Bare Earth's Surface Spectra as a Proxy for Soil Resource Monitoring

Author(s):Show less -

Dematte, Jose A. M. ^[1] ; Safanelli, Jose Lucas ^[1] ; Poppiel, Raul Roberto ^[1] ; Rizzo, Rodnei ^[1] ; Quinonez Silvero, Nelida Elizabet ^[1] ; Mendes, Wanderson de Sousa ^[1] ; Bonfatti, Benito Roberto ^[1] ; Dotto, Andre Carnieletto ^[1] ; Urbina Salazar, Diego Fernando ^[1] ; de Oliveira Mello, Fellipe Alcantara ^[1] ; da Silveira Paiva, Ariane Francine ^[1] ; Souza, Arnaldo Barros ^[1] ; dos Santos, Natasha Valadares ^[1] ; Nascimento, Claudia Maria ^[1] ; de Mello, Danilo Cesar ^[1] ; Bellinaso, Henrique ^[1] ; Gonzaga Neto, Luiz ^[1] ; Accorsi Amorim, Merilyn Taynara ^[1] ; Bispo de Resende, Maria Eduarda ^[1] ; Vieira, Julia Souza ^[1] ; de Queiroz, Louise Gunter ^[1] ; Gallo, Bruna Cristina ^[1] ; Sayao, Veridiana Maria ^[1] ; da Silva Lisboa, Caroline Jardim ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Soil Sci, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, GeoCis Geotechnol Soil Sci Grp, Ave Padua Dias 11, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 10, n. 1 MAR 10 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

The Earth's surface dynamics provide essential information for guiding environmental and agricultural policies. Uncovered and unprotected surfaces experience several undesirable effects, which can affect soil ecosystem functions. We developed a technique to identify global bare surface areas and their dynamics based on multitemporal remote sensing images to aid the spatiotemporal evaluation of anthropic and natural phenomena. The bare Earth's surface and its changes were recognized by Landsat image processing over a time range of 30 years using the Google Earth Engine platform. Two additional products were obtained with a similar technique: a) Earth's bare surface frequency, which represents where and how many times a single pixel was detected as bare surface, based on Landsat series, and b) Earth's bare soil tendency, which represents the tendency of bare surface to increase or decrease. This technique enabled the retrieval of bare surfaces on 32% of Earth's total land area and on 95% of land when considering only agricultural areas. From a multitemporal perspective, the technique found a 2.8% increase in bare surfaces during the period on a global scale. However, the rate of soil exposure decreased by similar to 4.8% in the same period. The increase in bare surfaces shows that agricultural areas are increasing worldwide. The decreasing rate of soil exposure indicates that, unlike popular opinion, more soils have been covered due to the adoption of conservation agriculture practices, which may reduce soil degradation. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/22262-0 - Geotechnologies on a detailed digital soil mapping and the Brazilian soil spectral library: development and applications
• Grantee: José Alexandre Melo Demattê
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants