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Forestry Sciences Laboratory - Moscow, Idaho
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William J. Elliot
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Portable electronic meter: measuring water content of organic materials

Robichaud, P.R. 2004. Portable electronic meter: Measuring water content of organic materials. Resource. May 2004 11(4): 10-11. American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Keywords: Duff moisture meter

Links: pdf PDF [783KB]

Abstract: The tough, lightweight DMM600 is a portable, battery-powered sensor that provides real-time water content measurements of non-homogenous material. This sensor was originally developed to measure forest floor duff (decomposing organic material) moisture content and thus, aid in the timing of prescribed fires.

However, the DMM600 has been found to be useful with other organic materials such as compost, silage, wood waste, and saw dust. It also has been used successfully to measure the water content of mineral soil during road construction.

Given the rough field environment inherent to forest fire, the duff moisture meter is designed to provide accurate results in the field with a minimum amount of sample preparation and measurement logistics.

Moscow FSL publication no. 2004j