Multisensor approach to assess soil degradation stages in semi-arid soils (Spain)

Soils in semi-arid regions of Spain are especially susceptible to soil degradation processes due to natural as well as human-induced land use/cover changes. The result is a decline in the capacity of the soil to perform environmental regulatory functions and yield agricultural goods. A multisensor and multiscale approach is presented in this work to assess soil degradation stages. The approach consists of (1) obtaining detailed information from field and imaging spectroscopy data, soil analyses, field survey observations, topographic information and ancillary data from selected test plots of soils, (2) use this information (i.e., hyperspectral images and site specific spectral library) to derive endmembers representing soil degradation characteristics, and (3) implement high resolution information on soil types and conditions into medium resolution (multispectral) data covering a wider area. Soil degradation stages are successfully determined by relating spectral variations of the soil surface features to differences in the mineralogical composition as well as physical and chemical soil properties.