X-ray fluorescence spectrometry applied to digital mapping of soil fertility attributes in tropical region with elevated spatial variability.

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry offers valuable information for prediction models of soil fertility attributes spatial variation, although this approach is yet scarce in tropical regions. This study aims to predict and build spatial variability maps of soil pH, remaining phosphorus (P-Rem), soil organic matter (SOM) and sum of bases (SB) using pXRF results through stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) and Random Forest (RF) in a highly variable tropical area. Composite samples from soil A horizon were collected at 90 points throughout the campus of the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, for pH, P-Rem, SOM, SB and pXRF analyses.