Soil compaction affects long-term soil health and crop growth, yet current assessment methods are slow, destructive, and limited to point measurements. Ameesh Khatkar combined on-the-go geophysical sensors with terrain data to map key basic and mechanical soil properties that reflect soil mechanical strength across entire fields. His research showed that these technologies can reliably identify zones where soil is more vulnerable to compaction.

The findings contribute to developing smarter field-traffic strategies and support sustainable soil management in line with emerging policies such as the EU Soil Monitoring Law (2025).

The PhD study was completed at the Department of Agroecology, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday, 6 February 2026 at 10:00 am
Place: Agro Business Park, Niels Pedersens Alle 2, 8830 Tjele
Title of PhD thesis: Mapping soil mechanical strength through multi-sensor and terrain attributes data fusion
Contact information: Ameesh Khatkar, e-mail: ameeshkhatkar@agro.au.dk, tel.: +45 71533299
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Jean Caron, Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering, Laval University, Canada
Professor Simone Priori, Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Italy
Senior Researcher Henrik Skovgård (chair), Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main Supervisor: Senior Scientist Mathieu Lamandé, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisors: 
Assistant Professor Triven Koganti, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Assistant Professor Amélie Marie Beucher, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Professor Lars Juhl Munkholm, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.