Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR04182
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 43(6)

Ultra-violet, visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopic techniques to predict several soil properties

Adam Pirie A , Balwant Singh A B and Kamrunnahar Islam A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: b.singh@acss.usyd.edu.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 43(6) 713-721 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR04182
Submitted: 22 December 2004  Accepted: 26 May 2005   Published: 22 September 2005

Abstract

Reflectance spectroscopy techniques in the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared regions are alternatives for many traditional laboratory methods for measuring soil properties. However, debate exists over whether the near-infrared (700–2500 nm) or the mid-infrared (MIR, 2500–25000 nm) region of the electromagnetic spectrum is more useful for predicting soil properties. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare UV-VIS-NIR and MIR spectroscopic techniques to predict several soil properties. A total of 415 surface and subsurface soil samples were collected from widely spread locations within New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland of Australia to model the proposed hypothesis. Principal component regression analysis (PCR) was used to develop calibration and validation models from soil spectra and reference laboratory values. The models developed using MIR spectra achieved higher prediction accuracy (regression coefficient, r2 = 0.62–0.85) for pH, organic carbon, clay, sand, CEC, and exchangeable Ca and Mg than that obtained by UV-VIS-NIR spectra (r2 = 0.28–0.76). PCR models were also developed for the combined spectral regions (UV-VIS-NIR+MIR). The models developed using combined spectra were also found to predict pH, organic carbon, clay, sand, CEC, and exchangeable Ca and Mg with acceptable accuracy (r2 = 0.59–0.79). The results of this study indicate that MIR spectra are better than UV-VIS-NIR spectra for estimation of common soil properties.

Additional keywords: reflectance spectroscopy, non-destructive technique, soil testing.


Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Greg Chapman, Helmut Rieche, Nicole Simons, and Michael Stone from the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, NSW for providing soil samples and chemical data.


References


Atkinson, AC (1985). ‘Plots, transformations and regressions.’ (Oxford University Press: New York)

Batten GD (1998) Plant analysis using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy: the potential and the limitations. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38, 697–706.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ben-Dor E, Banin A (1995) Near-infrared analysis as a rapid method to simultaneously evaluate several soil properties. Soil Science Society of America Journal 59, 364–372. open url image1

Bertrand I, Janik LJ, Holloway RE, Armstrong RD, McLaughlin MJ (2002) The rapid assessment of concentrations and solid phase associations of macro- and micronutrients in alkaline soils by mid-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Australian Journal of Soil Research 40, 1339–1356.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bouma J, Stoorvogel J, Van Alphen BJ, Booltink HWG (1999) Pedology, precision agriculture, and the changing paradigm of agricultural research. Soil Science Society of America Journal 63, 1763–1768. open url image1

Chang C-W, Laird DA, Mausbach MJ, Hurburgh CR (2001) Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy-principal components regression analysis of soil properties. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 480–490. open url image1

Dalal RC, Henry RJ (1986) Simultaneous determination of measure, organic carbon, and total nitrogen by near infrared spectrophotometry. Soil Science Society of America Journal 50, 120–123. open url image1

Dardenne P, Sinnaeve G, Baeten V (2000) Multivariate calibration and chemometrics for near infrared spectroscopy: which method. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy 8, 229–237. open url image1

Dunn BW, Beecher HG, Batten GD, Ciavella S (2002) The potential of near-infrared reflectance for soil analysis – a case study from the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 42, 607–614. open url image1

Eshani MR, Upadhyaya SK, Fawcett WR, Protsailo LV, Slaughter D (2001) Feasibilty of detecting soil nitrate content using a mid-infrared technique. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 44, 1931–1940. open url image1

Farmer VC (1974) The layer silicates. ‘The infrared spectra of minerals’. (Ed. VC Framer) pp. 331–365. (Mineralogical Society: London)

Frost RL, Oliver BL, Huada R, Kloprogge JT (2001) Near-infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopic study of sepiolites and palygorskites. Vibrational Spectroscopy 27, 1–13.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Gee GW, Bauder JW (1986) Particle size analysis. ‘Methods of soil analysis’. (Ed. A Klute) pp. 383–411. (American Society of Agronomy: Madison, WI)

van Groenigen JW, Mutters CS, Horwath WR, Kessel CV (2003) NIR and DRIFT-MIR spectrometry of soils for predicting soil and crop parameters in a flooded field. Plant and Soil 250, 155–165.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Haberhauer G, Rafferty B, Strebl F, Gerzabek MH (1998) Comparison of the forest soil litter derived from three different sites at various decompositional stages using FTIR spectroscopy. Geoderma 83, 331–342.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hunt GR (1980) Spectroscopic properties of rocks and minerals. ‘Handbook of physical properties of rocks’. (Ed. CR Stewart) pp. 295–385. (CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL)

Isbell, RF (1996). ‘The Australian Soil Classification.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Vic.)

Islam K, Singh B, McBratney A (2003) Simultaneous estimation of several soil properties by ultra-violet, visible, and near-infrared spectroscopy. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 1101–1114. open url image1

Islam K, Singh B, Schwenke G, McBratney A (2004) Evaluation of Vertosol soil fertility using ultra-violet, visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. ‘Proceedings of Supersoil 2004, The 3rd Australian New Zealand Soils Conference’. University of Sydney, Australia, 5–9 December 2004. (Ed. B Singh ) (CD-Rom)


Islam K, Singh B, McBratney A (2004) Estimation of soil colour from visible reflectance spectra. In ‘Proceedings of Supersoil 2004, The 3rd Australian New Zealand Soils Conference’. University of Sydney, Australia, 5–9 December 2004. (Ed. B Singh ) (CD Rom)


Janik LJ, Skjemstad JO (1995) Characterization and analysis of soils using mid-infrared partial least squares. II. Correlations with some laboratory data. Australian Journal of Soil Research 33, 637–650.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Janik LJ, Skjemstad JO, Raven MD (1995) Characterization and analysis of soils using mid-infrared partial least squares. I. Correlations with XRF-determined major element composition. Australian Journal of Soil Research 33, 621–636.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Janik LJ, Merry RH, Skjemstad JO (1998) Can mid infrared diffuse reflectance analysis replace soil extractions? Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38, 681–696.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Malley DF, Yesmin L, Wray D, Edwards S (1999) Application of near-infrared spectroscopy in analysis of soil mineral nutrients. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 30, 999–1012. open url image1

Martens, H ,  and  Naes, T (1996). ‘Multivariate calibration.’ (John Wiley and Sons: Chichester, UK)

McCarty G, Reeves JB, Follett RF, Kimble JM (2002) Mid-Infrared and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for soil carbon measurement. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 640–646. open url image1

McCleod S (1973) Studies on wet oxidation procedures for the determination of organic carbon in soil. ‘Notes on soil techniques’. pp. 73–79. (CSIRO Division of Soils: Melbourne, Vic.)

Morra MJ, Hall MH, Freeborn LL (1991) Carbon and nitrogen analysis of soil fractions using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Soil Science Society of America Journal 55, 288–291. open url image1

Rayment, GE ,  and  Higginson, FR (1992). ‘Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne, Vic.)

Reeves JB, McCarty GW, Reeves VB (2001) Mid-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for the quantitative analysis of agricultural soils. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 49, 766–772.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

SAS (2002). ‘Statistics and graphics guide: JMP version 5.0.’ (SAS Institute: Cary, NC)

Savitzky A, Golay MJ (1964) Smoothing and differentiation of data by simplified least squares procedure. Analytical Chemistry 36, 1627–1639.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Schwertmann U, Taylor RM (1989) Iron oxides. ‘Minerals in soil environments’. (Eds JB Dixon, SB Weed) pp. 379–438. (Soil Science Society of America: Madison, WI)

Shepherd KD, Walsh MG (2002) Development of spectral libraries for characterization of soil properties. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 988–998. open url image1

Starr C, Morgan AG, Smith DB (1981) Analysis of near-infrared analysis in some plant breeding programmes. Journal of Agricultural Science 97, 107–111. open url image1

Workman JJ (1992) NIR spectroscopy calibration basics. ‘Handbook of near-infrared analysis’. (Eds DA Burns, EW Ciurczak) pp. 247–280. (Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York)