Use of Ground-Penetrating Radar to Determine Depth to Compacted Layer in Soils Under Pasture

New Jersey, like many states in the northeastern USA, has a high demand for grazing land for horses. Grazing lands are often intensively used because of the limited possibilities for crop rotation. A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) study was conducted in an area under different management with soils formed in old alluvium and fluviomarine sediments (Ultisols). In the grazing field, no significant signs of compaction were detected with GPR. In the feeding fields, compaction was significant within 24 cm soil from the soil surface. The GPR data were used to generate a contour map representing the depth to the compacted layer. It is concluded that soil compaction can be adequately mapped using GPR.