Prediction of Soil Erodibility by Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy in a Neotropical Dry Forest Biome

The USLE and the RUSLE are two common erosion prediction models that are used worldwide, and soil erodibility (K-factor) is one parameter used to calculate them. The objectives of this study were to investigate the variability of soil-erodibility factors under different soil-texture classes and evaluate the efficiency of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) in the near-infrared range at predicting the USLE and RUSLE K-factors using a partial least squares regression analysis. The study was conducted in Fluvisols in dry tropical forest (the Caatinga). Sampling was undertaken in the first 20 cm of soil at 80 sites distributed 15 m apart on a 70 m × 320 m spatial grid. Results show that the clay fraction is represented mainly by 2:1 phyllosilicates. Soil organic matter content is low (<0.2%), which is typical of tropical dry forests, and this is reflected in the high values of the calculated USLE and RUSLE K-factors. An empirical semivariogram was used to investigate the spatial dependence of both K-factors. Pedometric modeling showed that DRS can be used to predict both USLE (R2adj = 0.53; RMSE = 8.37 10−3 t h MJ−1 mm−1) and RUSLE (R2adj = 0.58; RMSE = 6.78 10−3 t h MJ−1 mm−1) K-factors.