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Updated: Oct 23, 2025

Improving Infrared Spectroscopy Characterization of Soil Organic Matter with Spectral Subtractions
Published on: January 10, 2019
Quantitative mapping and spectroscopic characterization of particulate organic matter fractions in soil profiles with
Markus Steffens1,2, Lilli Zeh3, Derek M Rogge4
1Department of Soil Sciences, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, 5070, Frick, Switzerland. markus.steffens@fibl.org.
Abstract:
Organic matter is an important constituent of soils that controls many soil functions and is of vital importance for ecosystem services like climate regulation and food security. Soil organic matter (SOM consists of a wide spectrum of different organic substances that are highly heterogeneous in terms of chemical composition, stability against microbial decomposition and turnover time. SOM is heterogeneously distributed in the soil profile impeding its fast assessment. A technique to accurately measure SOM quality and quantity with a high spatial resolution in the soil profile is presently lacking. Imaging visible light and near infrared spectroscopy (imVisIR) is a promising technique for the fast and spatially resolved assessment of SOM quality and quantity. In this study, we evaluate the potential of imVisIR to quantitatively map the labile particulate organic matter fraction in undisturbed cores from mineral soils.
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