Use of spectral data for estimating the relationship between iron oxides and 2:1 minerals with their respective reflectances

Abstract

Iron oxides and 2:1 minerals have a strong influence on the spectral behavior of soils. However, studies that address more deeply the relationship between them and their reflectances are scarce. Thus, the objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between iron oxides and 2:1 minerals with their reflectance factors, and assess whether such a relationship presents a linear behavior. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replicates per treatment. The spectral readings of the samples of hematite, goethite, magnetite and bentonite were performed using the equipment FieldSpec jr 3, which covers the spectral range from 350 to 2500 nm. After the readings, were chosen the intervals that best represented the minerals and performed statistical analysis from the average reflectance factors found in these points. The results showed that the hematite, goethite and magnetite have nonlinear relationship with their reflectance factors, while bentonite has not only linear relationship in the range studied, but in the entire area covered by the equipment. Thus, we conclude that relatively small amounts of iron oxides are able to affect soil reflectance in the same way that amounts close to 100%. With respect to mineral 2:1 concludes that the increase in the proportion of them in a certain class of soil leads to a progressive decrease of the reflectance factor across the entire spectrum-optical, as described for other elements.