REMOTE SENSING FOR SOIL SCIENCE

Harm Bartholomeus
Introduction

PROSPECT- SAILH - LAI effect

SPHERICAL LIDF

70

60

50
LAI=0
LAI=0.5
40
R e fle c ta n c e

LAI=1.0
LAI=2.0
LAI=4.0
30
LAI=8.0

20

10

0
400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400
Wavelength (nm)
Soil….

Soil Scientist “Remote” Sensing

Info about soils from remote sensing 1/5
(between 0.400 ,m and 2.500 ,m)

By observations of:

Crop cover and vegetation
 Relation between crop or vegetation and soil
 Relation between crop development and soil

Bare soil surface
 Relation between soil surface and soil

Topography (relief differences)
 Relation between topography and soil
Info about soils from remote sensing 2/5

Landsat 5 TM 1995: bands 4,5,3 6> R,G,B

Info about soils from remote sensing 3/5

Caesar 1260761994 Bemmelenhoeve

Info about soils from remote sensing 4/5

Bemmelenhoeve 2
Info about soils from remote sensing 5/5

Olive trees
Iron rich soil

ROSIS: RGB = 60, 40, 20

Radiance of Exposed Soil

Lt = Lp + Ls + Lv

Lt = at6sensor radiance of a pixel of exposed soil

Lp = atmospheric path radiance, usually needs to be removed through
atmospheric correction

Optical 6> combined

Ls = radiance reflected off the air6soil interface (boundary layer)
 Soil organic matter and soil moisture content significantly impact Ls; typically
characterize the O horizon, the A horizon (if no O), or lower levels if A and O are
nonexistent.

Lv = volume scattering, EMR which penetrates a few mm to cm.
 penetrates approximate 1/2 the wavelength
 Function of the wavelength (so RADAR may penetrate farther), type and amount of
organic/inorganic constituents, shape and density of minerals, degree of mineral
compaction, and the amount of soil moisture present.

Source: ERS 186 Environmental Remote Sensing; S. Ustin

Radiance of Exposed Soil

Source: ERS 186 Environmental Remote Sensing; S. Ustin

Main factors influencing soil reflectance

For bare soils:
 Roughness and texture
 Organic matter content
 Moisture condition (re6reflecting, OH6)
 Mineralogical composition (OH6, CO326, Fe2+, Fe3+, …)

Causes of specific absorption bands:
 Electronic processes: short wavelength; absorption bands
• Fe: UV, 0.400 ,m – 1.000 ,m
 Vibrational processes: long wavelength, (relatively) narrow
bands.
• OH: 1.450 ,m, 1.950 ,m
• OH: >1.000 ,m (minerals containing OH, H2O)
 Surface Roughness

A rough surface generally reflects
Opt.

less, due to self6shadowing effects

and multiple scattering

If a surface is smooth (particles
smaller than wavelength), specular
reflection is important.
 No return – surface dark – unless
sensor correctly positioned and
Microwave

pointed in specular direction.

 Smooth soil surfaces tend to be
clayey or silty, often are moist and
may contain strong absorbers such as
organic content and iron oxide.

Conversely, a rough surface scatters
EMR and thus appears bright.
 But paradoxically, microwave data of
well drained sands are often very
bright, while clay6soils are dark,
regardless of angle. Why?

Source: ERS 186 Environmental Remote Sensing; S. Ustin

 Organic Matter 1/2
Spectral Signature for three soils with varying SOC content
50
0.40
Set 1
40 Set 2
0.35 4.00
0.30 22.90
30

SOC [%]
45.10
Reflectance [-]

0.25

0.20 20
0.15
10
0.10

0.05
0
0.00 0 50 100 150
350 850 1350 1850 2350
Summed Reflectance 400-700 nm [-]
Wavelength [nm]

• OM 6> decrease in R
• Above 2% masking of other absorption features
• No distinct absorption features
Organic Matter 2/2

Organic matter content in the Santa Monica mountains mapped

using AVIRIS (Palacios6Orueta et al. 1999).
Soil Moisture 1/2
specular incident energy
reflectance

Water ‘coats’ particles, filling air spaces and

reducing the amount of multiply scattered
light, so soils with more moisture will be dry
darker in the VNIR and SWIR than drier soils. soil

Moist soils will also be darker in the SWIR a.

interstitial
air space
specular reflectance
volume reflectance
region where water absorption increases specular incident energy
significantly with increasing wavelength. reflectance

The depths of the water absorption bands at

1.4, 1.9 and 2.7 µm can be used to
determine soil moisture.
 (But why is this often not possible??)
wet
b. soil
soil water

Source: ERS 186 Environmental Remote Sensing; S. Ustin

Soil Moisture and Texture 2/2

60 Sand
Sand
Sand 0 – 4% moisture content
50
40
Clays hold more water
30 5 – 12% more ‘tightly’ than sand.
20 22 – 32%
10
Thus, clay spectra display
0
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5
more prominent water
a.
60
absorption bands than sand
50
Clay
Clay
Clay
2 – 6%
spectra.
40

30

AVIRIS can be useful for
20 quantifying these absorption
10
35 – 40 %
features.
0
0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5
b. Wavelength ( µm)

Source: ERS 186 Environmental Remote Sensing; S. Ustin

Mineralogical composition – Fe 1/4

Fieldspectra of soils with varying iron content

0.5 11.80%

0.4 15.30%
19.50%
re f le c t a n c e
0.3

0.2

0.1

0
350 750 1150 1550 1950 2350
wavelength (nm)
Mineralogical composition – Fe 2/4

Reflectance spectra of iron bearing minerals (Goetz, 1989)

 Mineralogical composition – Fe 3/4

0 Iron Content [mass %] 20

Mineralogical composition – OH 4/4

Reflection spectra of OH bearing minerals (Goetz, 1989)

Characteristic bare soil curves

(Stoner and Baumgardner, 1981)

Conclusions / Remarks

For general information about soil types Landsat6type data

can be used

For quantitative retrieval of soil parameters (organic matter,
iron, moisture) detailed spectral measurements are needed
6> imaging spectrometry

Analysis within one soil6type is usually straightforward,
models are not always (seldom??) applicable on several soil
types.

Vegetation is annoying (Tell this to Dr. Clevers!! ☺)

But it is also the big challenge to unravel the vegetation6soil
interaction (e.g. for monitoring of carbon6sequestration )
Questions so far?

© Wageningen UR
For the Exercises: Continuum removal

 Continuum Removal is used to normalize reflectance spectra

to allow comparison of individual absorption features from a
common baseline.
 The continuum is a convex hull fit over the top of a spectrum
utilizing straight line segments that connect local spectra
maxima.
 The first and last spectral data values are on the hull and
therefore the first and last bands in the output continuum6
removed data file are equal to 1.0.
(Source: ENVI online help)

Convex hull
For the Exercises: Continuum removal
Continuum removed lab spectra with
varying iron content
1

co n tin u u m rem o ved valu e

0.9

0.8

0.7 11.80%
12.30%
0.6
15.30%
0.5
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
w avelength (nm)
Answers: influence of roughness and water