The state-of-the-art use of X-Ray and infrared for evaluating soil attributes

Abstract

Ensuring food supply to society is crucial. Therefore, understanding the specificities of soils and climates in different countries becomes indispensable. Assessing and quantifying soil attributes play a fundamental role in the sustainable management of natural resources, promoting increased crop productivity and soil and biodiversity resilience. This review aims to analyze the main instrumental methods (NIRS, XRF, XRD, and FTIR), exploring their mode of action, challenges in implementing these methods, and emerging trends for sustainable soil management. Scientific articles indexed in two databases, Web of Science and Scopus, were searched using the keywords "soil attributes" and NIRS or "near-infrared spectroscopy" or XRF or "X-ray fluorescence spectrometry" or DRX or "X-ray diffraction" or FTIR or "Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy", without restrictions in the field of research. Instrumental methods, when properly calibrated, provide rapid, accurate, and non-destructive information crucial for making agricultural decisions and sustainable soil management.  However, challenges such as high equipment costs, complexity of analyses, and calibration dependence are faced. Nevertheless, current trends indicate promising prospects, with the pursuit of technological innovations and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning to simplify complex data analysis and mitigate the challenges faced. Therefore, we conclude that the instrumental methods discussed, such as NIRS, XRF, DRX, and FTIR, stand out as an indispensable set of tools in the analysis of soil particle size, chemical, and mineralogical properties, emerging as an innovative and essential response to contemporary challenges related to food security, environmental sustainability, and efficient management of natural resources.