Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data

Forest ecosystems play an important role in regional carbon and nitrogen cycling. Accurate and effective monitoring of their soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) stocks provides important information for soil quality assessment, sustainable forestry management and climate change p...

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Main Authors: Shuai Wang, Qianlai Zhuang, Xinxin Jin, Zijiao Yang, Hongbin Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/7/1115
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author Shuai Wang
Qianlai Zhuang
Xinxin Jin
Zijiao Yang
Hongbin Liu
author_facet Shuai Wang
Qianlai Zhuang
Xinxin Jin
Zijiao Yang
Hongbin Liu
author_sort Shuai Wang
collection DOAJ
description Forest ecosystems play an important role in regional carbon and nitrogen cycling. Accurate and effective monitoring of their soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) stocks provides important information for soil quality assessment, sustainable forestry management and climate change policy making. In this study, a geographical weighted regression (GWR) model, a multiple stepwise regression (MLSR) model, and a boosted regression trees (BRT) model were compared to obtain the best prediction of SOC and STN stocks of the forest ecosystems in northeastern China. Five-hundred and thirteen topsoil (0–30 cm) samples (10.32 kg m<sup>−2</sup> (±0.53) for SOC, 1.21 kg m<sup>−2</sup> (±0.32) for STN), and 9 remotely-sensed environmental variables were collected and used for the model development and verification. By comparing with independent verification data, the best model (BRT) achieved R<sup>2</sup> = 0.56 and root mean square error (RMSE) = 00.85 kg m<sup>−2</sup> for SOC stocks, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.51 and RMSE = 0.22 kg m<sup>−2</sup> for STN stocks. Of all the remotely-sensed environment variables, soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) are of the highest relative importance in predicting SOC and STN stocks. The spatial distribution of the predicted SOC and STN stocks gradually decreased from northeast to southwest. This study provides an attempt to rapidly predict SOC and STN stocks in the dense vegetation covered area. The results can help evaluate soil quality and facilitate land policy and regulation making by the government in the region.
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spelling doaj.art-111eaf47f75c49129532d2af519f8af82023-11-19T20:17:05ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-03-01127111510.3390/rs12071115Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing DataShuai Wang0Qianlai Zhuang1Xinxin Jin2Zijiao Yang3Hongbin Liu4College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, Liaoning Province, ChinaDepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USACollege of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, Liaoning Province, ChinaCollege of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, Liaoning Province, ChinaCollege of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, Liaoning Province, ChinaForest ecosystems play an important role in regional carbon and nitrogen cycling. Accurate and effective monitoring of their soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) stocks provides important information for soil quality assessment, sustainable forestry management and climate change policy making. In this study, a geographical weighted regression (GWR) model, a multiple stepwise regression (MLSR) model, and a boosted regression trees (BRT) model were compared to obtain the best prediction of SOC and STN stocks of the forest ecosystems in northeastern China. Five-hundred and thirteen topsoil (0–30 cm) samples (10.32 kg m<sup>−2</sup> (±0.53) for SOC, 1.21 kg m<sup>−2</sup> (±0.32) for STN), and 9 remotely-sensed environmental variables were collected and used for the model development and verification. By comparing with independent verification data, the best model (BRT) achieved R<sup>2</sup> = 0.56 and root mean square error (RMSE) = 00.85 kg m<sup>−2</sup> for SOC stocks, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.51 and RMSE = 0.22 kg m<sup>−2</sup> for STN stocks. Of all the remotely-sensed environment variables, soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) are of the highest relative importance in predicting SOC and STN stocks. The spatial distribution of the predicted SOC and STN stocks gradually decreased from northeast to southwest. This study provides an attempt to rapidly predict SOC and STN stocks in the dense vegetation covered area. The results can help evaluate soil quality and facilitate land policy and regulation making by the government in the region.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/7/1115soil organic carbon stockssoil total nitrogen stocksremote sensing dataspatial variationdigital soil mapping
spellingShingle Shuai Wang
Qianlai Zhuang
Xinxin Jin
Zijiao Yang
Hongbin Liu
Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data
Remote Sensing
soil organic carbon stocks
soil total nitrogen stocks
remote sensing data
spatial variation
digital soil mapping
title Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data
title_full Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data
title_fullStr Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data
title_full_unstemmed Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data
title_short Predicting Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Nitrogen Stocks in Topsoil of Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern China Using Remote Sensing Data
title_sort predicting soil organic carbon and soil nitrogen stocks in topsoil of forest ecosystems in northeastern china using remote sensing data
topic soil organic carbon stocks
soil total nitrogen stocks
remote sensing data
spatial variation
digital soil mapping
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/7/1115
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