Fractal Analysis of Soil Profile Roughness

By using a laser profiler, the surface height variation trace of three types of tillage soil profiles, that is ploughed, harrowed and rolled surface are obtained. For these profiles, the root mean square height (RMS) and the fractal characteristics were discussed. The result show that fractal dimension turned out to be a suitable index for the level of soil surface roughness. But there is no one-to-one correspondence relationship. A soil roughness index was found to be appropriate for the quantification of soil surface roughness. For ploughed, harrowed and rolled soil, differences were found to be great.