Predicting and Mapping Soil Carbon Using Visible Near Infrared Spectroscopy (Vis-NIR)

Soil is a huge source of carbon, containing more of the element than both vegetation and the atmosphere.

A Key indicator for soil quality is SOC (Soil Organic Carbon), which determines the soil’s capacity to produce crops and plants. Because of this, there is a need to gather highly accurate data for SOC stocks. SOC stocks have a huge impact on global climate through the exchange in carbon between soil and the atmosphere, and also for global food security as the population is ever increasing.

Researchers at Aarhus University set out to determine the potential of Vis-NIR for predicting SOC at both a field scale and a national scale through their project “Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Soil Organic Carbon in Cultivated Landscapes”. The project was funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Technology and Production.

Over the course of the project, there were numerous experiments that examined a variety of Vis-NIR soil applications, all of which used ASD’s Labspec 5100. The experiments were the following:

• Investigation of the effect of soil spectra pretreatment on the ability to build prediction models for SOC. To this end, 3000 air-dried soil samples previously collected in the 7-km national grid sampling scheme of Denmark were scanned with a LabSpec 5100 (range 350-2500 nm) using a Muglight as the light source.
• The effect of soil moisture on SOC prediction by vis-NIR spectroscopy for a wide range of soil moisture contents.
• The application of vis-NIR for monitoring SOC change.
• Investigation of the potential of using Vis-NIR for mapping the 3-dimensional distribution of SOC at the field scale.

The project concluded that the LabSpec 5100 Vis-NIR Spectrometer was an efficient, inexpensive and accurate method for estimating SOC content and SOC changes over time. The innovative method proved to increase the efficiency of both lab and field soil testing.

The LabSpec 5100 has been upgraded and remastered with the new faster, more accurate and more portable LabSpec 4 Vis-NIR spectrometer (350-2500 nm). It is a versatile and precise measurement device in a mobile package. Designed for the industrial, manufacturing, laboratory, and field environments.

Analytik are exclusive UK and Ireland suppliers of ASD’s high performance portable spectrometers for the lab, the field and the factory.

Find out more about the LabSpec 4 Vis-NIR spectrometer through either the datasheets provided below, or click the button to continue to our product page:

Source: Aarhus University. To read the original article, please click the button below.