Predicting some soil properties using VIS-NIR spectroscopy in the Kurdistan province

The visible and near-infrared (VIS-NIR) spectroscopy are non-destructive, rapid, cost-effective techniques, with minimal samples preparation and no loss or damage to the environment that could be alternatives to conventional soil analysis methods. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of VIS-NIR spectroscopy to predict some soil properties of Qorveh and Dehgolan plains, Kurdistan Province. For this propose, 120 soil samples were collected from the study area. Soil properties were measured by standard laboratory methods. The soils spectral reflectance over 350 to 2500 nm range were measured using a handheld spectrometer apparatus. Different pre-processing techniques were evaluated after recording the spectra. Stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) was used to estimate some soil properties. According to RPD values, statistically percision predictions were obtained for cation exchange capacity (2.02), and estimations for clay (1.7), silt (1.59), sand (1.8), geometric mean particle diameter (1.52) and geometric particle-size standard deviations (1.66), bulk density (1.53), particle density (1.55), organic carbon (1.74) and calcium carbonate equivale (1.49) were acceptable.