Digital soil mapping using air laser scanning data

Soil mapping is a critical task for a variety of applications, including agriculture, ecology, and environmental management. Traditionally, soil mapping has been conducted using field surveys, which are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of remote sensing data for digital soil mapping (DSM). DSM methods use data from satellites, aircraft, or drones to generate digital soil maps with high spatial resolution and low cost. Methods: This study proposes a predictive DSM methodology based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) and multispectral satellite imagery. The study was conducted in the Volozhinsky District of the Minsk Region of Belarus. ALS data were used to derive morphometric indicators of relief, while multispectral satellite imagery were used to derive vegetation indices. A Random Forest machine-learning model was used to predict soil types and hydromorphic classes. Results: The results of the study showed that the proposed methodology was able to generate accurate digital soil maps with high spatial resolution. The overall accuracy of the soil type map was 64%, and the overall accuracy of the hydromorphic class map was 60 %. Discussion: The results of this study confirm the effectiveness of the proposed predictive DSM methodology. The methodology is based on a combination of ALS and multispectral satellite imagery, which provides a comprehensive set of data for soil mapping. The use of a Random Forest machinelearning model also contributes to the accuracy of the methodology. Conclusion: The proposed methodology is a promising approach for DSM in a variety of settings. The methodology is relatively easy to implement and can be used to generate digital soil maps at a variety of spatial resolutions. The authors contributed equally to this article. The authors declare no conflicts of interests

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