Enhanced Pedon Horizonation Using Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Abstract

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher. Enhanced Pedon Horizonation Using Portable X-ray Fluorescence SpectrometryPedology M any soils feature well-developed, easily recognizable genetic horizons formed as a result of advanced pedogenesis. In Louisiana, alluvium is extensive given the numerous river systems (Mississippi, Red, Pearl, Sabine) that have periodically fl ooded the state for centuries. Modest topographic relief in the state is largely limited to erosional dissection of ancient alluvial plains. While many soil series within Louisiana display well-developed diagnostic horizons and features, other soils (either younger or more highly leached) have limited horizon development, which are far more nondescript and oft en classifi ed as Entisols or Inceptisols. For instance, the Roxana soil series (coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, thermic Typic Udifl uvent) contains no diagnostic horizons or features. Th e Commerce soil series (fi ne-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, thermic Fluvaquentic Endoaquept) contains only a cambic horizon and ochric epipedon.

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) applications in tropical Soil Science

“…For example, the pXRF became a useful tool to identify contaminated areas, allowing the determination of total elemental composition in-situ easily and rapidly (Peinado et al, 2010;Weindorf et al, 2012aWeindorf et al, , 2012bWeindorf et al, , 2014aHu et al, 2014). Some ways to use the pXRF equipments and applications in Soil Science are described below.…”

“…Weindorf et al (2012a) showed the applicability of using pXRF in 10 soil pedons as a manner to quantitatively differentiate soil horizons of alluvial soils from Lousiana (USA) based on differences of elemental concentration, clay content and laboratory analyses results.…”

“…Technological advances enabled the emergence of portable equipment of X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), which has been showed to be a precise, accurate, low cost, rapid, non-destructive and environmentally friendly method to determine elemental composition of soils and other RIBEIRO, B. T. et al materials (Radu;Diamond, 2009;Zhang, 2011;Bastos;Melquiades;Biasi, 2012;Weindorf et al, 2012a;Weindorf et al, 2012bWeindorf et al, 2014aWeindorf et al, 2014b;Stockmann et al, 2016aStockmann et al, , 2016b.…”

Lithologic Discontinuity Assessment in Soils via Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry and Visible Near-Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

“…In Hungary, pedons were sampled from soil pits opened with a backhoe. At each location, the evaluated area (of both the excavation walls and cores) was scraped clean with a knife, then scanned with proximal sensors in 10-cm increments (e.g., 0-10, 10-20 cm, and so on) in situ in a manner consistent with Weindorf et al (2012b). Texas field scanning included both PXRF and VisNIR DRS, while Italian and Hungarian field scanning used only PXRF due to logistical limitations relative to international transport of equipment.…”

“…Most importantly, Weindorf et al (2012b) showed that PXRF could be used for enhanced soil horizonation whereby horizons could be differentiated using elemental data from PXRF in soil profiles where morphological differentia were unremarkable. Applied to the present study, VisNIR DRS models have another advantage in that they should be able to better detect irregular decreases in organic C content with depth-an established approach for recognizing buried soils and potential discontinuities.…”