Remote Sensing of Nutrient Concentrations of Soils and Crops in Biosolid Amended Soils

Abstract

The accumulation of heavy metals in the biosolid amended soils and the risk of their uptake into different plant parts is a topic of great concern. This chapter summarizes the accumulation of several heavy metals and nutrients in soils and in plants grown on biosolid applied soils and the use of remote sensing to monitor the metal uptake and plant stress. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted with soybeans grown on soils applied with biosolids at varying rates. The data indicated that the chemical concentrations in soils and in soybean shoots and roots increased significantly with increase in applied biosolid concentrations. Copper (Cu) and Molybdenum (Mo) accumulated significantly in the shoots and roots of the metal-treated plants. The spectral and Landsat TM data indicated that the Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) can be used to distinguish the metal stressed plants. The NDVI showed significant negative correlation with increase in soil Cu concentrations followed by other elements. This data indicated that the remote sensing can be used to monitor soybean stress patterns and to indirectly assess soil chemical characteristics. The data from remote sensing analysis of the biosolid applied soils indicated that the satellite imagery of bare-soil fields can be used to quantify and map the spatial variation of total phosphorous and copper concentration in surface soils.