Spectroscopy as an Alternative for Soil Monitoring

Soil spectroscopy is the process of estimating soil properties from near- and/or mid-infrared spectra captured from soil samples, either in the field or in a lab. It has the potential to replace costly and time-consuming wet chemistry analyses with quick, low-cost, and accurate predictions of physicochemical soil attributes based on spectral patterns in near- and mid-infrared regions. Currently, there is a lack of a universally accepted protocol that can be applied for monitoring specific soil properties. These heterogeneities introduce barriers to merging datasets (referred to as soil spectral libraries) developed by different laboratories, as both systematic and non-systematic errors are introduced, and thus, model-based estimations, which are necessary for inferring soil spectra, contain high uncertainties.

In an effort to address these challenges, ‘IEEE P4005: Standards and protocols for soil spectroscopy’ was developed, bringing together the soil spectroscopy research community. Its aim is to develop a universally accepted protocol for creating harmonized and standardized spectral libraries that are compatible with each other. This initiative aims to promote soil spectroscopy as a reliable method for measuring soil properties in both field and laboratory settings.