Topsoil Characterization by Means of Remote Sensing

Dear Colleagues,

Soil resources of the Earth are vital for preserving life on this planet due to their unique ecosystem services. Etymologically, humus, human, and humble share, for a good reason, the same root. These resources are, however, limited and non-renewable at a reasonable time scale. In addition, soils are now threatened, as evidenced in the fact that in recent years, the Technosphere (i.e., all material production generated by human activities) has begun to exceed the Biosphere at an accelerated rate, both in weight and diversity.

Despite the demand and research efforts to address these problems innovatively, there are currently no onboard sensors dedicated to soils. Operational sensors can now provide valuable and sometimes irreplaceable information about the properties and the state of the uppermost layer of the soil, which is called “topsoil”. This layer, ranging from 5 to 30 cm, is usually the first affected by threats such as organic matter decline, erosion, compaction, salinization, contamination, sealing, landslides, or land subsidence. Additionally, climate change can have serious effects on the water and energy budgets of the topsoil affecting the Earth Critical Zone. Numerous publications have already shown that remote sensing technologies can contribute to estimate, map, and monitor topsoil properties and its state.

This Special Issue invites you to highlight significant achievements so far, as well as the challenges and limits of current remote sensing technologies to provide useful information on topsoil. We also invite you to show new opportunities offered by the present constellation of satellites, along with data processing advancements that address research gaps you have identified and/or support various policies.

Dr. Ruxandra Vintila
Dr. Frank Veroustrate
Guest Editors

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