Estimation of accumulated soil organic carbon stock in tropical forest using geospatial strategy

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a dynamic soil property that represents the key component of the forest ecosystems. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate SOC using the remote sensing images as well as field methods at Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve Forest area. The soil samples were collected randomly from the region at several field locations, to estimate the surface soil carbon concentrations in the laboratory. The study derived results for bare soil index, NDVI, SOC and relationship of SOC with NDVI using regression analysis, while comparing reference SOC (field measured SOC) and predicted SOC (estimated from satellite image). The remote sensing images were used to predict the precise carbon content associated with organic matter in the soil using NDVI and related equations, to prepare digital soil organic carbon map. The relationship between the NDVI and both reference/predicted SOC is established using the equation to derive the digital SOC for the study area using remote sensing data. The statistical relationship between reference SOC, pH concentrations, and NDVI values were presented against the predicted SOC to provide the variation between each variable.