Analysis of Groundmass Colour as a Tool for Evaluating the Extent of Pedogenic Processes in Chromic Soils

Abstract

The aim of the investigation was to define the extend of pedogenethic processes by analysis of colour changes in groundmass of each genetic horizon. The object of the research were Chromic soils developed from red deposits of Lower Triassic (Buntsandstein) in the Holy Cross Mountains. Micromorphological studies were made with polarization microscopes Olympus BX-41 and Olympus SZX-10. Image analysis was conducted with software program AxioVision 4.5 with Auto Measure module. The application of advanced methods of digital data analysis allowed for the quantitative compilation of measurement figures in thin sections. On the basis of micromorphometrical data designated objective numerical indicators, which allowed comparison groundmass color between each genetic horizon. Statistical analysis by ANOVA test confirm that groundmass color measured in RGB scale in investigated horizons are almost the same. Obtained results evidence that characteristic red color of soil substrate in analyzed soils developed from Lower Triassic rocks originated from the bedrock color. This fact indicates low extent of the pedogenic processes.

Brightness Values-Based Discriminant Functions for Classification of Degrees of Organic Matter Decomposition in Soil Thin Sections

“…Some statistical methods have been used previously to analyze images of other soil components in thin sections. These routines include supervised and unsupervised classification (Tarquini and Favalli, 2010;Sauzet et al, 2017;Gutiérrez-Castorena et al, 2018), ANOVA (Brzychcy et al, 2012), and multivariate analysis such as that of principal components (Terribile et al, 1995;Jangorzo et al, 2014). Gutiérrez-Castorena et al (2018) used the supervised and unsupervised classification in organic materials; however, the processing was complex and demanding in computational terms because map operators were carried out with the composite images, i.e., in their original color composition (RGB).…”

“…The decomposition of organic matter represents a fundamental pedogenic and pedomorphological process (Fanning and Fanning, 1989), where mineralization, humification, stabilization and melanization have been widely studied (Zech et al, 1997). Nevertheless, little research has been done at fine scale despite its importance in particle stabilization (Brzychcy and Zagórski, 2010).…”

“…Image analysis of soil thin sections to study different soil components (Protz et al, 1992;Terribile and Fitzpatrick, 1995;Taina and Heck, 2010;Brzychcy et al, 2012;Jangorzo et al, 2014;Gutiérrez-Castorena et al, 2018) has been an adaptation based on remote sensing techniques (Protz et al, 1987;Ringrose-Voase, 1991;Protz and VandenBygaart, 1998). These routines have made it possible to eliminate the subjective description of soil thin sections (Skvortsova and Sanzharova, 2007), allowing better understanding of soil morphological process and their impacts on processes at greater geographical scale, such as ecosystems resiliency and adaptation, among others.…”