Remote sensing in demarcation of laterite soil: a case study

Abstract

Soil identification in arid areas, specifically at remote locations, is a difficult proposition. Current methodologies used in remote sensing techniques to identify Laterite soils have low reliability. In this paper, the new index “Normalized Difference Laterite Soil Index (NDLSI)” were developed for identification of Laterite soil by suppressing signature of vegetation using NDVI on RS data. The NDLSI were validated in Bidar taluk, which is a part of Deccan plateau, located in North-Eastern part of Karnataka, India. Spectral band combination of Landsat 8 OLI_TIRS (15^th April, 2017) imagery were used to delineate the soil category. At first, conventional NDVI index is used to differentiate between vegetation and water body. Then SWIR (Band 6) along with Cirrus cloud (Band 9) were used to detect the Laterite soil. Ground verification showed the robustness of methodology with an accuracy of over 85%.