Mapping Regional Soil Organic Matter Based on Sentinel-2A and MODIS Imagery Using Machine Learning Algorithms and Google Earth Engine

Abstract

Many studies have attempted to predict soil organic matter (SOM), whereas mapping high-precision and high-resolution SOM maps remains a challenge due to the difficulty of selecting appropriate satellite data sources and prediction algorithms. This study aimed to investigate the influence of different remotely sensed images and machine learning algorithms on SOM prediction. We constructed two comparative experiments, i.e., full-band and common-band variable datasets of Sentinel-2A and MODIS images using Google Earth Engine (GEE). The predictive performances of random forest (RF), artificial neural network (ANN), and support vector regression (SVR) algorithms were evaluated, and the SOM map was generated for the Songnen Plain. Results showed that the model based on the full-band Sentinel-2A dataset achieved the best performance. The application of Sentinel-2A data resulted in mean relative improvements (RIs) of 7.67% and 5.87%, respectively. The RF achieved a lower root mean squared error (RMSE = 0.68%) and a higher coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.67) in all of the predicted scenarios than ANN and SVR. The resultant SOM map accurately characterized the SOM spatial distribution. Therefore, the Sentinel-2A data have obvious advantages over MODIS due to their higher spectral and spatial resolutions, and the combination of the RF algorithm and GEE is an effective approach to SOM mapping.

Keywords

• soil organic matter
• Sentinel-2A
• MODIS
• machine learning algorithms
• Google Earth Engine
• Songnen Plain