Over the course of three decades of work, the Brazilian Soil Spectral Library (BESB) has consolidated itself as a milestone in soil science. Created in the 1990s, it was effectively implemented in 2019 (Demattêtetal., 2019) by the group Geotechnologies in Soil Science (Geocis) of the Luiz de Queiroz Higher School of Agriculture (ESALQ/USP).
BESB involved the participation of more than 80 researchers and 69 institutions from all Brazilian states. The database represents the pedological diversity of Brazil and integrates physicochemical analyzes of soils with data acquired in the visible spectral ranges (VIS), near infrared (NIR), shortwave infrared (SWIR) and a subset in the Medium Infrared (MIR). Besb was also subjected to tests performed according to an international protocol and was published in Romero et al., (2022).
At the same time, the Brazilian Soil Spectral Analysis Program (probase) was created, which aimed at training professionals and institutions in the collection, processing and interpretation of spectral data, in order to highlight the importance for pedology and related areas (Paivaetal., 2022). The courses and training of this
Program made it possible to establish clear protocols for the collection, preparation and reading of soil samples, in order to ensure the quality and comparability of data throughout Brazil, as well as integrating spectroscopy with commercial and institutional laboratories. Such action was directed to the movement called ‘Hybrid Laboratories’ (Demattê Etal., 2019).
The data were processed regarding the analysis of grip and created methodologies for this (poppieletal., 2022). Besb is a primary product, with open applications for the entire scientific and institutional society. With the data, everyone can do tests, analysis and publications. Innovations, however, go beyond their geographical scope.
The library not only expanded access to previously scattered data in laboratories and institutes, but also introduced practical tools, such as the Brazilian service in soil analysis via spectroscopy (Braspecs-Thebraziliansoil SpectralService). This system allows users to carry online soil spectra (Vis-Nenir-Swir-Mir), going to a platform where they are modeled by machine learning. The results of soil analysis (predicts) arrive by email to the user.
Importantly, the user can enter the link for free, check where the people who contributed, see soil spectrum patterns in relation to depth, texture and other attributes, and have access to bibliography for their learning.
Besb has brought in the light of science the vision of the soil from the perspective of energy-material interaction, with insertion in numerous disciplines of soils such as mineralogy, chemistry, pedology, genesis, fertilizers and fertilization, microbiology, geology, pollution, health, health, conservation, mapping and classification, among others.
Besb has brought in the light of science the vision of the soil from the perspective of energy-material interaction, with insertion in numerous disciplines of soils such as mineralogy, chemistry, pedology, genesis, fertilizers and fertilization, microbiology, geology, pollution, health, health, conservation, mapping and classification, among others.
The library presents a tool and a science at the same time, depending on the user. This is a technology that adds all possible communities (soil, environment, plant, agriculture, water, climate). Braspecs has already innovated in an attempt to facilitate access to soil analysis for any user, from farmers, consultants and decision makers.
After the entire organization process, Besb was made available for free via Zenodo data repository, accessible at the link, supported by publication in the Soil Institute Bulletin in honor of V.V. Dokuchaev (Novaisetal., 2024). This initiative democratizes access to high quality data, which allows them to be reused in the most diverse areas of knowledge. The repository today has 80,000 samples.
The importance of an accessible BESB to the public cannot be underestimated, as it allows researchers to validate discoveries when comparing measured data with expected data, in order to encourage the creation of new models or the improvement of existing ones. Users gain the ability to explore unknown territories and extract soil properties previously unveiled. Besb has global relevance due to its wide geographical coverage and representation of various classes of tropical soils. Soil spectral data serve as a fundamental resource for improving traditional laboratory analysis, assisting in the development of hybrid techniques and soil digital maps. They also provide invaluable information for policy formulators, which have the task of developing land conservation and use strategies based on soil health and sustainability.
This initiative has broad impacts, ranging from academia, with the formation of research networks and the publication of high impact studies, to society, with practical applications in environmental monitoring, soil conservation, precision agriculture and public policy elaboration. An important example is the use of BESB and even Braspecs in the Pronasolos program. The field professional can get the soil spectrum, send in the cloud and receive preliminary soil analysis in real time (granulometry, sulfuric attack, traditional chemistry, mineralogy and automated color). This procedure can also be done by samples collected on the field, taken in a laboratory, determined the spectrum, and via cloud, have the analysis. The strategy is up to the user. This procedure, associated with the professional’s empirical validation, or specific validation in traditional laboratory, may significantly assist in field work, and saving in soil analysis.
With public access and practical applications, the BESB project assisted the creation and training of nuclei across the country, from three groups in the 1990s to more than 20 today. Besb is the third largest spectral library available from the globe, and Brazil has a prominent position in the soil study, when positioning itself in the forefront of the matter in question. In addition, BESB is the basis for advanced satellite studies, and Brazil is already recognized as one of the three greatest actors in the subject. This project results in scientific advancement, in the opportunity to connect the scientific society
Brazilian, at the opportunity for international insertion of Brazilians, in adding science with society, with a view to ensuring a legacy of data and knowledge for the next generations.
The above text is by:
José Alexandre M. Demattê – Professor of the ESALQ/USP Soil Science Department
Jean de Jesus Macedo Novais – Postdoctoral Student of the Esalq/USP Soil Science Department
UEMESON JOSÉ DOS SANTOS – Postdoctoral student of the ESALQ/USP Soil Science Department and Professor EBTT of the Federal Institute of Pará – Campus Santarém
Jorge Tadeu Fim Rosas – Postdoctoral Student of the Esalq/USP Soil Science Department
Nicolas Augusto Rosin – Doctoral Student from the ESALQ/USP Soil Science Department
Marcelo Henrique Procópio Pelegrino – Postdoctoral student at Esalq/USP’s Soil Science Department
Heidy Soledad Rodríguez-Albarracin-Postdoctoral student at ESALQ/USP Soil Science Department
