Creating a soil parent material map digitally using a combination of interpretation and statistical techniques
Ho Jun Jang
A B , Mercedes Roman Dobarco A , Budiman Minasny A and Alex McBratney A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: hojun.jang@sydney.edu.au
Soil Research 59(7) 684-698 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR20212
Submitted: 1 August 2020 Accepted: 24 February 2021 Published: 19 May 2021
Abstract
In this study, a map of soil parent material is created to support the delineation of soil properties and classes of the Narrabri Shire, NSW. Currently, available information in this study area is geological and lithological maps at a scale of 1:250 000 to 1:1 000 000. These maps are not detailed, and the description in some areas is not accurate. Thus, this study created a new parent material map using information from the geological and lithology information, barest earth satellite imagery, gamma radiometric, topography, prior soil map and digital soil texture maps (clay and sand content). Based on interpretation and parent material observations, 18 parent material classes were delineated in the area. The 18 classes were then modelled using Linear Discriminant Analysis using Digital Elevation Model, slope, topographic wetness index, Gamma potassium (K) and thorium (Th), Ratio K to Th and soil visible and near infrared (NIR) reflectance (created using RGB and NIR bands) as covariates. This modelling process was iterated 50 times, and the most frequently predicted class was assigned to each of the 90 m × 90 m pixels throughout the study area. A map of the frequency of the predicted classes was also created to assess modelling uncertainty. The new parent material map consists of sedimentary residuals (sandstone), volcanic materials (basalt), alluvium and colluvium. The alluvium can be distinguished into six classes according to slope, soil information from satellite images and soil texture. The colluvium consists of three classes with a characteristic of high clay content (smectitic) and brown in colour (kaolinitic). Using similar approaches, such soil parent material or substrate maps could be developed for different regions in Australia. This method generated unique soil parent material classes combining stratigraphy, lithology and geomorphology.
Keywords: geomorphology, lithology, soil-forming factors, soil parent material, digital soil mapping, soil texture map, satellite imagery, stratigraphy, Linear Discriminant Analysis, decision tree, pedometrics
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