The Brazilian soil quality determined by geotechnologies: mapping, interpretation and agricultural/environmental applications: a legacy for society

• Grant number: 21/05129-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: January 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: José Alexandre Melo Demattê
• Grantee: José Alexandre Melo Demattê
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Benito Roberto Bonfatti ; Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri ; Carlos Ernesto Gonçalves Reynaud Schaefer ; Elpidio Inacio Fernandes Filho ; Fabrício da Silva Terra ; Fernando Dini Andreote ; Luiz Eduardo Vicente ; Marcio Rocha Francelino ; Marcos Rafael Nanni ; Marilusa Pinto Coelholacerda ; Maurício Roberto Cherubin ; Nilton Curi ; Paulo Cesar Sentelhas ; Peterson Ricardo Fiorio ; Quirijn de Jong van Lier ; Sérgio Henrique Godinho Silva
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/11100-0 - The Global Soil Health Map: Implications for Society, BP.PD; 23/17876-8 - Spatial assessment of soil quality in Brazil and its relationships with Brazilian agricultural expansion, productivity potential and climate change, BP.PD; 23/13708-3 - Detailed mapping of hematite and goethite in Brazilian soils using spectral data and machine learning, BP.IC; + associated scholarships 23/11350-4 - Detailed mapping of key indicators to assess soil quality from 0 to 100 cm deep throughout the Brazilian territory, BP.DD; 22/14935-0 - Data surveying and detailed evaluation of soil quality in pilot areas: bases for validating the soil quality map in Brazil, BP.PD; 22/13995-0 - Spatio-temporal mapping of organic carbon stock, BP.IC; 22/11034-2 - Digital mapping of soy productivity with emphasis on soils inserted via remote sensing in simulation models (Southeast and Midwest regions of Brazil), BP.DD - associated scholarships

Abstract

This project will use data and technologies developed in the thematic project 2014-2262-0, to optimize its use for all Brazilian community and its international insertion, with a brand new objective. Follow. With our need to address global existential challenges of food, water, and energy security, maintaining biodiversity, guard human heath, and address climate change mitigation and adaptation, there has never been a more important time to focus on how soil is functioning to aid civilization. As soil quality and soil health are a primary component of the solution to these challenges. Despite the efforts of the scientific society in various areas (conservation, microbiology, fertility, planning, among others), there is no way forward, without the basis of the whole process, the soil, being properly understood.. In recent article, The Guardian journal indicated that the deforestry, burning, global warming and the necessity to preserve them, took media and public politics to focus on plant and climate. On the Other hand, the soil is proportionally treated as a simple supporting actor, despite that inside has a tremendous and new world on diversity, where its dynamics impact directly on food security, clean water, carbon stock and climate change (https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/16/poor-mans-rainforest-stop-treating-soil-like-dirt-aoe ) For this, it is necessary to obtain thematic data of soil attributes, from the topsoil to subsoil, as a primary source for its understanding. The general context of this proposal is to determine the SQ of Brazil through geotechnologies, and to evaluate its relationship with issues of national interest such as land use, agriculture and climate change. To achieve this goal, the project will have as innovation the development of an integrated methodology via geotechnologies + geoprocessing + pedotransfer + soil-functions that allows to map, with high spatial resolution (30 m) the SQ of the topsoil and subsoil of the whole Brazilian territory. In this context, remote sensing data and machine learning algorithms with cloud processing will be used to evaluate the SQ with agricultural and environmental factors. The study area has coverage for the entire geographical extension of Brazil. The methodology comprises obtaining SQ indicators from the acquisition and harmonization of data from the FAPESP thematic project (2014/22262-0) and the FEBR bank, to adjust models and perform spatial predictions (0-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60 and 60-100 cm depth) using covariates from remote sensing, digital soil mapping and pedotransfer. Such indicators will be interpreted using non-linear transformation equations: "more is better", "less is better", and "optimal midpoint". Subsequently, the indicators will be weighted, according to the soil functions each represents, and integrated, through an additive approach, into a SQ index for each of the five indicated depths. The SQ maps will be validated from 50 pilot areas (smaller areas with greater control) established in strategic regions of Brazil. The maps will also be evaluated (by crossing) with: I) land use and land cover maps, generated by MapBiomas for the period 1985 to 2019; II) maps of soybean production potential generated in this project, and; III) with maps of future climate projections obtained by WorldClim between 2021 and 2100. The information generated by this project will be made publicly available from an interactive web tool that will be developed in the final stages of the schedule. The legacy of this data will be directly to the whole Soil Science community, as well as to institutional projects such as PronaSolos and Agrotag. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the area of SQ is relatively new and incipient in Brazil, justifying the initiative. (AU)

Scientific publications

(22)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; POPPIEL, RAUL ROBERTO; SILVERO, NELIDA E. Q.; RODRIGUEZ-ALBARRACIN, HEIDY S.; ROSAS, JORGE TADEU FIM; GRESCHUK, LUCAS TADEU; BELLINASO, HENRIQUE; MINASNY, BUDIMAN; GOMEZ, CECILE; et al. Mapping Brazilian soil mineralogy using proximal and remote sensing data. Geoderma, v. 432, p. 19-pg., 2023-03-08. (14/22262-0, 21/05129-8)

POPPIEL, RAUL ROBERTO; CHERUBIN, MAURICIO ROBERTO; NOVAIS, JEAN J. M.; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.. Soil health in Latin America and the Caribbean. COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT, v. 6, n. 1, p. 11-pg., 2025-02-24. (14/22262-0, 21/05129-8, 21/10573-4)

FALCIONI, RENAN; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI DE; CHICATI, MARCELO LUIZ; DEMATTE, JOSE ALEXANDRE M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Assessment of Combined Reflectance, Transmittance, and Absorbance Hyperspectral Sensors for Prediction of Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Parameters. REMOTE SENSING, v. 15, n. 20, p. 23-pg., 2023-10-01. (21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; DE OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI; CHICATI, MARCELO LUIZ; DEMATTE, JOSE ALEXANDRE M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Comparative Insights into Photosynthetic, Biochemical, and Ultrastructural Mechanisms in Hibiscus and Pelargonium Plants. PLANTS-BASEL, v. 13, n. 19, p. 31-pg., 2024-10-01. (21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; DE OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI; CHICATI, MARCELO LUIZ; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; DEMATTE, JOSE ALEXANDRE M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Fluorescence and Hyperspectral Sensors for Nondestructive Analysis and Prediction of Biophysical Compounds in the Green and Purple Leaves of Tradescantia Plants. SENSORS, v. 24, n. 19, p. 22-pg., 2024-10-01. (21/05129-8)

DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; MINASNY, BUDIMAN; HARTEMINK, ALFRED E.. Vital for Sustainable Agriculture: Pedological Knowledge and Mapping. European Journal of Soil Science, v. 76, n. 1, p. 14-pg., 2025-01-01. (14/22262-0, 21/05129-8)

BARTSCH, BRUNO DOS ANJOS; ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; DOS SANTOS, UEMESON JOSE; COBLINSKI, JOAO AUGUSTO; PELEGRINO, MARCELO H. P.; ROSAS, JORGE TADEU FIM; POPPIEL, RAUL ROBERTO; ORTIZ, EDNILSON BATISTA; KOCHINKI, VIVIANE CRISTINA VIVIAN; GALLO, PAULO; et al. A Step Forward in Hybrid Soil Laboratory Analysis: Merging Chemometric Corrections, Protocols and Data-Driven Methods. REMOTE SENSING, v. 16, n. 23, p. 17-pg., 2024-12-01. (21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; DE OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI; CHICATI, MARCELO LUIZ; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; DEMATTE, JOSE ALEXANDRE M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Estimation of Biochemical Compounds in Tradescantia Leaves Using VIS-NIR-SWIR Hyperspectral and Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Sensors. REMOTE SENSING, v. 16, n. 11, p. 25-pg., 2024-06-01. (21/05129-8)

NOVAIS, JEAN JESUS MACEDO; MELO, BORGES MARFRANN DIAS; NEVES JUNIOR, AFRANIO FERREIRA; LIMA, RAIMUNDO HUMBERTO CAVALCANTE; DE SOUZA, RENATO EPIFANIO; MELO, VALDINAR FERREIRA; DO AMARAL, EUFRAN FERREIRA; TZIOLAS, NIKOLAOS; DEMATTE, JOSEA. M.. Online analysis of Amazon's soils through reflectance spectroscopy and cloud computing can support policies and the sustainable development. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 375, p. 11-pg., 2025-01-22. (21/05129-8, 22/14935-0)

ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; DE MELLO, DANILO CESAR; BONFATTI, BENITO R.; HARTEMINK, ALFRED E.; FERREIRA, TIAGO O.; SILVERO, NELIDA E. Q.; POPPIEL, RAUL ROBERTO; MENDES, WANDERSON DE S.; VELOSO, GUSTAVO VIEIRA; FRANCELINO, MARCIO ROCHA; et al. Mapping soil thickness using a mechanistic model and machine learning approaches. CATENA, v. 249, p. 17-pg., 2024-12-10. (14/22262-0, 21/10063-6, 21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; CHICATI, MARCELO LUIZ; DE OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; HASANUZZAMAN, MIRZA; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Decreased Photosynthetic Efficiency in Nicotiana tabacum L. under Transient Heat Stress. PLANTS-BASEL, v. 13, n. 3, p. 17-pg., 2024-02-01. (21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Biophysical, Biochemical, and Photochemical Analyses Using Reflectance Hyperspectroscopy and Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Kinetics in Variegated Leaves. BIOLOGY-BASEL, v. 12, n. 5, p. 24-pg., 2023-05-11. (21/05129-8)

GRESCHUK, LUCAS T.; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; SILVERO, NELIDA E. Q.; ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO. A soil productivity system reveals most Brazilian agricultural lands are below their maximum potential. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 13, n. 1, p. 14-pg., 2023-08-29. (23/00438-8, 21/05129-8)

NOVAIS, JEAN J.; POPPIEL, RAUL R.; LACERDA, MARILUSA P. C.; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.. VNIR-SWIR Spectroscopy, XRD and Traditional Analyses for Pedomorphogeological Assessment in a Tropical Toposequence. AGRIENGINEERING, v. 5, n. 3, p. 18-pg., 2023-09-01. (21/05129-8)

RODRIGUEZ-ALBARRACIN, HEIDY SOLEDAD; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; DARGHAN CONTRERAS, AQUILES ENRIQUE; SILVERO, NELIDA E. Q.; PELLEGRINO CERRI, CARLOS EDUARDO; MENDES, WANDERSON DE SOUSA; TAYEBI, MAHBOOBEH. Potential of soil minerals to sequester soil organic carbon. Geoderma, v. 436, p. 19-pg., 2023-06-02. (21/05129-8, 14/22262-0)

RODRIGUEZ-ALBARRACIN, HEIDY SOLEDAD; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; AMORIM, MERILYN TAYNARA ACCORSI; CONTRERAS, AQUILES ENRIQUE DARGHAN; ANDREOTE, FERNANDO DINI; ROSAS, JORGE TADEU FIM. Soil organic carbon sequestration potential explained by mineralogical and microbiological activity using spectral transfer functions. Science of The Total Environment, v. 947, p. 22-pg., 2024-07-17. (14/22262-0, 21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; DE OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI; CHICATI, MARCELO LUIZ; DEMATTE, JOSE ALEXANDRE M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Hyperspectral and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Analyses of Comparative Leaf Surfaces Reveal Cellular Influences on Leaf Optical Properties in Tradescantia Plants. CELLS, v. 13, n. 11, p. 30-pg., 2024-06-01. (21/05129-8)

GOMEZ, ANDRES M. R.; DE JONG VAN LIER, QUIRIJN; SILVERO, NELIDA E. Q.; INFORSATO, LEONARDO; DE MELO, MARINA LUCIANA ABREU; RODRIGUEZ-ALBARRACIN, HEIDY S.; ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; ROSAS, JORGE TADEU FIM; RIZZO, RODNEI; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.. Digital mapping of the soil available water capacity: tool for the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change. Science of The Total Environment, v. 882, p. 12-pg., 2023-04-27. (21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; GONCALVES, JOAO VITOR FERREIRA; DE OLIVEIRA, KARYM MAYARA; DE OLIVEIRA, CAIO ALMEIDA; REIS, AMANDA SILVEIRA; CRUSIOL, LUIS GUILHERME TEIXEIRA; FURLANETTO, RENATO HERRIG; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; CEZAR, EVERSON; DE OLIVEIRA, RONEY BERTI; et al. Chemometric Analysis for the Prediction of Biochemical Compounds in Leaves Using UV-VIS-NIR-SWIR Hyperspectroscopy. PLANTS-BASEL, v. 12, n. 19, p. 24-pg., 2023-10-01. (21/05129-8)

FALCIONI, RENAN; ANTUNES, WERNER CAMARGOS; DEMATTE, JOSE ALEXANDRE M.; NANNI, MARCOS RAFAEL. Reflectance Spectroscopy for the Classification and Prediction of Pigments in Agronomic Crops. PLANTS-BASEL, v. 12, n. 12, p. 19-pg., 2023-06-01. (21/05129-8)

DE SOUSA, GABRIEL PIMENTA BARBOSA; TAYEBI, MAHBOOBEH; CAMPOS, LUCAS RABELO; GRESCHUK, LUCAS T.; AMORIM, MERILYN TAYNARA ACCORSI; ROSAS, JORGE TADEU FIM; MELLO, FELLIPE ALCANTARA DE OLIVEIRA; CHEN, SONGCHAO; AYOUBI, SHAMSOLLAH; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.. Improvement of spatial prediction of soil depth via earth observation. CATENA, v. 223, p. 12-pg., 2023-01-17. (21/05129-8)

ROSIN, NICOLAS AUGUSTO; DEMATTE, JOSE A. M.; DE CARVALHO, HUDSON WALLACE PEREIRA; RODRIGUEZ-ALBARRACIN, HEIDY SOLEDAD; ROSAS, JORGE TADEU FIM; NOVAIS, JEAN JESUS; DALMOLIN, RICARDO S. D.; ALVES, MARCELO RODRIGO; FALCIONI, RENAN; TZIOLAS, NIKOLAOS; et al. Spatializing soil elemental concentration as measured by X-ray fluorescence analysis using remote sensing data. CATENA, v. 240, p. 14-pg., 2024-03-23. (14/22262-0, 21/10063-6, 21/05129-8)