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The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of combining proximal, and remote sensing with environmental variables for predicting USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) so...

Detailed soil maps contribute to the understanding of agricultural and food value chains. PlanetScope satellite constellations have high spatial and temporal resolution and could be used to develop...

Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is intensifying under increasing industrialization. Thus, the ability to efficiently delineate contaminated sites is crucial. Visible–near infrared (vis–NIR: 350–2500 nm) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF: 0.02–41.08 keV) spectroscopic techniques have attracted tremendous attention for the assessment of PTEs. Recently, the application of fused vis–NIR and XRF spectroscopy, which is based on the complementary effect of data fusion, is also increasing. Moreover, different data manipulation methods, including feature selection approaches, affect the prediction performance. This study investigated the feasibility of using single and fused vis–NIR and XRF spectra while exploring feature selection algorithms for the assessment of key soil PTEs. The soil samples were collected from one of the most heavily polluted areas of the Czech Republic and scanned using laboratory vis–NIR and XRF spectrometers. Univariate filter (UF) and genetic algorithm (GA) were used to select the bands of greater importance for the PTE prediction. Support vector machine (SVM) was then used to train the models using the full-range and feature-selected spectra of single sensors and their fusion. It was found that XRF spectra alone (primarily GA-selected) performed better than single vis–NIR and fused spectral data for predictions of PTEs. Moreover, the prediction models that were derived from the fused data set (particularly the GA-selected) enhanced the models’ accuracies as compared with the single vis–NIR spectra. In general, the results suggest that the GA-selected spectra obtained from the single XRF spectrometer (for As and Pb) and from the fusion of vis–NIR and XRF (for Pb) are promising for accurate quantitative estimation detection of the mentioned PTEs.

The regular monitoring of soil physical, chemical, and biological properties is very essential, due to its role in soil ecosystem functions. A cost-effective alternative for soil monitoring corresponds to spectral sensing techniques. Soil spectral sensing techniques can support decision-making in agricultural systems at both time and spatial scales, maximizing food production while preserving an adequate soil condition. Due to the large number of ground, airborne, and orbital spectral sensors operating today, this technology has been increasingly assimilated by soil scientists. However, it is important to have an adequate comprehension about the technique principles and limitations. This chapter provides a wide perspective about the soil spectral sensing in the visible (vis: 350–700 nm), near-infrared (NIR: 700–1000 nm), and shortwave infrared (SWIR: 1000–2500 nm), considering reflectance data at different acquisition levels. Here, it is discussed how soil constituents interact with EMR and the resulting soil spectral behaviors. We describe the predictive potential of vis-NIR-SWIR data for quantitative assessment of soil and which soil attributes have been reliably estimated and the most commonly used vis-NIR-SWIR equipment, as well as their advantages and limitations. Finally, we discuss the current application in soil science and future perspectives.

The importance of monitoring soil properties is constantly increasing among researchers and policy-makers. In this context,it is imperative to identify cost-effective and reliable strategies for soil mapping compared to the costlier traditionalsolutions. A wide range of tools are becoming available that enable better utilization of Earth Observation capabilities to monitor the soil ecosystem. This work is an effort of assessing the potential of Sentinel-2 imagery data for mapping SoilOrganic Matter (SOM) contents and investigating the possibilities of its enhancement through ASTER derived information. The rural area around the lake Zazari, located in the Western Macedonia district of Greece, was chosen as study area.Initially, pixel-wise vegetation indices (NDVI and NBR2) were calculated, utilizing a local version of the CEOS OpenData Cube for masking Sentinel-2 bare soil pixels extending a three-year period (2017–2019). The generated mask wasused to extract soil spectral signatures at the image level over selected 100 field samples. The resulting time series was expanded through the conjunction of ASTER Thermal InfraRed bands by matching the exact data acquisition dates of twoplatforms. The conclusive part of the work contains the application of regression modelling to effectively assess soil variables. The local Partial Least Square regression algorithm was chosen, due to its characteristics of performing inherently local predictions. Five-fold cross-validation technique was used for reporting the models’ accuracy, which was assessed through R2 coefficient, RPIQ ratio and RMSE. The model estimated SOM values among a synthetic bare soil composite image that was acquired over study area’s agricultural fields. Two models were trained and compared; one over Sentinel-2 imagery bands that were used as the predictor variables’ set and a second over an expanded predictor variables’ set, including ASTER thermal bands. The results signified evidence of accuracy increase of SOM content assessment, through spaceborne imagery analysis.

Reflectance of light across the visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared (VIS-NIR-SWIR, 0.4–2.5 µm) spectral region is very useful for investigating mineralogical, physical and chemical properties of soils, which can reduce the need for traditional wet chemistry analyses. As many collections of multispectral satellite data are available for environmental studies, a large extent with medium resolution mapping could be benefited from the spectral measurements made from remote sensors. In this paper, we explored the use of bare soil composites generated from the large historical collections of Landsat images for mapping cropland topsoil attributes across the European extent. For this task, we used the Geospatial Soil Sensing System (GEOS3) for generating two bare soil composites of 30 m resolution (named synthetic soil images, SYSI), which were employed to represent the median topsoil reflectance of bare fields. The first (framed SYSI) was made with multitemporal images (2006–2012) framed to the survey time of the Land-Use/Land-Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) soil dataset (2009), seeking to be more compatible to the soil condition upon the sampling campaign. The second (full SYSI) was generated from the full collection of Landsat images (1982–2018), which although displaced to the field survey, yields a higher proportion of bare areas for soil mapping. For evaluating the two SYSIs, we used the laboratory spectral data as a reference of topsoil reflectance to calculate the Spearman correlation coefficient. Furthermore, both SYSIs employed machine learning for calibrating prediction models of clay, sand, soil organic carbon (SOC), calcium carbonates (CaCO3), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and pH determined in water, using the gradient boosting regression algorithm. The original LUCAS laboratory spectra and a version of the data resampled to the Landsat multispectral bands were also used as reference of prediction performance using VIS-NIR-SWIR multispectral data. Our results suggest that generating a bare soil composite displaced to the survey time of soil observations did not improve the quality of topsoil reflectance, and consequently, the prediction performance of soil attributes. Despite the lower spectral resolution and the variability of soils in Europe, a SYSI calculated from the full collection of Landsat images can be employed for topsoil prediction of clay and CaCO3 contents with a moderate performance (testing R2, root mean square error (RMSE) and ratio of performance to interquartile range (RPIQ) of 0.44, 9.59, 1.77, and 0.36, 13.99, 1.54, respectively). Thus, this study shows that although there exist some constraints due to the spatial and temporal variation of soil exposures and among the Landsat sensors, it is possible to use bare soil composites for mapping key soil attributes of croplands across the European extent.

Soil texture and organic carbon (OC) content influence the spectral response. These attributes are relevant for the preservation and proper management of land use in the pursuit of a sustainable agriculture. Laboratory and satellite sensors have been applied as a powerful tool for studying so is, but their analysis using these sensors has mainly focused on the visible (Vis), near infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with few studies in the Medium Infrared (MIR). The aim of this study was to identify the spectral pattern of soils with different granulometry (sand and clay) and OC content using laboratory and satellite sensors in the MIR region, specifically in the Thermal Infrared (TIR) range (ASTER, Landsat satellites). The study performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of clay, OC and sand fractions (fine and coarse). The study area is located in the region of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, where collected 150 soil samples (0–20 cm depth). Soil texture was determined by the pipette method and OC via dry combustion. Reflectance and emissivity (Ɛ) spectral data were obtained with the Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Alpha sensor (Bruker Optics Corporation). An image “ASTER_05” from July 15, 2017 was acquired with values of Ɛ. Samples were separated by textural classes and the spectral behavior in the TIR region was described. The data obtained by the laboratory sensor were resampled to the satellite sensor bands. The behavior between spectra of both sensors was similar and had significant correlation with the studied attributes, mainly sand. For the partial least squares regression (PLSR) models, six strategies were used (MIR, MIR_ASTER, ASTER, TIR, TIR Correlation Index (TIR_CID), and MIR Correlation Index (MIR_CID)), which consisted in the use of all sensors bands, or by the selection of bands that presented the most significant correlations with each one of the attributes. Models presented a good performance in the prediction of all attributes using the whole MIR. In the TIR region, the models for total sand content and for fine and coarse fractions were good. Models created with ASTER sensor data were not as promising as those with laboratory ones. The use of specific bands was useful in estimating some attributes in the MIR and TIR, improving the predictive performance and validation of models. Therefore, the discrimination of soil attributes with satellite sensors can be improved with the identification of specific bands, as observed in the results with laboratory sensors.

Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is one of the greatest threats to environmental degradation. Knowing where PTEs accumulated in soil can mitigate their adverse effects on plants, animals, and human health. We evaluated the potential of using long-term remote sensing images that reveal the bare soils, to detect and map PTEs in agricultural fields. In this study, 360 soil samples were collected at the superficial layer (0–20 cm) in a 2574 km2 agricultural area located in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. We tested the Soil Synthetic Image (SYSI) using Landsat TM/ETM/ETM+, Landsat OLI, and Sentinel 2 images. The three products have different spectral, temporal, and spatial resolutions. The time series multispectral images were used to reveal areas with bare soil and their spectra were used as predictors of soil chromium, iron, nickel, and zinc contents. We observed a strong linear relationship (−0.26 > r > −0.62) between the selected PTEs and the near infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands of Sentinel (ensemble of 4 years of data), Landsat TM (35 years data), and Landsat OLI (4 years data). The clearest discrimination of soil PTEs was obtained from SYSI using a long term Landsat 5 collection over 35 years. Satellite data could efficiently detect the contents of PTEs in soils due to their relation with soil attributes and parent materials. Therefore, distinct satellite sensors could map the PTEs on tropics and assist in understanding their spatial dynamics and environmental effects.

Soil loss is a major cause of land degradation worldwide, especially in large areas of arid and semi-arid regions. With advent of new software and technologies such as remote sensing (RS) and GIS, there is a necessity to integrate them to achieve important information in a faster manner. The aims of present study were to evaluate soil erodibility (K-factor) using standard plots under natural rainfall and prediction of soil loss by integrating RUSLE, GIS and RS in Fars Iran. The RUSLE factors were evaluated as following: the R-factor was calculated using modified Fournier index; K-factor was measured in the field using erosion plots and estimated by the USLE equation; the C-factor map was created using the NDVI; the LS-factor map was generated from digital elevation model with 10 m resolution, and the P-factor map was assumed as 1. Spatial distribution of annual soil loss in the Simakan watershed was obtained by multiplying these factors in GIS. The average of the measured K was 0.014 th MJ− 1 mm− 1 and 2.08 times less than the average of the estimated K (0.030 th MJ− 1 mm− 1). The performance of RUSLE was highly influenced by the K, because the annual soil loss predicted using estimated K (11.0 th− 1 ya− 1) was about twice as much as the measured K (5.7 th− 1 ya− 1). The spatial distribution of soil loss classes predicted was: 73.64% very low, 14.79% low, 10.19% moderate and 1.25% severe. Areas of severe soil loss are situated in the northern portion of the study area, which needs suitable conservation practices.

Proximal and remote sensors are emerging as powerful sources of soil spectral information at an array of temporal and spatial resolutions. This study investigated clay content prediction at three spectral acquisition levels: laboratory, airborne, and spaceborne. Two approaches were tested, the use of prediction models developed with local and regional spectral libraries (52 samples for local scale and 950, 200 e 224 samples for regional scale), termed internal and external models respectively. Local soil samples (52), were collected in a smallholder area, 83 ha, located in southeastern Brazil. Spectral data in the visible (Vis), near-infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR) regions were acquired in the laboratory using FieldSpec 3 sensor, and the clay content was determined by sedimentation technique. Afterward, bare soil images from AISA-FENIX, Planetscope, Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) were obtained. The clay content determined in the laboratory was related to the soil spectra acquired by each of the sensors and was predicted using the Cubist regression tree algorithm. The results obtained from local spectral libraries showed good predictions using FieldSpec 3 and AISA-FENIX sensors. Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2 MSI provided satisfactory results, while PlanetScope gave poor results. For the prediction using regional spectral libraries, only lab-based FieldSpec 3 sensor provided a fair prediction, while other sensors gave poor results. This study demonstrated that soil sensing is possible at any level taking into account its advantages and limitations. This approach paves the way for acquiring soil spectra for smallholder farms.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are a remarkable property for soil and environmental monitoring. The understanding of their dynamics in crop soils must go forward. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of temporal environmental controlling factors obtained by satellite images over the SOC stocks along soil depth, using machine learning algorithms. The work was carried out in São Paulo state (Brazil) in an area of 2577 km2. We obtained a dataset of boreholes with soil analyses from topsoil to subsoil (0–100 cm). Additionally, remote sensing covariates (30 years of land use history, vegetation indexes), soil properties (i.e., clay, sand, mineralogy), soil types (classification), geology, climate and relief information were used. All covariates were confronted with SOC stocks contents, to identify their impact. Afterwards, the abilities of the predictive models were tested by splitting soil samples into two random groups (70 for training and 30% for model testing). We observed that the mean values of SOC stocks decreased by increasing the depth in all land use and land cover (LULC) historical classes. The results indicated that the random forest with recursive features elimination (RFE) was an accurate technique for predicting SOC stocks and finding controlling factors. We also found that the soil properties (especially clay and CEC), terrain attributes, geology, bioclimatic parameters and land use history were the most critical factors in controlling the SOC stocks in all LULC history and soil depths. We concluded that random forest coupled with RFE could be a functional approach to detect, map and monitor SOC stocks using environmental and remote sensing data.

There is a worldwide need for detailed spatial information to support soil mapping, mainly in the tropics, where main agricultural areas are concentrated. In this line, satellite images are useful tools that can assist in obtaining soil information from a synoptic point of view. This study aimed at evaluating how satellite images at different resolutions (spatial, spectral and temporal) can influence the representation of soil variability over time, the percentage of bare soil areas and spatial predictions of soil properties in southeastern Brazil. We used single-date and multi-temporal images (SYSI, Synthetic Soil Images) of bare soil pixels from the Sentinel2-MultiSpectral Instrument (S2-MSI) and the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (L8-OLI) to conduct this research. Two SYSIs were obtained from images acquired in four years (2016–2019) for each satellite (SYSI S2-MSI and SYSI L8-OLI) and a third SYSI, named SYSI Combined, was obtained by combining the images from both satellites. The single-date images for each satellite was acquired in September, when the influence of clouds was low and bare soil pixels was predominant. Single-date images and SYSIs were compared by means of their spectral patterns and ability to predict topsoil properties (clay, sand, silt, and organic matter contents and soil color) using the Cubist algorithm. We found that the SYSIs outperformed single-date images and that the SYSI Combined and SYSI L8-OLI provided the best prediction performances. The SYSIs also had the highest percentage of areas with bare soil pixels (~30–50%) when compared to the single-date images (~20%). Our results suggest that bare soil images obtained by combining Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 images are more important for soil mapping than spatial or spectral resolutions. Soil maps obtained via satellite images are important tools for soil survey, land planning, management and precision agriculture.

Conventional soil mapping is costly and time consuming. Therefore, the development of quick, cheap, but accurate methods is required. Several studies highlight the importance of developing regional soil spectral libraries for digital soil mapping, but few studies report on the use of these libraries to aid digital mapping of soil types. This study aims to produce a digital soil map using as training set Visible and Near Infra-Red (Vis–NIR) spectra from local soil samples, a regional spectral library and terrain attributes. The soils were sampled in 162 locations on a 270-ha farm in the municipality of Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Spectra from topsoil and subsoil were measured in laboratory (400–2500 nm) and arranged as multi-depth spectra. Information was summarized by principal component analysis. Regression tree models were calibrated to predict principal components (PC) scores based on terrain attributes. After calibration, the models were applied to the entire study site, resulting in PC score maps. Fuzzy c-means and PC maps were used to define the soil mapping units (MU). Based on fuzzy centroids, representative samples (RS) were defined to the MU. Munsell soil color and soil order were predicted from soil spectra and used to characterize the MU. The regression tree model had a good fit for PC1, with an r2 of 0.92, and a satisfactory r2 for PC3, PC4, and PC5, respectively 0.58, 0.66 and 0.53. The fuzzy clustering defined seven MU. The R2 for Munsell color predictions were 0.94 (hue), 0.96 (value) and 0.73 (chroma). Soil order had good agreement in validation, with kappa coefficient of 0.41. The methodology indicates the potential of Vis–NIR spectra to improve soil mapping campaigns and consequently provides a product similar to a conventional soil map.

Soil color and mineralogy are used as diagnostic criteria to distinguish different soil types. In the literature, 350–2500 nm spectra were successfully used to predict soil color and mineralogy, but these attributes currently are not mapped for most Brazilian soils. In this paper, we provided the first large-extent maps with 30 m resolution of soil color and mineralogy at three depth intervals for 850,000 km2 of Midwest Brazil. We obtained soil 350–2500 nm spectra from 1397 sites of the Brazilian Soil Spectral Library at 0–20 cm, 20–60, and 60–100 cm depths. Spectra was used to derive Munsell hue, value, and chroma, and also second derivative spectra of the Kubelka–Munk function, where key spectral bands were identified and their amplitude measured for mineral quantification. Landsat composites of topsoil and vegetation reflectance, together with relief and climate data, were used as covariates to predict Munsell color and Fe–Al oxides, and 1:1 and 2:1 clay minerals of topsoil and subsoil. We used random forest for soil modeling and 10-fold cross-validation. Soil spectra and remote sensing data accurately mapped color and mineralogy at topsoil and subsoil in Midwest Brazil. Hematite showed high prediction accuracy (R2 > 0.71), followed by Munsell value and hue. Satellite topsoil reflectance at blue spectral region was the most relevant predictor (25% global importance) for soil color and mineralogy. Our maps were consistent with pedological expert knowledge, legacy soil observations, and legacy soil class map of the study region.

Soil mapping demands large-scale surveys that are costly and time consuming. It is necessary to identify strategies with reduced costs to obtain detailed information for soil mapping. We aimed to compare multispectral satellite image and relief parameters for the quantification and mapping of clay and sand contents. The Temporal Synthetic Spectral (TESS) reflectance and Synthetic Soil Image (SYSI) approaches were used to identify and characterize texture spectral signatures at the image level. Soil samples were collected (0?20 cm depth, 919 points) from an area of 14,614 km 2 in Brazil for reference and model calibration. We compared different prediction approaches: (a) TESS and SYSI; (b) Relief-Derived Covariates (RDC); and (c) SYSI plus RDC. The TESS method produced highly similar behavior to the laboratory convolved data. The sandy textural class showed a greater increase in average spectral reflectance from Band 1 to 7 compared with the clayey class. The prediction using SYSI produced a better result for clay (R 2 = 0.83; RMSE = 65.0 g kg − 1 ) and sand (R 2 = 0.86; RMSE = 79.9 g kg − 1 ). Multispectral satellite images were more stable for the identification of soil properties than relief parameters. Made available in DSpace on 2019-11-19T18:06:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VicenteClaySandAP2019.pdf: 5760658 bytes, checksum: 13917c295ae9ae53467635bf1a6b245a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018

Soil mapping has been identified as key to environmental issues. The determination of soil attributes to achieve the best decision making on land use planning is crucial. The use of remote sensing (satellite images) can improve understanding of the surface, since it collects a spectral reflectance fingerprint related to soil properties. However, methodologies still gather spatially fragmented information on bare soil in a single image; thus, there is still room to improve information as a continuous surface. This work has the purpose of developing a procedure using multi-temporal satellite image information, aiming to construct a single synthetic image which would represent soils. The work was carried out in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on a site covering 14,614 km2. The procedure, designated as Geospatial Soil Sensing System (GEOS3), is based on the following steps: a) creation of a database with Landsat 5 legacy data.; b) filtering of the database to provide images only from the dry season in the region; c) insertion of a set of rules into the system to filter other objects besides soils; d) Each bare soil occurrence for each location along the time-series was used to calculate a Temporal Synthetic Spectral Reflectance (TESS) of the soil surface; e) aggregation of all TESS composes the Synthetic Soil Image (SYSI); f) quantitative and qualitative validation of the SYSI through the correlation between laboratory and TESS, soil line assessment and the principal component analysis (PCA). GEOS3 was able to provide the best representative reflectance of soils for each band during the historical period. Thus, TESS is not the ‘true’ but a synthetic spectral reflectance. The canonical correlation between laboratory and satellite data reached 0.93. A value of up to 0.88 in the Pearson's correlation between laboratory and TESS was also achieved. In a single scene, only 0.5% of area was available as isolated bare soil for spatial analysis. However, SYSI reached 68%. Considering only the sugarcane agricultural areas, a value of 92% was achieved. Our study indicates that a multi-temporal data mining procedure can retrieve soil surface representation. The key to the results was calculating the median spectral reflectance from the bare soil pixels along the period of the time series. GEOS3 products can aid soil evaluation by assisting in digital soil mapping, soil security, precision agriculture, soil attribute quantification, soil conservation, environment monitoring and soil sample allocation, among others.

The generation of soil attributes maps is crucial for proper field management, especially in tropical countries where agriculture plays a major role in economy, such as Brazil. The Land Surface Temperature (LST) derived from thermal infrared wavelength can be related with soil properties, particularly texture. The availability of LST data on a regular basis, with good spatial resolution to cover extensive agricultural regions and also integrated with reflectance data enhances its use in soil attributes mapping. The objectives of this research were to verify the relationships between soil attributes texture and organic carbon (OC) with the remote sensing (RS) products LST and surface reflectance and perform maps of classes of such attributes based on these variables. The study area (473 ha) is located near the municipality of Barra Bonita, southeast of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. A regular sampling grid with 100 × 100 m2 and with sampling density of one sample per hectare was established on the study site, from where surface samples (0–0.2 m) were collected via auger and had their contents determined by wet chemistry analysis. Images from Landsat 5 were obtained for extraction of LST and reflectance. The algorithm Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) was applied for soil attributes mapping using 55 toposequences samples and considering (a) three LST images; (b) only reflectance from one Landsat scene and (c) reflectance + LST from the same scene as in (b). Besides this, maps were performed using only one LST image with a histogram-based classification. The weighted kappa (kw) was calculated with validation samples and indicated the classification accuracy. Mapping of texture and OC through SAM algorithm produced better results than the classification of LST, regardless of the variables being considered. For both attributes, the best map was produced using reflectance + LST, with substantial agreement for texture and moderate for OC. The use of LST for mapping soil attributes concomitantly with reflectance spectra improved the mapping accuracy.

Summary Soil mapping across large areas can be enhanced by integrating different methods and data sources. This study merges laboratory, field and remote sensing data to create digital maps of soil suborders based on the Brazilian Soil Classification System, with and without additional textural classification, in an area of 13 000 ha in the state of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Data from 289 visited soil profiles were used in multinomial logistic regression to predict soil suborders from geospatial data (geology, topography, emissivity and vegetation index) and visible–near infrared (400–2500 nm) reflectance of soil samples collected at three depths (0–20, 40–60 and 80–100 cm). The derived maps were validated with 47 external observations, and compared with two conventional soil maps at scales of 1:100 000 and 1:20 000. Soil suborders with and without textural classification were predicted correctly for 44 and 52% of the soil profiles, respectively. The derived suborder maps agreed with the 1:100 000 and 1:20 000 conventional maps in 20 and 23% (with textural classification) and 41 and 46% (without textural classification) of the area, respectively. Soils that were well defined along relief gradients (Latosols and Argisols) were predicted with up to 91% agreement, whereas soils in complex areas (Cambisols and Neosols) were poorly predicted. Adding textural classification to suborders considerably degraded classification accuracy; thus modelling at the suborder level alone is recommended. Stream density and laboratory soil reflectance improved all classification models, showing their potential to aid digital soil mapping in complex tropical environments.

New tools for soil mapping are needed to increase speed and accuracy of pedological mapping processes. This study integrated various technologies to map soils of the Piracicaba region in São Paulo State, Brazil. Each technology was expected to provide different information to design a detailed map. We carried out field survey and soil sampling for laboratory analysis. Initially, we conducted field visits to obtain soil patterns of a reference site. We applied the acquired patterns to an validation site, based solely on information obtained from remote sensing and cartographic databases, namely LANDSAT 7/ETM, digital elevation models (DEM) and aerial photographs. We integrated the information from each product to generate the map of the validation site, which was validated by field inspection. Textural classification using satellite imaging ranged from 21-51% of accuracy. Band 5 in the sensor showed the best performance to discriminate between clayey and sandy soils. Aerial photographs provided the best information because, besides their own inherent characteristics, they operate on a larger scale and result in a map with up to 50 polygons, while DEM reached a maximum of 30 polygons. The digital mapping technology generated 45 mapping units. Finally, the mapping efficiently separated the Latosols from the other classes; however, in some cases there was confusion in the identification of Cambisols and litholic Neosols.

Visible/near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VNIRDRS) offers an alternative to conventional analytical methods to estimate various soil attributes. However, the use of VNIRDRS in soil survey and taxonomic classification is still underexplored. We investigated the potential use of VNIRDRS to classify soils in a region with variable soils, geology, and topography in southeastern Brazil. Soils were classified in the field according to the Brazilian Soil Classification System, and visible/near-infrared (400–2500 nm) spectra were collected from three depth intervals (0–20, 40–60 and 80–100 cm) and combined in sequence to compose a pseudo multi-depth spectral curve, which was used to derive the classification models. Principal component (PC) analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used to classify 291 soils (202 in calibration and 89 in validation mode) at the levels of order (highest), suborder (second highest) and suborder plus textural classification (STC). Based on the validation results, best classification was obtained at the order level (67% agreement rate), followed by suborder (48% agreement) and STC (24% agreement). The inherent complexity and variability within soil taxonomic groups and in contrast the strong similarity among different groups in terms of soil spectra and other attributes cause confusion in the classification model. This novel approach combining spectral data from different depths in multivariate classification can improve soil classification and survey in a cost-efficient manner, supporting sustainable use and management of tropical soils.

Since different pedologists will draw different soil maps of a same area, it is important to compare the differences between mapping by specialists and mapping techniques, as for example currently intensively discussed Digital Soil Mapping. Four detailed soil maps (scale 1:10.000) of a 182-ha sugarcane farm in the county of Rafard, São Paulo State, Brazil, were compared. The area has a large variation of soil formation factors. The maps were drawn independently by four soil scientists and compared with a fifth map obtained by a digital soil mapping technique. All pedologists were given the same set of information. As many field expeditions and soil pits as required by each surveyor were provided to define the mapping units (MUs). For the Digital Soil Map (DSM), spectral data were extracted from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery as well as six terrain attributes from the topographic map of the area. These data were summarized by principal component analysis to generate the map designs of groups through Fuzzy K-means clustering. Field observations were made to identify the soils in the MUs and classify them according to the Brazilian Soil Classification System (BSCS). To compare the conventional and digital (DSM) soil maps, they were crossed pairwise to generate confusion matrices that were mapped. The categorical analysis at each classification level of the BSCS showed that the agreement between the maps decreased towards the lower levels of classification and the great influence of the surveyor on both the mapping and definition of MUs in the soil map. The average correspondence between the conventional and DSM maps was similar. Therefore, the method used to obtain the DSM yielded similar results to those obtained by the conventional technique, while providing additional information about the landscape of each soil, useful for applications in future surveys of similar areas.

It is often difficult for pedologists to “see” topsoils indicating differences in properties such as soil particle size. Satellite images are important for obtaining quick information for large areas. However, mapping extensive areas of bare soil using a single image is difficult since most areas are usually covered by vegetation. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a strategy to determine bare soil areas by fusing multi-temporal satellite images and classifying them according to soil textures. Three different areas located in two states in Brazil, with a total of 65,000 ha, were evaluated. Landsat images of a specific dry month (September) over five consecutive years were collected, processed, and subjected to atmospheric correction (values in surface reflectance). Non-vegetated areas were discriminated from vegetated ones using the Linear Spectral Mixture Model (LSMM) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Thus, we were able to fuse images with only bare soil. Field samples were taken from bare soil pixel areas. Pixels of soils with different textures (soil texture classifications) were used for supervised classification in which all areas with exposed soil were classified. Single images reached an average of 36 % bare soil, where the mapper could only “see” these points. After using the proposed methodology, we reached a maximum of 85 % in bare areas; therefore, a pedologist would have proper conditions for generating a continuous map of spatial variations in soil properties. In addition, we mapped soil textural classes with accuracy up to 86.7 % for clayey soils. Overall accuracy was 63.8 %. The method was tested in an unknown area to validate the accuracy of our classification method. Our strategy allowed us to discriminate and categorize different soil textures in the field with 90 % accuracy using images. This method can assist several professionals in soil science, from pedologists to mappers of soil properties, in soil management activities.

There is a consensus about the necessity to achieve a quick soil spatial information with few human resources. Remote/proximal sensing and pedotransference are methods that can be integrated into this approach. On the other hand, there is still a lack of strategies indicating on how to put this in practice, especially in the tropics. Thus, the objective of this work was to suggest a strategy for the spatial prediction of soil classes by using soil spectroscopy from ground laboratory spectra to space images platform, as associated with terrain attributes and spectral libraries. The study area is located in São Paulo State, Brazil, which was covered by a regular grid (one per ha), with 473 boreholes collected at top and undersurface. All soil samples were analyzed in laboratory (granulometry and chemical), and scanned with a VIS-NIR-SWIR (400–2500 nm) spectroradiometer. We developed two traditional pedological maps with different detail levels for comparison: TFS-1 regarding orders and subgroups; and TFS-2 with additional information such as color, iron and fertility. Afterwards, we performed a digital soil map, generated by models, which used the following information: (i) predicted soil attributes from undersurface layer (diagnostic horizon), obtained by using a local spectral library; (ii) spectral reflectance of a bare soil surface obtained by Landsat image; and (iii) derivative of terrain attributes. Thus, the digital map was generated by a combination of three variables: remote sensing (Landsat data), proximal sensing (laboratory spectroscopy) and relief. Landsat image with bare soil was used as a first observation of surface. This strategy assisted on the location of topossequences to achieve soil variation in the area. Afterwards, spectral undersurface information from these locations was used to modelize soil attributes quantification (156 samples). The model was used to quantify samples in the entire area by spectra (other 317 samples). Since the surface was bare soil, it was sampled by image spectroscopy. Indeed, topsoil spectral laboratory information presented great similarity with satellite spectra. We observed angle variation on spectra from clayey to sandy soils as differentiated by intensity. Soil lines between bands 3/4 and 5/7 were helpful on the link between laboratory and satellite data. The spectral models of soil attributes (i.e., clay, sand, and iron) presented a high predictive performance (R2 0.71 to 0.90) with low error. The spatial prediction of these attributes also presented a high performance (validations with R2 > 0.78). The models increased spatial resolution of soil weathering information using a known spectral library. Elevation (altitude) improved mapping due to correlation with soil attributes (i.e., clay, iron and chemistry). We observed a close relationship between soil weathering index map and laboratory spectra + image spectra + relief parameters. The color composite of the 5R, 4G and 3B had great performance on the detection of soils along topossequences, since colors went from dark blue to light purple, and were related with soil texture and mineralogy of the region. The comparison between the traditional and digital soil maps showed a global accuracy of 69% for the TFS-1 map and 62% in the TFS-2, with kappa indices of 0.52 and 0.45, respectively. We randomly validated both digital and traditional maps with individual plots at field. We achieve a 75% and 80% agreement for digital and traditional maps, respectively, which allows us to conclude that traditional map is not necessarily the truth and digital is very close. The key of the strategy was to use bare soil image as a first step on the indication of soil variation in the area, indicating in-situ location for sample collection in all depths. The current strategy is innovative since we linked sensors from ground to space in addition with relief parameters and spectral libraries. The strategy indicates a more accurate map with less soil samples and lower cost.

The search for sustainable land use has increased in Brazil due to the important role that agriculture plays in the country. Soil detailed classification is related with texture attribute. How can one discriminate the same soil class with different textures using proximal soil sensing, as to reach surveys, land use planning and increase crop productivity? This study aims to evaluate soil texture using a regional spectral library and its usefulness on classification. We collected 3750 soil samples covering 3 million ha within strong soil class variations in Sao Paulo State. The spectral analyses of soil samples from topsoil and subsoil were measured in laboratory (400–2500 nm). The potential of a regional soil spectral library was evaluated on the discrimination of soil texture. We considered two types of soil texture systems, one related with soil classification and another with soil managements. The soil line technique was used to assess differentiation between soil textural groups. Soil spectra were summarized by principal component analysis (PCA) to select relevant information on the spectra. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to predict texture. Spectral curves indicated different shapes according to soil texture and discriminated particle size classes from clayey to sandy soils. In the visible region, differences were small because of the organic matter, while the short wave infrared (SWIR) region showed more differences; thus, soil texture variation could be differentiated by quartz. Angulation differences are on a spectral curve from NIR to SWIR. The statistical models predicted clay and sand levels with R2 = 0.93 and 0.96, respectively. Indeed, we achieved a difference of 1.2% between laboratory and spectroscopy measurement for clay. The spectral information was useful to classify Ferralsols with different texture classification. In addition, the spectra differentiated Lixisols from Ferralsols and Arenosols. This work can help the development of computer programs that allow soil texture classification and subsequent digital soil mapping at detailed scales. In addition, it complies with requirements for sustainable land use and soil management.

Soil observation ranges from point observations to spatial evaluation. We can study the clay content at a point or evaluate its distribution across space. Digital morphometrics starts with a vision on the soil profile, to extract information from ‘inside soils body’ and make a diagnostic of its formation history and characters. On the other hand, soil develops as part of the landscape, which presents a continuous vision. Thus, the task is to extrapolate the pedon observation to space, taking us to a soil map, which is the basis for many applications in environmental and agricultural science. This chapter first demonstrates several practical information capture of soil profiles from its visible, near-, and mid-infrared reflectance. This instance tries to answer questions: How can spectroscopy differentiate soil profiles? How can it assist in soil classification? From this, we explore digital soil mapping with several examples. Strategies on soil mapping using pedotechnologies are discussed and exemplified with studies from a simple to complex geology. Finally, we discuss the perspectives of these techniques for getting a full description of soil distribution in the landscape.

RESUMOObjetivou-se neste trabalho caracterizar diferentes solos por espectrorradiometria de reflectância ao longo de uma topossequência na região de Piracicaba, SP. Amostras de solo foram coletadas e analisadas em campo, em laboratório de análises químicas e por sensores Vis-NIR (400-2500 nm). Alterações nos solos da topossequência foram identificáveis nas informações espectrais. Constituintes dos solos, tais como, matéria orgânica, mineralogia, formas de óxidos de ferro e granulometria foram determinantes nas variações das feições de absorção e intensidades de reflectância. Cada perfil mostrou características espectrais diferenciadoras entre horizontes, relacionadas à intensidade, feições de absorção e morfologia da curva. A avaliação morfológica não pode ser avaliada pelo sensor, sendo uma de suas limitações. Existe relação entre grau de intemperismo (índices ki, relação silte/argila e mineralogia) e dados espectrais. Isso foi observado nos solos originados de basalto, onde houve aumento do ferro extraído pelo ditionito (cristalino e amorfo) na sequência Nitossolo Vermelho Latossólico (NVL) em direção ao Cambissolo (C) e, aumento do ferro amorfo nesta mesma sequência. Na avaliação da topossequência completa observou-se a sequência de absorção centrada em 500 e 850 nm decrescente do Nitossolo Vermelho Latossólico em direção ao Chernossolo, ou seja, na sequência de decréscimo dos teores de ferro cristalino (hematita e goethita) e aumento de ferro amorfo, corroborado pelo aumento dos valores do índice ki. Houve relação entre os dados espectrais, o índice ki e a posição do solo na paisagem. Esses resultados mostram que a espectrorradiometria é uma ferramenta promissora para auxiliar o levantamento de solos. Entretanto, há necessidade do suporte à implantação de bibliotecas de dados espectrais de solos com acesso irrestrito aos usuários. ABSTRACTThe aim of this work was to characterise by reflectance spectroradiometry different soils along a toposequence in Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Soil samples were collected and analysed in the field, in a laboratory for chemical analysis and by Vis-NIR sensors (400-2500 nm). Changes in the soils of the toposequence could be identified in the spectral information. Such soil constituents as organic matter, mineralogy, types of iron oxide and particle size determined variations in absorption features and reflectance intensities. Each profile displayed distinctive spectral characteristics between horizons, related to intensity, absorption features and curve morphology. The sensor could not be used to carry out the morphological evaluation, this being one of its limitations. There is a relationship between the degree of weathering (KI indices, silt to clay ratio and mineralogy) and the spectral data. This was seen in the basalt-based soils, where there was an increase in the iron extracted by dithionite (crystalline and amorphous) for the sequence, Latosolic Red Nitosol (NVL) to Cambisol (C), and an increase in amorphous iron for the same sequence. Evaluation of the complete toposequence showed that the absorption sequence centred on 500 and 850 nm decreased from the Latosolic Red Nitosol towards the Cambisol, i.e. following the decrease in crystalline iron content (hematite and goethite) and the increase in amorphous iron. This was substantiated by increases in KI index values. There was a relationship between the spectral data, KI index and landscape position of the soil. These results show that spectroradiometry is a promising tool to assist in soil surveys. However there is a need to support the implementation of libraries of soil spectral data, with unrestricted user access.

RESUMO O conhecimento dos solos é cada vez mais importante para que o uso dele seja realizado corretamente na agropecuária, no crescimento urbano, na conservação dos recursos naturais, entre outros. Entretanto, verifica-se carência de profissionais qualificados para a caracterização e os mapeamentos pedológicos, particularmente em escalas de maior detalhamento. Essa carência, aliada aos avanços das ferramentas computacionais e do sensoriamento remoto, promoveu o surgimento do Mapeamento Digital de Solos (MDS), que busca auxiliar e agilizar as atividades de levantamento pedológico. Assim, este trabalho objetivou desenvolver uma metodologia de delimitaçao de unidades de solos em topossequências por meio do comportamento espectral dos solos no comprimento de onda do Visível-Infravermelho Próximo (Vis-NIR). A metodologia espectral consistiu na obtenção das curvas espectrais dos solos por meio do espectrorradiômetro FieldSpecPro e da redução do número de informações espectrais por meio da análise de Componentes Principais, seguida de agrupamento das amostras mediante método fuzzy k-médias. Foram selecionadas cinco topossequências com pontos equidistantes de 30 m para caracterizar as classes de solos e amostragens. Foram descritas oito classes de solos distintas, que tiveram caracterização detalhada e classificação em perfis pedológicos. No restante dos pontos, a caracterização das classes de solos foi feita com base na classificação dos solos realizada nos perfis pedológicos, com coleta de amostras por meio de tradagens nas profundidades de 0,00-0,20 e 0,80-1,00 m, perfazendo o total de 162 amostras ao longo das cinco topossequências. As amostras foram analisadas pelas metodologias convencional e espectral, para que os resultados pudessem ser comparados e avaliados. Dessa forma, foram realizadas análises morfológicas, físicas (textura) e químicas nas amostras de solo. Das cinco topossequências estudadas, os resultados foram satisfatoriamente semelhantes; alguns solos não foram perfeitamente individualizados pela metodologia espectral, em razão da grande semelhança em seus comportamentos espectrais, como demonstrado pelo Latossolo Vermelho Férrico e Nitossolo Vermelho Férrico. A metodologia espectral foi capaz de diferenciar solos com resposta espectral distinta e estabelecer limites nas topossequências, apresentando grande potencial para ser implementada em levantamentos pedológicos. ABSTRACT Knowledge of soils is increasingly important for their correct use in agriculture, in urban growth, and in conservation of natural resources, among other purposes. However, there is a lack of qualified professionals for pedological characterization and mapping, particularly at scales of greater detail. Due to this shortage and due to advances in computational tools and remote sensing, Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) arose in order to assist and expedite pedological survey activities. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a method for delineation of soil units in toposequences through the spectral response of soils in the Vis-NIR (Visible-Near Infrared) wavelength. The spectral method consisted of obtaining soil spectral curves by means of a spectroradiometer, FieldSpec Pro, and reduction in the amount of spectral information by Principal Component Analysis, followed by clustering of samples by the fuzzy k-means method. Five toposequences with 30 m equidistant points were selected for soil class characterization and sampling. Eight distinct soil classes were identified and received detailed characterization and classification in pedological profiles. For the remaining points, the characterization of soil classes was based on the soil classification contained in the pedological profiles, with samples collected using a soil auger at depths of 0.00-0.20 and 0.80-1.00 m, for a total of 162 samples across the five toposequences. The samples were analyzed by the conventional and spectral method so that the results could be compared and evaluated. Thus, morphological, physical (texture), and chemical analyses of soil samples were made. In the five toposequences studied, the results were similar, and some soils were not perfectly individualized by spectral method, due to great similarity in their spectral curves, as demonstrated by Latossolo Vermelho Férrico and Nitossolo Vermelho Férrico. The spectral method was able to differentiate soils with distinct spectral responses and establish limits in toposequences, showing great potential for implementation in soil surveys.

Soil science has sought to develop better techniques for the classification of soils, one of which is the use of remote sensing applications. The use of ground sensors to obtain soil spectral data has enabled the characterization of these data and the advancement of techniques for the quantification of soil attributes. In order to do this, the creation of a soil spectral library is necessary. A spectral library should be representative of the variability of the soils in a region. The objective of this study was to create a spectral library of distinct soils from several agricultural regions of Brazil. Spectral data were collected (using a Fieldspec sensor, 350-2,500 nm) for the horizons of 223 soil profiles from the regions of Matão, Paraguaçu Paulista, Andradina, Ipaussu, Mirandópolis, Piracicaba, São Carlos, Araraquara, Guararapes, Valparaíso (SP); Naviraí, Maracajú, Rio Brilhante, Três Lagoas (MS); Goianésia (GO); and Uberaba and Lagoa da Prata (MG). A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the data was then performed and a graphic representation of the spectral curve was created for each profile. The reflectance intensity of the curves was principally influenced by the levels of Fe2O3, clay, organic matter and the presence of opaque minerals. There was no change in the spectral curves in the horizons of the Latossolos, Nitossolos, and Neossolos Quartzarênicos. Argissolos had superficial horizon curves with the greatest intensity of reflection above 2,200 nm. Cambissolos and Neossolos Litólicos had curves with greater reflectance intensity in poorly developed horizons. Gleisols showed a convex curve in the region of 350-400 nm. The PCA was able to separate different data collection areas according to the region of source material. Principal component one (PC1) was correlated with the intensity of reflectance samples and PC2 with the slope between the visible and infrared samples. The use of the Spectral Library as an indicator of possible soil classes proved to be an important tool in profile classification.

Wet chemistry methods to extract soil properties such as Fe2O3, TiO2, MnO and clay are cost effective, time consuming and environmental polluter. Moreover, a large set of samples has to be collected for precise spatial mapping. Ordinary surface soil mapping is a problematic method. Accordingly, non destructive technologies, such as remote sens- ing methods can provide important vantages. The objective of the present work was to estimate soil attributes by labora- tory and orbital sensors and compare these results with soil classification. The study area is a 473 ha bare soil field located in the region of Barra Bonita, Brazil. A sampling grid of 100 by 100 m was established and the exact position of each point was georeferenced, and sent to traditional (wet) laboratory analyses. The soil samples reflectance were also acquired by a laboratory sensor using artificial illumination (450 to 2500 nm). Over the same selected ground area reflectance data were extracted from the TM-Landsat-5 image. Prediction equations between the satellite and laboratory reflectance data and the wet chemistry were generated for each attribute. Most of the generated equations presented high and significant R 2 such as for the Fe2O3 with 0.82 for laboratory and 0.67 for the orbital reflectance data. The comparison between reflec- tance estimates and laboratory wet measurements for iron presented 92.2% success for the laboratory and 91.3% for the orbital sensors. The comparison for the texture intervals, showed 65% and 50% success for laboratory and orbital data re- spectively. The iron contents obtained by the sensors allowed to better remotely classify soil classes. Soil extractions to determine these attributes can be substitute by spectral reflectance models based on the present methodology.

Traditional soil analyses are time-consuming with high cost and environmental risks, thus the use of new technologies such as remote sensing have to be estimulated. The purpose of this work was to quantify soil attributes by laboratory and orbital sensors as a non-destructive and a non-pollutant method. The study area was in the region of Barra Bonita, state of São Paulo, Brazil, in a 473 ha bare soil area. A sampling grid was established (100 × 100 m), with a total of 474 locations and a total of 948 soil samples. Each location was georeferenced and soil samples were collected for analysis. Reflectance data for each soil sample was measured with a laboratory sensor (450 to 2,500 nm). For the same locations, reflectance data was obtained from a TM-Landsat-5 image. Multiple linear regression equations were developed for 50% of the samples. Two models were developed: one for spectroradiometric laboratory data and the second for TM-Landsat-5 orbital data. The remaining 50% of the samples were used to validate the models. The test compared the attribute content quantified by the spectral models and that determined in the laboratory (conventional methods). The highest coefficients of determination for the laboratory data were for clay content (R² = 0.86) and sand (R² = 0.82) and for the orbital data (R² = 0.61 and 0.63, respectively). By using the present methodology, it was possible to estimate CEC (R² = 0.64) by the laboratory sensor. Laboratory and orbital sensors can optimize time, costs and environment pollutants when associated with traditional soil analysis. Analises de solos tradicionais consomem tempo com alto custo e riscos ambientais. Dessa forma, o uso de novas tecnologias como o sensoriamento remoto tem sido estimulado. O objetivo do trabalho foi quantificar atributos dos solos por um método não destrutivo e não poluente utilizando sensor de laboratório e orbital. A área de estudo localiza-se na região de Barra Bonita, Brasil, com 473 ha com solo exposto. Foi estabelecida uma malha de amostragem (100 m × 100 m) com 474 pontos de amostragem e um total de 948 amostras de solos. Os pontos de amostragem foram georreferenciados, e amostras de solos coletadas e enviadas para análises. Os dados de Reflectância foram obtidos para cada amostra de solo com o sensor em laboratório (450 a 2500 nm). Nos mesmos locais de amostragem de solos, foram obtidos dados de reflectância de imagens orbitais TM-Landsat-5. Equações lineares de regressão múltiplas foram desenvolvidas com 50% das amostras. Dois modelos foram desenvolvidos: o primeiro com dados de espectroradiometria de laboratório e o segundo para os dados orbitais da imagem TM Landsat-5. O restante das amostras, 50% foram utilizadas para validar o modelo. O teste comparou os valores dos atributos quantificados pelos modelos espectrais e os determinados em laboratório (método convencional). Os maiores coeficientes de determinação para os resultados de laboratório foram para argila (R² = 0,86) e areia (R² = 0,82) e para os dados orbitais (R² 0,61 e 0,63, respectivamente). Também foi possível com o presente método estimar CTC (R² = 0,64) para o sensor de laboratório, podendo otimizar tempo, custos e poluições ambientais associadas com as análises de solos tradicionais.

In recent years, geotechnologies as remote and proximal sensing and attributes derived from digital terrain elevation models indicated to be very useful for the description of soil variability. However, these information sources are rarely used together. Therefore, a methodology for assessing and specialize soil classes using the information obtained from remote/proximal sensing, GIS and technical knowledge has been applied and evaluated. Two areas of study, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, totaling approximately 28.000 ha were used for this work. First, in an area (area 1), conventional pedological mapping was done and from the soil classes found patterns were obtained with the following information: a) spectral information (forms of features and absorption intensity of spectral curves with 350 wavelengths -2,500 nm) of soil samples collected at specific points in the area (according to each soil type); b) obtaining equations for determining chemical and physical properties of the soil from the relationship between the results obtained in the laboratory by the conventional method, the levels of chemical and physical attributes with the spectral data; c) supervised classification of Landsat TM 5 images, in order to detect changes in the size of the soil particles (soil texture); d) relationship between classes relief soils and attributes. Subsequently, the obtained patterns were applied in area 2 obtain pedological classification of soils, but in GIS (ArcGIS). Finally, we developed a conventional pedological mapping in area 2 to which was compared with a digital map, ie the one obtained only with pre certain standards. The proposed methodology had a 79 % accuracy in the first categorical level of Soil Classification System, 60 % accuracy in the second category level and became less useful in the categorical level 3 (37 % accuracy).

Spectroscopic techniques have become attractive to assess soil properties because they are fast, require little labor and may reduce the amount of laboratory waste produced when compared to conventional methods. Imaging spectroscopy (IS) can have further advantages compared to laboratory or field proximal spectroscopic approaches such as providing spatially continuous information with a high density. However, the accuracy of IS derived predictions decreases when the spectral mixture of soil with other targets occurs. This paper evaluates the use of spectral data obtained by an airborne hyperspectral sensor (ProSpecTIR-VS – Aisa dual sensor) for prediction of physical and chemical properties of Brazilian highly weathered soils (i.e., Oxisols). A methodology to assess the soil spectral mixture is adapted and a progressive spectral dataset selection procedure, based on bare soil fractional cover, is proposed and tested. Satisfactory performances are obtained specially for the quantification of clay, sand and CEC using airborne sensor data (R2 of 0.77, 0.79 and 0.54; RPD of 2.14, 2.22 and 1.50, respectively), after spectral data selection is performed; although results obtained for laboratory data are more accurate (R2 of 0.92, 0.85 and 0.75; RPD of 3.52, 2.62 and 2.04, for clay, sand and CEC, respectively). Most importantly, predictions based on airborne-derived spectra for which the bare soil fractional cover is not taken into account show considerable lower accuracy, for example for clay, sand and CEC (RPD of 1.52, 1.64 and 1.16, respectively). Therefore, hyperspectral remotely sensed data can be used to predict topsoil properties of highly weathered soils, although spectral mixture of bare soil with vegetation must be considered in order to achieve an improved prediction accuracy.

Traditional soil analyses are expensive, time-consuming, and may also result in environmental pollutants. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a methodology to measure soil attributes using spectral reflectance (SR) as an alternative to traditional methods. Tropical Brazilian soils were sampled over a 196-ha area divided into grids. Samples (n 5 184) were obtained from the 0- to 20- and 80- to 100-cm depths and georeferenced. The laboratory SR data were obtained using a Spectroradiometer (400–2 500 nm). Satellite reflectance values were sampled from corrected Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images. Particle-size distribution and chemical analysis (organic matter [OM], cation-exchange capacity [CEC], total SiO2 ,F e 2O3, TiO2, sum of cations, cation, and Al saturation) were performed in the laboratory. Statistical analysis and multiple regression equations for soilattribute predictionsusingradiometricdataweredeveloped.Laboratory data used 22 bands and 13 ‘‘Reflectance Inflexion Differences, RID’’ from different wavelength intervals of the optical spectrum. However, the satellite data used only the reflectance of the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 TM-Landsat bands. Multiple regression equations were derived from surface and subsurface soil layers. Estimations of some tropical soil attributes were possible using laboratory spectral analysis. Laboratory SR yielded high correlations with traditional laboratory analyses (R 2 . 0.79) for the soil attributes such as clay, sand, TiO2, and Fe2O3. Satellite spectral data correlated well with most of the soil attributes such as clay, Fe2O3, and TiO2 (reaching R 2 5 0.72). The use of soil analysis methodology by satellite and/or ground remote sensing constitutes an alternative to traditional routine laboratory analysis.

The search for tools to perform soil surveying faster and cheaper has led to the development of technological innovations such as remote sensing (RS) and the so-called spectral libraries in recent years. However, there are no studies which collate all the RS background to demonstrate how to use this technology for soil classification. The present study aims to describe a simple method of how to classify soils by the morphology of spectra associated with a quantitative view (400-2,500 nm). For this, we constructed three spectral libraries: (i) one for quantitative model performance; (ii) a second to function as the spectral patterns; and (iii) a third to serve as a validation stage. All samples had their chemical and granulometric attributes determined by laboratory analysis and prediction models were created based on soil spectra. The system is based on seven steps summarized as follows: i) interpretation of the spectral curve intensity; ii) observation of the general shape of curves; iii) evaluation of absorption features; iv) comparison of spectral curves between the same profile horizons; v) quantification of soil attributes by spectral library models; vi) comparison of a pre-existent spectral library with unknown profile spectra; vii) most probable soil classification. A soil cannot be classified from one spectral curve alone. The behavior between the horizons of a profile, however, was correlated with its classification. In fact, the validation showed 85 % accuracy between the Morphological Interpretation of Reflectance Spectrum (MIRS) method and the traditional classification, showing the importance and potential of a combination of descriptive and quantitative evaluations.

A cor do solo é uma propriedade que deriva de alguns atributos do próprio solo, entre eles, do teor de óxidos de ferro. Desse modo, o estabelecimento de relações funcionais entre dados referentes à caracterização da cor e teores de óxidos de ferro apresenta-se como uma alternativa simples e rápida para a semiquantificação dos teores dos referidos óxidos. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi semiquantificar os teores de hematita na fração argila, em laboratório, a partir da avaliação automatizada das cores de amostras de solos do Estado de São Paulo, utilizando um colorímetro e um espectrorradiômetro. Os dados obtidos por radiometria serviram de base para a determinação da cor nos sistemas L*a*b* e Munsell, bem como para o cálculo de índices de avermelhamento (IAVs). Os IAVs apresentaram dependência funcional dos teores de hematita e foram as melhores relações verificadas com os índices determinados a partir de cores no sistema L*a*b*. Modelos exponenciais, baseados em dados obtidos por sensores, mostram-se adequados na predição dos teores de hematita. The soil color is a property that derives from some soil attributes, among them, the iron oxides content. So, the establishment of functional relationships between data related to soil color characterization and iron oxides content consists on a very useful procedure for the semiquantitative determination of the soil iron oxides contents. The present research aimed at estimating the hematite content clay fraction, in laboratory, from data related to soil color obtained by using automatic devices. Soil samples from São Paulo State, Brazil, had their clay fraction hematite contents semiquantitavely determined by the association of chemical and physical methods and their colors evaluated in laboratory through measurements made with a colorimeter and a spectroradiometer. The radiometric data were used to the determination of soil color in L*a*b* and Munsell systems and to the calculation of reddish indexes (RI). The RI values showed functional dependence of hematite contents and the best relation was verified with RI values derived from color determined in the L*a*b* system. Exponential models, developed from remote sensors, show themselves adequate in predicting the soil hematite contents.

Soil components, such as organic matter, the levels and form of iron oxides, moisture and texture, influence the interaction of the soil with electromagnetic energy, so that knowledge of the energy reflected by different classes of soil is therefore of help in their discrimination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of differentiating classes of soils along two transects, by means of the field spectral behaviour of different classes, using both visual and multivariate statistical analysis. Equidistant points were marked along the transects, 100 m apart, where geo-referenced soil samples were collected from the surface layer at a depth of 0 to 0.20 m. In the area under study, ten classes of soil were described by means of laboratory analysis of surface samples and a morphological description of the profiles, with each soil being classified according to the Brazilian System of Soil Classification. For separating soil units and establishing their boundaries in the landscape three methods were used: a) traditional, evaluating the correlation between soil and landscape; b) qualitative assessment of the spectral curves; c) multivariate analysis for discrimination of the classes of soil. Comparison of these methods made possible the use of spectroradiometry in differentiating the classes of soil, with the statistical method separating a larger number of classes. It was possible to delimit the boundaries of the soil units in the area under study, as well as differences in texture, colour, total iron and organic matter between units, by varying the spectral responses of the soil samples being tested. Os componentes do solo como matéria orgânica, teor e forma dos óxidos de ferro, umidade e textura, influenciam na interação deste com a energia eletromagnética, sendo assim o conhecimento da energia refletida por diferentes classes de solos pode auxiliar em suas discriminações. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a possibilidade de diferenciar classes de solos ao longo de dois transectos, por meio do comportamento espectral de campo de diferentes classes, utilizando para tanto a análise visual e estatística multivariada. Nos transectos foram demarcados pontos equidistantes em 100 m, de onde coletaram-se amostras de solo georreferenciadas da camada superficial, na profundidade de 0 a 0,20 m. Na área em estudo, foram descritas 10 classes de solos, por meio de análises de laboratório das amostras superficiais e descrição morfológica de perfis, sendo cada solo classificado de acordo com o Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos. Para separação das unidades de solos e estabelecimento de seus limites na paisagem utilizaram-se três métodos: a) tradicional, avaliando-se a correlação solo-paisagem; b) avaliação qualitativa das curvas espectrais e c) análise multivariada para discriminação das classes de solos. A comparação entre os métodos possibilitou avaliar o uso da espectrorradiometria na diferenciação de classes de solos, sendo que o método estatístico separou maior número de classes. Foi possível delimitar os limites das unidades de solos da área de estudo bem como as diferenças de textura, cor, ferro total e matéria orgânica entre as unidades, por meio da variação nas respostas espectrais das amostras de solos avaliadas.