Spectrometry for better soil fertility management in Abbay River Basin

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine how soil bunds affected important soil characteristics based on the soil's reflectance in Aba Gerima, an Ethiopian midland of the Abbay River Basin. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 30 cm of the soil depth in 48 plots for soil texture, pH, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (av. P), and available potassium (av. K). Using a spectroradiometer, we evaluated the reflectance of soils that had been air‐dried, pulverized, and sieved. To locate and forecast the change in soil parameters, we employed regression modeling. We identified and predicted soil properties using the models, which were evaluated by the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error. Soils from bunded plots had less reflection. Higher amounts of clay (61%), OC (2.30%), av. P (13.72 ppm), and av. K (116.55 mg/kg) were found in bunded plots. For calibration data, R2 was 0.93, 0.83, and 0.82 for clay, sand, and OC contents, respectively. Spectroradiometry could therefore complement conventional soil analysis. More study is needed to enhance spectroscopy's prediction performance.