Nanofibrous mat-enabled soil water absorption for continuous soil nitrate sensing

Continuous monitoring of soil nitrate levels is essential for effective soil nutrient management. However, limited soil pore water at low soil water content levels hinders miniaturized soil sensor surfaces from efficiently interacting with nutrient ions. To address this, we introduce a nanofibrous mat designed to enhance nitrate detection by increasing connectivity between miniature sensors and the soil solution. Composed of polysulfone, polymethylmethacrylate, and polyvinyl alcohol, this mat is fabricated using electrospinning and electrospray methods to balance water absorbency, mechanical durability, and ease of manufacturing. When wrapped around an ion-selective electrode-based nitrate sensor, the mat improves access to soil pore water, acts as a filter, prevents direct sensor-soil particle contact, and reduces the impact of soil particle surface charges on sensor measurements. Continuous nitrate monitoring with both mat-wrapped and bare sensors was conducted in controlled and field environments. Linear regression analysis indicates that the mat-wrapped sensor has a stronger correlation with conventional salt extract methods for measuring soil nitrate levels. T-tests confirm statistically significant differences between sensor measurements and the salt extraction method. Additionally, Bland-Altman analysis reveals that mat-wrapping reduces mean bias and narrows the limits of agreement, demonstrating improved agreement with the conventional method. Notably, the mat-wrapped sensor performs consistently across varying soil moisture conditions. These findings suggest that the water-absorbing mat improves the ability of the sensor to monitor nitrate continuously by accommodating varying soil moisture levels over time, making the mat-wrapped soil nitrate sensor a viable improvement for in-field measurements of soil solution chemistry.