System | Advantages | Disadvantages |
 | Monitoring Soil Moisture Tension (kPa) | |
| Tensiometers |
- Relatively cheap
- Easy to install
- Can be read by yourself
- Allows continuous monitoring
|
- Labour Intensive to collect and record data
- Requires regular maintenance
- Can be inaccurate in extremely wet or dry soil
|
| Gypsum Blocks |
- Relatively cheap
- Easy to install yourself
- Can be read by yourself
- Continuous monitoring possible
|
- Labour intensive to collect and record data
- Requires a digital meter to be brought to each sensor site to take the readings
- Can be inaccurate in extremely wet soil
|
| Monitoring Total Soil Water Content | |
| Neutron probe |
- Portable can be moved around sites
- Very reliable and accurate
|
- Not suitable for continuous monitoring
- As the equipment is very expensive and contains radioactive material, it is generally used by consultants
- Less accurate in the top 10 cm of soil
|
| Capacitance Probes Eg. Enviroscan |
- Continuous monitoring
- Accurate at all depths
- Enable rapid reading and recording of results
|
- Expensive
- Need skill interpreting results
|
