Machine learning strategy for soil nutrients prediction using spectroscopic method

Trontelj, Janez (author), Chambers, Olga (author)

The research presented in this paper is based on the hypothesis that the machine learning approach improves the accuracy of soil properties prediction. The correlations obtained in this research are important for understanding the overall strategy for soil properties prediction using optical spectroscopy sensors. Several research results have been stated and investigated. A comparison is made between six commonly used techniques: Random Forest, Decision Tree, Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machine, Least-Square Support Vector Machine and Artificial Neural Network, showing that the best prediction accuracy cannot always be achieved by the most common and complicated method. The influence of the chosen category for nutrient characterization was investigated, indicating better prediction when a multi-component strategy was used. In contrast, the prediction of single-component soil properties was less accurate. In addition, the influence of category levels was not as significant as expected when choosing between 3-level, 5-level or 13-level nutrient characterization for some nutrients, which can be used for a more precise nutrient characterization strategy. A comparative analysis was performed between soil from a local farm with similar texture and soils collected from different locations in Slovenia, which gave a better prediction for a local farm. Finally, the influence of principal component analysis was validated using 5, 10, 20 and 50 first principal components, indicating the better performance of machine learning when using the 50 principal components.

• Language: English
• Keywords: machine learning, nutrients prediction, soil spectra, soil analysis, soil category, precision farming
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 13 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 21, iss. 12, art. 4208
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135434
• UDC: 631.4:004.8
• ISSN on article: 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s21124208
• COBISS.SI-ID: 67722755
• Publication date in RUL: 15.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Sensors
• Shortened title: Sensors
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1424-8220
• COBISS.SI-ID: 10176278

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 19.06.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: strojno učenje, ugotavljanje rodovitnosti prsti, spekter prsti, analiza prsti, kategorija prsti, natančno kmetovanje