Garcia et al. (2026) Design, construction, and calibration of an automated weighing lysimeter to support climate-smart agriculture in the Colombian Orinoquía

Identification

• Journal: Frontiers in Earth Science
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-08
• Authors: Edwin Sebastián Caceres Garcia, Christian José Mendoza Castiblanco, Andrés Javier Peña Quiñones
• DOI: 10.3389/feart.2026.1910946

Research Groups

• Civil and Agricultural Engineering Department, Engineering School, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
• Annual Crops Network, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, AGROSAVIA La Libertad, Villavicencio, Colombia

Short Summary

This study reports the design, construction, and calibration of an automated weighing lysimeter installed at the La Libertad Research Center in Villavicencio, Colombia. The system integrates a galvanized steel tank (1 m^3) reconstructed with original soil horizons, an automated sprinkler irrigation system, and a monitoring module based on load cells, soil moisture sensors, a professional weather station, and real-time data transmission powered by a photovoltaic unit.

Objective

• Design, construct, instrument, calibrate, and perform an initial field verification of an automated weighing lysimeter in Villavicencio, Meta.
• Provide the technical basis for future field-based evapotranspiration studies.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: The study was conducted at the La Libertad Research Center in Villavicencio, Colombia (4.057°N, −73.467°W, 336 m above sea level).
• Temporal Scale: The study focused on a transitional landscape from Piedmont to High Plains, with an average annual precipitation of 2,933 mm distributed in two seasons.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Penman-Monteith model (PMM)
• Data sources: Soil water retention curves were developed using pressure-plate extractors, while load-cell calibration was performed using incremental load-unload cycles.

Main Results

• The system integrates a galvanized steel tank (1 m^3) reconstructed with original soil horizons, an automated sprinkler irrigation system, and a monitoring module based on load cells, soil moisture sensors, a professional weather station, and real-time data transmission powered by a photovoltaic unit.
• Soil water retention curves were developed to define irrigation thresholds, with field-capacity reference values measured at 0.03 MPa and estimated permanent-wilting-point values at 1.5 MPa reported in Table 2.
• Load-cell calibration was performed using incremental load-unload cycles, achieving linear response curves with R^2 > 0.99.

Contributions

• The developed system provides the technical infrastructure required for future evapotranspiration monitoring and comparison with established ET0 estimation methods.
• The study highlights the need to evaluate the performance of empirical models like Penman-Monteith in estimating reference evapotranspiration under specific climatic conditions.

Funding

• This research was funded by [insert funding agency or project name].

Citation

@article{Garcia2026Design,
  author = {Garcia, Edwin Sebastián Caceres and Castiblanco, Christian José Mendoza and Quiñones, Andrés Javier Peña},
  title = {Design, construction, and calibration of an automated weighing lysimeter to support climate-smart agriculture in the Colombian Orinoquía},
  journal = {Frontiers in Earth Science},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3389/feart.2026.1910946},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2026.1910946}
}