On the effectiveness of 2D electrical inversion results: an agricultural case study

Abstract

Electrical resistivity tomography was used in Beauce (France) to assess the water extraction by corn plants (evapotranspiration). The acquired pseudosections show conductive anomalies under the plants. A 2D inversion of measurements led us to identify clear resistive features associated with the water losses under the corn‐plant rows. New models have been calculated with two different 3D algorithms (finite‐difference and moment‐method) to take into account 3D structure of the ground and to confirm that periodic resistive features may generate shifted apparent‐resistivity anomalies.