Remote Sensing in Soil Fertility Evaluation and Management

Abstract

Soil is a complex material that is extremely variable in its physical and chemical composition and is formed from exposed masses of partially weathered rocks and mineral composing the earth’s crust. Soil formation is strongly dependant on the environmental conditions of both the atmosphere and the lithosphere. The soil body is a product of factors (Dokuchaev, 1883 and Jenny, 1941) like climate, time, organisms, topography and parent materials. The interactions of these factors result in great variability in soils (Buol et al., 1973). The upper soil horizon may contain valuable information about the soils, such as soil degradation processes, salinity, organic matter, crust formation, soil moisture, soil run-off and infiltration, which may be mainly utilized for evaluating the soil fertility using the Remote Sensing techniques. Remote Sensing means acquiring information by using satellites and spacecraft about a phenomenon object or surface at a remote vantage point without making physical contact with the object or subject.