Electrical resistivity of the soil can be considered as a proxy for the spatial and temporal variability of many other soil physical properties (i.e. structure, water content, or fluid composition). Because the method is non-destructive and very sensitive, it offers a very attractive tool for describing the subsurface properties without digging. It has been already applied in various contexts like : groundwater exploration, landfill and solute transfer delineation, agronomical management by identifying areas of excessive compaction or soil horizon thickness and bedrock depth, and at least assessing the soil hydrological properties. The surveys, depending on the areas heterogeneities can be performed in one-, two-or three-dimensions and also at different scales resolution from the centimetric scale to the regional scale. In this review, based on many electrical resistivity surveys, we expose the theory and the basic principles of the method, we overview the variation of electrical resistivity as a function of soil properties, we listed the main electrical device to performed one-, two-or three-dimensional surveys, and explain the basic principles of the data interpretation. At least, we discuss the main advantages and limits of the method.

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soil water content. Mackie-Dawson et al. (1989) studied the evolution of the cracking system in the first 10 cm Electrical resistivity measurements at high resolution (1.5-cm elecof soil by using vertical image analysis. They observed trode spacing) were performed to detect, from the soil surface, small cracks developing within the soil. We recorded a vertical electrical significant soil structural changes during an annual cycle pseudo-section in a decimetric undisturbed homogenous soil block of drying and wetting. Up to now, crack networks have (silt loam) for different artificial cracking stages. Because of the unusubeen described traditionally, either by measuring manually reduced electrode spacing associated with an air-dried soil surface, ally in the field the crack geometry that forms at the a specific Cu/CuSO 4 electrode was designed for precision wet contact soil surface (Blackwell et al., 1985; Lima and Grismer, at given points. The apparent resistivity measurements of the pseudo-1992; Ringrose-Voase and Sanidad, 1996; Tuong et al., section and the interpreted data inverted by using the Res2Dinv 1996), or automatically by using two-dimensional image software are discussed. The range of interpreted electrical resistivity

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