Spectroscopic solutions for generating new global soil information

Yi Peng; Eyal Ben-Dor; Asim Biswas; Sabine Chabrillat; José A.M. Demattê; Yufeng Ge; Asa Gholizadeh; Cecile Gomez; Cesar Guerrero; Jeffrey Herrick; Jonathan J. Maynard; Abdul Mounem Mouazen; Yuxin Ma; Alex B. McBratney; Budiman Minasny; Leonardo Ramirez-Lopez; A.H. Jean Robertson; Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel; Zhou Shi; Bo Stenberg; Alexandre M.J.-C. Wadoux; Leigh Ann Winowiecki; Ganlin Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100839

The Innovation (May 2025)

Spectroscopic solutions for generating new global soil information

Yi Peng,
Eyal Ben-Dor,
Asim Biswas,
Sabine Chabrillat,
José A.M. Demattê,
Yufeng Ge,
Asa Gholizadeh,
Cecile Gomez,
Cesar Guerrero,
Jeffrey Herrick,
Jonathan J. Maynard,
Abdul Mounem Mouazen,
Yuxin Ma,
Alex B. McBratney,
Budiman Minasny,
Leonardo Ramirez-Lopez,
A.H. Jean Robertson,
Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel,
Zhou Shi,
Bo Stenberg,
Alexandre M.J.-C. Wadoux,
Leigh Ann Winowiecki,
Ganlin Zhang

Affiliations

Yi Peng: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy; Corresponding author
Eyal Ben-Dor: Porter School of Environment and Earth Science Faculty of Exact Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 699780, Israel
Asim Biswas: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Sabine Chabrillat: Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences Research, Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics Section, 14473 Potsdam, Germany; Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Earth System Sciences, Department of Soil Sciences, 30419 Hannover, Germany
José A.M. Demattê: Department of Soil Science, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13 418-900, Brazil
Yufeng Ge: Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
Asa Gholizadeh: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague 16500, Czech Republic
Cecile Gomez: LISAH, University Montpellier, IRD, INRAE, Institut Agro, AgroParisTech, 34060 Montpellier, France
Cesar Guerrero: Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernandez of Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
Jeffrey Herrick: USDA-ARS Range Management Research Unit, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
Jonathan J. Maynard: USDA-NRCS National Soil Survey Center, Tangent, OR 79389, USA
Abdul Mounem Mouazen: Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Yuxin Ma: New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia
Alex B. McBratney: Sydney Institute of Agriculture & School of Life & Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Budiman Minasny: Sydney Institute of Agriculture & School of Life & Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Leonardo Ramirez-Lopez: Data Science Department, BUCHI Labortechnik AG, 9230 Flawil, Switzerland; Imperial College London, Imperial Business School, London SW7 2AZ, UK
A.H. Jean Robertson: The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, Scotland
Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel: Soil and Landscape Science, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Zhou Shi: College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Bo Stenberg: Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, 53231 Skara, Sweden
Alexandre M.J.-C. Wadoux: LISAH, University Montpellier, IRD, INRAE, Institut Agro, AgroParisTech, 34060 Montpellier, France
Leigh Ann Winowiecki: Soil and Land Health, World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi 00-100GPO, Kenya
Ganlin Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100839
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 6, no. 5
p. 100839

Abstract

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While global efforts to operationalize soil spectroscopy are progressing, cooperation is needed to fully leverage its potential for generating digital soil information to support sustainable soil management worldwide. The Global Soil Laboratory Network’s soil spectroscopy initiative (GLOSOLAN-Spec), led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), is dedicated to the further development and adoption of soil spectroscopy by fostering international collaboration via a scientific community of practice to produce accurate and reliable soil information for sustainable soil management and decision-making. To support this effort, we, a global consortium of soil scientists under the auspices of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and GLOSOLAN-Spec, aim to address seven key challenges hindering the adoption of soil spectroscopy worldwide. Here, we offer perspectives on what is needed to advance soil spectroscopy as a routine soil analysis method, emphasizing its potential to generate new and reliable spatial and temporal soil data.

Published in The Innovation

ISSN: 2666-6758 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Science (General)
Website: https://www.cell.com/the-innovation

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