Hine learning approaches in downstream lands of Azad dam (case study: Kurdistan province)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 1. Assistant professor of Soil and Water Research Department, Kordestan agricultural and natural resources and education center, AREEO, Sanandaj, Iran

2 Assistant professor of soil and water research department, Kermanshah agricultural and natural resource and education center, AREEO, Kermanshah, Iran.

3 Students, M.Sc. Graduate, Department of Science and Soil Engineering, Razi University, Faculty of Agriculture

Abstract

Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) encompasses a variety of methodologies that can yield precise spatial information about soil by establishing quantitative relationships between environmental covariates (predictors) and soil classes or properties. In this study, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), Decision Tree (DT), Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR), and Random Forest (RF) algorithms were used to predict the soil map of downstream lands of Azad dam with an area of approximately 178.3 ha in the northwest of Sanandaj city in Kurdistan province. A random soil sampling method was used to determine the location and distribution of the 84 soil profiles in the study area. After recording soil morphological attributes, sampling of all horizons was conducted for required laboratory analysis. Afterward, the soil profiles were classified up to the family taxonomic level based on US classification system. Based on the soil taxonomy classification system, Inceptisols and Entisols order were observed by frequency, two Suborder, three Great groups, five Subgroups, and Family. To calculate the predictor variables, a digital elevation model (DEM) with a 10 m spatial resolution and Sentinel 2-B satellite images were used in the study area. To check the prediction accuracy of the models the Overall accuracy (OA), Kappa Index (K), and Brier Score (BS) were used. The best result was obtained by the ANN model (OA=0.65, K=0.53, and BS=0.16, respectively). The weakest predictions were found by DT model with OA, K, and BS of 0.38, 0.22, and 0.87, respectively.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Hine learning approaches in downstream lands of Azad dam (case study: Kurdistan province)

 

Extended Abstract

 

Objective

All agro-economic and environmental activities usually need detailed information about the distribution of soil classes and their characteristics. Digital soil mapping relies on relating soil classes or properties to a particular set of covariates, which capture inherent soil spatial variation. DSM generates accurate soil spatial information through quantitative relationships between environmental covariates (predictors) and soil classes or properties. In DSM, different machine learning algorithms model The relationships between soil and auxiliary variables (e.g., remotely sensed data) and predict soil classes or properties at unknown points.

Research method

In this study, artificial neural network (ANN), decision tree (C.5), logistic regression (MLR), and random forest (RF) were used to predict soil class maps. The relationships between soil and the environment could be well explained by a practical collection of covariates and a good algorithm. The studied region with approximately 178.3 ha is located downstream lands of the Azad dam ​​ in northwest of Sanandaj in Kurdistan province. Based on the meteorological data, the soil temperature and moisture regimes were estimated as mesic and xeric, respectively. The main landforms of the studied area are Footslope, Convergent Backslope, and Divergent Shoulder and the main land use is farm. A random pattern was used to determine the position and distribution of the 84 profiles in the studied area. At each observation point, a soil profile was dug and accurately described and sampled. Physico-chemical analyses like electrical conductivity, soil pH, soil texture, TNV, and organic carbon were carried out based on the standard methods. Based on morphological characteristics and laboratory data, each profile was classified up to the family level based on soil taxonomy.

Finding and conclusions

Two orders (Inceptisols and Entisols) two Suborder, three Great groups, five Subgroups, and a Family were identified in the studied region. Topographic attributes were derived from a digital elevation model with a 10 m cell size. All types of DEM covariates (such as curvatures, slope, aspect, elevation, convergent index, LS factor, topographic wetness index, catchment area, close depressions, valley depth, and …) were extracted using SAGA GIS from DEM. RS covariates were extracted from atmospherically corrected sentinel-2B images. Algorithms were trained with 70% of randomly selected data and validated with the rest of 30% of the dataset. The Kappa coefficient of agreement (K), overall accuracy (OA), and Brier score were used to assess the performance of each model. The best result was obtained for the ANN model (OA=0.65, k=0.53, and BS=0.16, respectively). The weakest predictions were for the C.5 model with 0.38 Overall accuracy, 0.22 kappa index, and 0.87 Brier score. These results are due to the fact that the performance of machine learning models depends on the study area, the number of observation points, and the type and number of predictor variables.

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