Development of spectral libraries for soils in a sub-humid region using MIR model calibration

AXIS 2: Coupling of biogeochemical cycles in a context of global change

Spectroscopy in tropical soils : Development of spectral libraries for soils from a sub-humid region using MIR model calibration

The project is part of the FairCarboN initiative and, more specifically, focuses on carbon data acquisition methods. Leveraging on the ability of infrared spectroscopy, coupled with chemometrics to effectively quantify SOC and nitrogen contents or even C stocks, the significance of the project lies in expanding the methods currently studied within FairCarboN on temperate soils (from the RMQS and Renecofor networks) to tropical soils with varied textures and land uses obtained from Murehwa smallholder farming community in Zimbabwe. The guiding research question is: can the best calibration transfer methods, developed for different sample preparations (sieved at 2 mm or ground at 0.2 mm) and across different measuring instruments on temperate soils, be applied to tropical soils as well?