Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

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Hyperspectral assessment of soil fertility in farm

fields in Fukushima decontaminated after the
radioactive fallout

Yoshio Inoue, Takashi Saito, Akira Iwasaki, Tomoaki Nemoto & Tsukasa Ono

To cite this article: Yoshio Inoue, Takashi Saito, Akira Iwasaki, Tomoaki Nemoto &
Tsukasa Ono (2020) Hyperspectral assessment of soil fertility in farm fields in Fukushima
decontaminated after the radioactive fallout, Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 66:6, 820-827,
DOI: 10.1080/00380768.2020.1753237

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Published online: 13 Dec 2020.

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Special Issue: Sensing ICT
SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION
2020, VOL. 66, NO. 6, 820–827
https://doi.org/10.1080/00380768.2020.1753237

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Hyperspectral assessment of soil fertility in farm fields in Fukushima decontaminated

after the radioactive fallout
a
Yoshio Inoue , Takashi Saitob, Akira Iwasakia, Tomoaki Nemotob and Tsukasa Onob
a
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; bFukushima Agricultural Technology Center, Minamisoma, Japan

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Farmland in the Fukushima region of Japan experienced unprecedented radioactive contamination as Received 23 December 2019
a result of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 2011. Many fields (4,950 ha; over 30,000 fields to Accepted 4 April 2020
date) have been decontaminated by replacing the top surface soil with non-contaminated soil. However, KEY WORDS
the fertility of these fields is quite low and within-field heterogeneity is marked. Accordingly, appropriate Decontamination;
management of soil and fertilizer is required for recovery of crop productivity in these decontaminated Fukushima; hyperspectral;
fields. Remote sensing can play a critical role in rapid spatial assessment of soil fertility. This preliminary nuclear pollution; remote
study investigated the potential of spectral sensing approaches based on hyperspectral reflectance sensing; soil fertility
measurements (400–2500 nm) of soil samples from a decontaminated paddy field in the Fukushima
region. Spectral index algorithms (the ratio spectral index [RSI] and normalized difference spectral index
[NDSI]) and multivariate regression methods (partial least-squares regression [PLSR] and interval PLSR
[iPLSR]) were used to identify accurate, robust predictive models. The iPLSR and PLSR showed higher
predictive accuracy than the other methods (r2val = 0.937 and 0.802, respectively). The best spectral
indices explored using RSI and NDSI have good potential for assessing the spatial variability of soil carbon
content (SC; r2val = 0.730 ~ 0.844), despite using only two wavebands. The results from the RSI map (or
NDSI map) approach provided useful information for creating optimal algorithms for assessing SC values
using various sensors, including high-resolution optical satellite sensors. Although we must note that
optimal algorithms and their applicability are often site-specific depending on soil type and surface
conditions, our results imply that these spectral sensing methods can contribute to the recovery of soil
fertility of decontaminated fields in the Fukushima region through careful calibration/validation proce-
dures with sufficient in situ data.

1. Introduction crop productivity in the decontaminated fields. For example,

deep cultivation down to 20–30 cm using rotary tillers and
Farmland in the Fukushima region experienced unprecedented
application of manure or soil conditioner has been recom-
radioactive contamination as a result of the Fukushima Nuclear
mended. Variable-rate application of organic materials or ferti-
Power Plant disaster in 2011. Public agencies have made var-
lizers based on diagnostic spatial information is promising for
ious efforts to decontaminate the farmland soils (MAFFJ 2013;
efficient use of materials and labor in the scheme of smart
MEJ 2019). The most effective decontamination method is to
farming (Inoue 2017, 2020; Inoue, Darvishzadeh, and
replace the top surface soil with non-contaminated soil,
Skidmore 2019).
because more than 90% of the radioactive cesium proved to
Appropriate diagnostic information on soil fertility is essen-
be within the top 5 cm of soil (MAFFJ 2013). The top 5 cm of soil
tial for effective soil management toward recovery of crop
was removed using backhoes and the removed soil was packed
productivity. Soil carbon (or humus) content is the most effec-
in bags and stacked in designated areas. Non-contaminated
tive indicator of soil fertility (Diacono and Montemurro 2010).
soil from nearby non-agricultural areas was transported to the
Remote sensing can play a critical role in rapid spatial assess-
fields and used for soil dressing. This method has been, and will
ment of soil fertility (Ben-Dor, Inbar, and Chen 1997;
have to be, applied to a large number of fields in the heavily
Angelopoulou et al. 2019). Many studies have suggested that
polluted area.
spectral data are related to soil properties such as soil texture
By the end of March 2019, the farmland of 4,950 ha (over
and soil organic carbon (Ladoni et al. 2010; Zhi and Inoue 2012;
30,000 fields) had been decontaminated in the coastal region
Rodionov et al. 2014).
(MEJ 2020), and the evacuation order in these decontaminated
Nevertheless, the predictive ability is highly dependent on
zones was gradually lifted. In parallel, agricultural activities had
the dataset or sensor, and accuracy and wider applicability
been restarted in some fields. Still, many fields will have to be
can be unsatisfactory (Stevens et al. 2008; Bellon-Maurel
decontaminated in the coming years.
et al. 2010; Angelopoulou et al. 2019; Vaudour et al. 2019).
However, the fertility of the decontaminated fields is quite
Accurate assessment of soil fertility, especially in low-fertility
low and within-field heterogeneity is marked. Accordingly,
soils such as in the decontaminated fields, is still challenging.
appropriate soil and fertilizer management is needed to restore
Therefore, we investigated the potential of hyperspectral

CONTACT Yoshio Inoue yoshio.inoue@mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp. Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
© 2020 Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

sensing for assessing soil fertility in decontaminated fields in
Fukushima. This paper reports the preliminary analytical
results regarding predicting the spatial heterogeneity of
soil carbon in decontaminated fields.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Soil data
In 2018, 60 soil samples were collected from a paddy field (0.5 ha)
in Tomioka-machi, Fukushima Prefecture (37°20ʹ39.35”N, 141°
0ʹ0.20”E). The residents were evacuated from the area after the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 2011. The farm-
land in the area was polluted by radionuclides, particularly radio-
active cesium. Subsequently, the heavily polluted fields were
decontaminated by replacing the surface soil layer (5–10 cm)
with new soil from nearby mountainous areas.
The original soil in the field was categorized as Skeletal
Haplic Gray Lowland Soil (Obara et al. 2011), while the
dressed soil was sandy soil. Before the soil sampling, the
paddy had been cultivated several times per year by using
a rotary cultivator to a depth of 20 cm without growing any
crops. Accordingly, the impact of decontamination on the
rice growth in the field is unknown, but serious heteroge-
neity and inferior yield was observed in nearby decontami-
nated fields. Soil samples were taken from 0–5 cm depth at
3 m × 3 m grids within the field. Samples were air-dried,
ground, passed through a 2-mm sieve, and used for chemi-
cal analyses. The moisture content of the air-dried soils was
around 15% in average. The total soil carbon (SC) and soil
nitrogen (SN) were determined using a C/N analyzer (CN
coder MT-700MK-2, Yanako, Japan).
2.2. Hyperspectral measurements
Spectral measurements were made in a controlled laboratory
environment using a portable spectroradiometer (FieldSpec-
FR, ASD, USA). The spectral range was 350–2500 nm with
a resolution (full-width at half maximum) of 3 nm for the
350–1000 nm region and 10 nm for 1000–2500 nm. The sam-
pling interval was 1.4 and 2 nm for the respective regions.
These signatures were used to generate reflectance spectra at
3-nm intervals using cubic spline interpolation, and the data-
set of 700 bands from 401 nm to 2498 nm was used for the
analyses.
Each soil sample was prepared in a 12-cm-diameter, 1.5-cm-
deep Petri dish that formed a uniform surface for the spectral
measurements. The soil surface was illuminated using four 200-
W tungsten lamps, with an incidence angle of 45°. The reflec-
tance spectrum of each soil sample was obtained using an
optical-fiber probe which was positioned perpendicular to the
soil surface. The field of view of the fiber probe was 25° and the
distance between the probe end and the soil surface was
15 cm. Five spectra were collected for each soil sample and
averaged for analyses. A white reference panel (Spectralon,
Labsphere, USA) was measured before and after measuring
every five soil samples to derive the absolute reflectance of
the soils.
SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION 821
2.3. Analytical methods
The relationship between spectral reflectance and SC values
was analyzed using the normalized spectral index (SI) approach
and multivariate regression.
2.3.1. Spectral index approach
The SI approaches such as using the normalized difference
vegetation index (NDVI) have been widely used to assess land-
surface parameters. Normalization using multiple wavebands
has proved effective in reducing the influence of various errors.
Simple algorithms that use a few wavebands are also desirable
for better applicability of low-cost sensors and rapid data pro-
cessing. Therefore, we applied the ratio spectral index (RSI) map
and normalized difference spectral index (NDSI) map
approaches to explore the optimal indices for assessing SC
values using all of the hyperspectral wavebands (Equations (1)
and (2); Inoue et al. 2008, Inoue et al. 2012). The RSI is defined as
RSIðx; yÞ ¼ x=y (1)
where x and y are the reflectance (Ri and Rj) values at i and j nm
over the entire hyperspectral region (Liu et al. 2003; Mutanga and
Skidmore 2004; Inoue et al. 2008, 2012). Similarly, NDSI is
defined as
NDSIðx; yÞ ¼ ðy  xÞ=ðx þ yÞ (2)
The RSI and NDSI maps are contour maps of statistical indica-
tors, such as the coefficient of determination (r2) between the
target variable and spectral indices (RSI or NSDI).
2.3.2. Multivariate regression methods
To increase the accuracy by making the most of a large number
of hyperspectral wavebands, we applied chemometric algo-
rithms, i.e., partial least-squares regression (PLSR) and interval
PLSR (iPLSR). PLSR reduces the multi-collinearity problem for
hyperspectral data without losing information about the con-
tribution of individual wavebands; iPLSR is an improved version
of PLSR that uses iterative waveband selection to minimize the
residual error (Norgaard et al. 2000).
The theoretical expression of the PLSR is as follows:
X
r
yi ¼ β0 þ βk Tik þ ei ; ði ¼ 1; . . . ; nÞ (3)
k¼1
X
m
Tik ¼ ckj xij ; ðk ¼ 1; . . . ; rÞ (4)
j¼1
where yi is the target variable (dependent variable), xij is the
spectral reflectance (independent variables), m is the number
of spectral bands, n is the number of samples, ei is the error,
βk is the regression coefficient, Tik is the latent variable (LV),
r is the number of latent variables, and ckj is the coefficient of
the LV. These calculations were conducted using MATLAB
(R2018a, MathWorks) and PLS toolbox (R8.7, Eigenvector).
2.3.3. Comparative assessment of model performance
Statistical indicators such as the coefficient of determination
(r2) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to compare
822 Y. INOUE ET AL.
the predictive ability of the spectral algorithms and models
using the SI, PLSR, and iPLSR methods. Because our main
purpose was to investigate the potential of hyperspectral
remote sensing for estimating the within-field heterogeneity
of SC in the decontaminated fields, a cross-validation method
was used to assess their relative capabilities.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Soil properties of the decontaminated field
In the decontaminated field, SC values were 0.43–1.94% and SN
values were 0.04–0.17%. These values are low compared to the
overall range of SC values for soil samples from the Fukushima
coastal region (SC = 0.22–8.63%; SN = 0.04–0.61%; n = 368)
obtained in 2011 by the Fukushima Agricultural Technology
Center. The coefficients of variation (CVs) of the SC and SN
values in the field were 39.2% and 35.3%, respectively, indicat-
ing significant within-field heterogeneity. A part of such spatial
heterogeneity was observable by eye to some extent because
the color of the added soil was somewhat whiter than the
original soil. However, the degree of difference could only be
observed qualitatively and the spatial heterogeneity looked
non-systematic. SC and SN values were closely correlated in
both the paddy field (r2 = 0.95; n = 60) and regional datasets
(r2 = 0.94; n = 368) (Figure 1). Because nitrogen released from
the soil is important for crop growth, these results imply that SC
values are an indirect, but reasonable, indicator of soil fertility.
3.2. Reflectance spectra of the sample soils
Figure 2 shows the reflectance spectra of all soil samples. The
overall pattern of spectral reflectance was typical of lowland
gray soils. The strong absorption around 1400 and 1940 nm is
due to water, hydroxyls, and clay (Ben-Dor, Inbar, and Chen
1997). The spectral curves and CV of each waveband clearly
show the significant spatial variability of the reflectance within
the decontaminated field. Overall, CVs were relatively high in
the visible (VIS) to near-infrared (NIR) wavelength regions (-
500–900 nm) compared to the shortwave infrared (SWIR)
region (1300–2500 nm). The highest CVs were found at around
Figure 1. Relationship between carbon (SC) and nitrogen (SN) in the soil of crop fields. (a) Data for soil samples taken in the entire area in 2011, the year of the tsunami
and nuclear disaster, and (b) data for soil from a decontaminated paddy field in 2018.
600 nm. This high variability in the VIS region is due to the
differences in soil color related to the electronic transitions in
chromophores. In general, soil becomes darker with increasing
SC (Ladoni et al. 2010).
In the NIR and SWIR regions, some weak absorption
occurred due to stretching and bending of the N–H, O–H, and
C–H bonds; such spectral changes are related to SC values via
the differences in lignin, cellulose, and other carbohydrates
(Stuart 2004). Accordingly, even with a relatively small CV, the
spectral changes in some narrow bands are closely related to
SC values. This is the basis for the cellulose absorption index
(CAI) proposed for discriminating crop residues on soil
(Daughtry 2001). Derivative spectra can be useful for detecting
such weak changes in narrow wavebands (Zhi and Inoue 2012).
Accordingly, the correlation between the reflectance of indi-
vidual wavelengths and SC values was relatively high
(r2 = 0.60–0.78) in the 500–1850-nm spectral region compared
to the 400–500 and 1850–2500-nm regions (Figure 2). There
was an absorption peak of cellulose at around 2100 nm.
Nevertheless, the correlation was not as high as in the
500–1850-nm region. Of note, the 500–700-nm region corre-
lated best with SC values for this soil type. The correlation of
reflectance with SN values showed a similar spectral pattern,
but the correlation coefficient was somewhat lower than that
for SC. This significant correlation with SN can be attributed to
the high correlation between SN and SC (Figure 1).
3.3. Spectral indices for assessing SC
The analytical results imply that some RSIs and NDSIs are
promising (Figure 3). Figure 3 shows a contour map of r2
between SC and RSI (Ri, Rj) using the reflectance values (Ri
and Rj nm) for all combinations of two wavebands. The highest
r2val (0.844) was found in the red-edge region, i.e., RSI (R752,
R743), although the peak was narrow. The second-best region
(r2val = 0.809) was a broad area around RSI (R803, R629), which
implied robustness against a wavelength shift or applicability
to broadband sensors. The third-best index used SWIR band
R1697 with R581, which was also a broad spectral region, but
the predictive ability was lower (r2val = 0.755). The scatterplots
 SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION 823

Figure 2. Reflectance spectra of 60 soil samples from a decontaminated paddy field and their relations with soil properties (SC, SN, and C/N ratio).

show the close relationship and overall linearity between these 3.4. PSLRs for assessing SC
spectral indices and SC values (Figure 4, Table 1).
The predictive ability of iPLSR for this dataset is shown in
The results of another spectral index NDSI (Rj, Ri) implied
Figure 5 (r2val = 0.937); it was superior to PLSR
that similar waveband combinations to those for RSI are sig-
(r2val = 0.802). Note that PLSR using all 700 bands had
nificant. While the overall predictive ability of NDSIs was some-
lower predictive ability than iPLSR using 412 wavebands.
what lower than that of RSIs, NDSI (R743, R753) was best
This might have resulted from the influence of useless or
(r2val = 0.843) and NDSI (R581, R1697) was second best
disturbing wavebands. By contrast, the discrepancy between
(r2val = 0.730).
calibration and validation accuracy was much larger for
The results imply that the VIS and NIR wavebands are useful
PLSR (18%) than for iPLSR (5.5%), presumably because of
for assessing within-field variability of SC values in this soil. Based
stronger multicollinearity in PLSR. Accordingly, iPLSR may
on the selected wavebands, the spectral absorption of soil com-
be more powerful than PLSR for assessing SC values, as
ponents such as lignin, cellulose, and carbohydrate, which are
reported for hyperspectral assessment of plant ecophysiolo-
directly related to SC, may not contribute strongly to the overall
gical variables (Inoue et al. 2016). The 412 bands selected in
soil spectra. Conversely, the changes in soil color, which are
iPLSR were summarized into 15 latent variables that con-
closely related to these constituents, contribute more signifi-
sisted of multiple wavebands in the VIS, NIR, and SWIR
cantly to indirect assessment of SC values. This implies that the
regions. The majority of the selected wavebands had high
predictive ability of spectral indices is highly dependent on soil
correlations with SC values, but some were not always
type, because the relative significance of wavebands is affected
strongly correlated with SC values. As suggested by pre-
by the integrated effects of the absorptive features of SC com-
vious studies (Bartholomeus et al. 2008; Bellon-Maurel and
ponents, as well as their relationships with soil color and soil
McBratney 2011; Ladoni et al. 2010; Xu et al. 2018), the
texture. These results accord with the general insights from
model structure (combinations and contributions of wave-
preceding studies indicating that useful wavebands and models
bands) is highly dataset dependent. Accordingly, in addition
are diverse, depending on soil types and locations (Stevens et al.
to sufficient calibration and validation, a careful application
2008; Zhi and Inoue 2012; Bellon-Maurel et al. 2010;
strategy in terms of soil types, surface conditions, and sen-
Angelopoulou et al. 2019; Castaldi et al. 2019).
sor specifications is required.
824 Y. INOUE ET AL.

Figure 3. RSI map of the relationship between SC values and RSI (Ri, Rj) using the combination of two wavebands (Ri, Rj) from the entire reflectance spectra. This
contour map shows the predictive ability (r2) of SC values by RSI (Ri, Rj) (n = 60).

Figure 4. Relationship between SC values and some promising spectral indices selected from the RSI map.

3.5. Comparison of the predictive methods useful (Daughtry 2001; Nagler et al. 2003). The CAI may be
robust, in principle, because it is based on the spectral features
Table 1 compares the predictive ability and necessary wave-
of a soil component (cellulose) with reasonable normalization.
bands of all algorithms. The multivariate models (iPLSR and
However, the predictive accuracy is not always high because
PLSR) had higher predictive accuracy compared to the other
the signature may be disturbed by other soil physicochemical
methods. However, the robustness or applicability of multivari-
factors.
ate models is often uncertain, even if the fitting to individual
The optimized spectral indices with the RSI and NDSI for-
datasets is excellent. In fact, the discrepancy between r2val and
mulations proved to have good potential for spectral assess-
r2cal was largest for PLSR (18%), while it was 1.3 to 5.5% for the
ment of the spatial variability of SC despite using only two
other algorithms. Care should be taken regarding the multicolli-
wavebands. The simplicity and wide applicability of spectral
nearity and over-fitting issues of multivariate methods (Inoue
indices, particularly with broad wavebands, is of significant
et al. 2012). In addition, note that the applicability of PLSR models
merit. The influence of disturbing factors such as moisture
is constrained by the sensor specifications of individual systems
content and measuring environments would be reduced by
(number, position, and width of wavebands). This would be
spectral normalization using multiple wavebands (Inoue et al.
a case for machine learning methods (Ali et al. 2015).
2016). In this preliminary case study, several spectral indices
The CAI using three SWIR bands, including the absorption
using VIS to NIR wavelength regions proved promising, but
peak of cellulose (2100 nm), was moderately correlated with SC
their close relationship with SC values was attributed mainly
values (r2val = 0.663). CAI is thought to be able to discriminate or
to changes in soil color associated with the decontamination
quantify crop residues on the soil surface, and has proven to be
 SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION 825

Table 1. Comparison of the fitting and predictive ability of the generalized spectral index method (NDSI and RSI) and multivariate regression methods (PLSR and
iPLSR).
Algorithm Bands Ri (mm) r2cal RMSEcal r2val RMSEval
1 539 0.776 0.189 0.759 0.196
NDSI Bands Rj (nm) Ri (mm) r2cal RMSEcal r2val RMSEval
2 752 743 0.855 0.152 0.843 0.158
2 1691 581 0.753 0.199 0.730 0.208
RSI Bands Ri (nm) Rj (nm) r2cal RMSEcal r2val RMSEval
2 752 743 0.855 0.152 0.844 0.158
2 803 629 0.824 0.168 0.809 0.175
2 1697 581 0.774 0.190 0.755 0.198
2 2210 581 0.766 0.193 0.744 0.202
CAI Bands Ri (nm) r2cal RMSEcal r2val RMSEval
2000
3 2100 0.688 0.233 0.633 0.232
2200
PLSR Bands Rn (nm) NLV r2cal RMSEcal r2val RMSEval
700 – 12 0.976 0.063 0.802 0.182
iPLSR Bands Rn (nm) NLV r2cal RMSEcal r2val RMSEval
412 – 15 0.992 0.037 0.938 0.100
Rλ: reflectance at λ nm, SI: spectral index. PLSR: partial least squares regression, iPLSR: interval PLSR, cal: calibration, val: validation, NLV: number of latent
variables.

drones), and cost have to be considered (Inoue and

Figure 5. Predictive ability of the iPLSR model using 412 of the 700 wavebands.
procedures (removal of contaminated soil and dressing with
new soil). These results imply that changes in soil color can
provide sufficient information on SC values, as the chemical
components of SC in soil are closely related to soil color. Note
that the capability of spectral methods is highly dependent on
the intimate relationship between the reflectance spectra and
the major carbon constituents of a target soil.
These approaches would be useful for on-the-go sensing of
within-field variability of SC values, as attempted by Tabatabai
et al. (2019). Most such attempts have applied PLSR, but the
selection of a suitable method is essential for operational use of
spectral sensing aimed at improving soil fertility. The opera-
tional demands for spatial resolution, simplicity of spectral
calculation, moving speed of platform (e.g., tractors and
Yokoyama 2019). By contrast, for regional-scale assessment of
SC values in individual fields, high-resolution satellites (~5 m)
are promising, as suggested by Inoue (2017, 2020) and
Gholizadeh et al. (2018). The spectral range of such optical
satellite sensors is presently limited to the VIS–NIR region, and
they are equipped with a limited number of broad wavebands.
However, our results show that several spectral indices can be
applied to such sensor specifications. Several error sources
related to soil-surface conditions have to be considered, as
suggested by Vaudour et al. (2019), but our results imply the
potential of this method.
Nevertheless, as mentioned above, the predictive accuracy
and applicability of models are affected by several conditions
(soil moisture, roughness, disturbance by residues, or vegeta-
tion) and the limitations inherent to calibration datasets
(Bogrekci and Lee 2006; Lobell and Asner 2002; Udelhoven,
Emmerling, and Jarmer 2003; Nocita et al. 2013; Rodionov
et al. 2014). In fact, most previous studies based on different
datasets in different study areas (soil types) suggested that
predictive algorithms and their applicability are site specific,
depending on individual calibration datasets (Stevens et al.
2008; Vaudour et al. 2019).
In this particular application aimed at recovery of the soil
fertility of decontaminated fields in the Fukushima region,
careful calibration/validation with sufficient in situ data for
the region is essential. A large number of soil samples will be
collected from the region, and they will facilitate the devel-
opment of ground-, drone-, and satellite-based remote sen-
sing methods for assessing soil fertility. In order to ensure
the sufficient predictive accuracy and wider applicability, it is
reasonable to derive a few algorithms for several groups of
soil types with similar physicochemical characteristics. For
example, Zhi and Inoue (2012) showed that the predictive
accuracy was much improved by dividing the diverse types
of soils into Andisols and non-Andisol groups. Since the
826 Y. INOUE ET AL.
information on soil types (series group) is available online for
all farmland in Japan (Obara et al. 2011), the present
approach would be applicable to any location by using
several sets of algorithms determined for several groups of
soil types.
4. Conclusions
This preliminary case study investigated the potential of spec-
tral methods for assessing soil fertility after decontamination of
fields that were polluted by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
disaster in 2011.
Our hyperspectral analyses using in situ measurements
proved that several spectral indices (RSIs and NDSIs) and multi-
variate methods (iPLSR) are promising for assessing SC values.
The RSI map (or NDSI map) provided useful information for
creating optimal algorithms for assessing SC using various
sensors, including high-resolution optical-satellite and drone-
based remote sensors. Systematic collection of hyperspectral
data for diverse soils would play an critical role. Based on care-
ful calibration/validation with in situ data for the region, spec-
tral methods can enable accurate, robust, and rapid assessment
of SC values. Additionally, note that the predictive accuracy,
robustness (wider applicability), and simplicity (cost of sensors
and systems) should be balanced in operational applications.
Currently, agricultural activities have restarted only in some
decontaminated fields. However, many fields will be deconta-
minated in the coming years. Because the SC value is a good
indicator of soil fertility, these spectral methods should contri-
bute to the diagnosis and management of the recovery of crop
productivity in decontaminated fields in the Fukushima region.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Mr. Noboru Watanabe for allowing our soil sampling in
his decontaminated fields. This work was supported in part by MAFF-FIC
program by Japanese Government.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Yoshio Inoue http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4682-848X
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