pp. 55–82, 2021, doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-70388-2_3.
R Core Team, “R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing,” 2023, Vienna, Austria. [Online]. Available: https://www.r-project.org/
A. Trivedi, M. Gandhi, N. Nandeha, Y. Rajwade, and V. R. Rao, “Sensors of Soil Moisture Measurement,” 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375285282
M. Zeraatpisheh, S. Ayoubi, A. Jafari, S. Tajik, and P. Finke, “Digital mapping of soil properties using multiple machine learning in a semi-arid region, central Iran,” Geoderma, vol. 338, pp. 445–452, Mar. 2019, doi: 10.1016/J.GEODERMA.2018.09.006.
K.M.Annammal, S.Porkodi, V.Jerald Abishek, C.Thomas Abraham, and J.Dhana Babu, “Automated Irrigation for Smart Gardening based on IOT using sensors,” international journal of engineering technology and management sciences, pp. 117–122, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.46647/IJETMS.2022.V06I05.016.
B. Babayigit and B. Buyukpatpat, “Comparison of Machine Learning Regression Models for the Prediction of Soil Moisture with the use of Internet of Things Irrigation System Data,” Journal of Institute of Science and Technology, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 479–487, Dec. 2021.
T. O. Hodson, “Root-mean-square error (RMSE) or mean absolute error (MAE): when to use them or not,” Geosci Model Dev, vol. 15, no. 14, pp. 5481–5487, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.5194/GMD-15-5481-2022.
Copyright (c) 2025 Iman Setiawan, Mohammad Dahlan Th. Musa, Dini Aprilia Afriza, Siti Nur Hafidah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) ) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).