Analysis of Soil Organic Matter Accumulation in a Millennium Chronosequence Using a Spectral Parameter

Chronosequence, consisting of a series of soil profiles, splices brief segments of soil evolution history and translates spatial differences between soils into temporal differences to reveal the rate and direction of pedogenic changes. Many soil properties in a chronosequence exhibit time-dependent trends. The accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) is an important pedogenic process. SOM has a major influence on other properties such as cation exchange capacity and the contents of N, P and S. SOM content in a profile is related to age of the soil and reveals the degree of soil development8. Traditional methods of determining SOM are slow, expensive and destructive, and thus do not satisfy the requirements for its rapid estimation or regional soil survey.