Dimensionality-Transformed Remote Sensing Data Application to Map Soil Salinization at Lowlands of the Syr Darya River

Kanat Samarkhanov, Jilili Abuduwaili (), Alim Samat, Yongxiao Ge, Wen Liu, Long Ma, Zhassulan Smanov, Gabit Adamin, Azamat Yershibul and Zhassulan Sadykov
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Kanat Samarkhanov: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Jilili Abuduwaili: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Alim Samat: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Yongxiao Ge: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Wen Liu: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Long Ma: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Zhassulan Smanov: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Gabit Adamin: U.U.Uspanov Kazakh Research Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Almaty 050060, Kazakhstan
Azamat Yershibul: U.U.Uspanov Kazakh Research Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Almaty 050060, Kazakhstan
Zhassulan Sadykov: Social Work and Tourism Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences and the Department of Postgraduate Education, Esil University, Nur-Sultan 010005, Kazakhstan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: The problem of saving soil resources and their reclamation measures under current climate change conditions attracts the world community’s close attention. It is relevant in the Syr Darya River’s lowlands, where the secondary soil salinization processes have intensified. The demand for robust methods to assess soil salinity is high, and the primary purpose of this study was to develop a quantitative analysis method for soil salinity estimation. We found a correspondence between the sum of salts in a topsoil layer to the Landsat 8 data in the Tasseled cap transformation of the image values. After testing several methods, we built a prediction model. The K-nearest neighborhood (KNN) model with a coefficient of determination equal to 0.96 using selected predictors proved to be the most appropriate for soil salinity assessment. We also performed a quantitative assessment of soil salinity. A significant increase in a salt-affected area and the mean soil sum expressing an intensification of secondary soil salinization from 2018 to 2021 was found. The increasing temperature values, decreasing soil moisture, and agricultural use affect the extension of salt-affected ground areas in the study area. Thus, the soil moisture trend in the Qazaly irrigation zone is negative and declining, with the highest peaks in early spring. The maximum temperature has a mean value of 15.6 °C (minimum = −15.1 °C, maximum = 37.4 °C) with an increasing trend. These parameters are evidence of climate change that also affects soil salinization. PCA transformation of the Landsat-8 satellite images helped to remove redundant spectral information from multiband datasets and map soil salinity more precisely. This approach simultaneously extends mapping opportunities involving visible and invisible bands and results in a smaller dataset.

Keywords: soil salinity; prediction; secondary salinization; trend; temperature; soil moisture; climate change; heating; aridization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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