Geomorphometric Analyses of LiDAR Digital Terrain Models as Input for Digital Soil Mapping

Abstract

The delineation of supposedly homogeneous soil units for the production of high-quality soil maps usually involves intensive field work and requires comprehensive expert knowledge. There is a need for automated, timesaving and more objective methods of digital soil mapping, which are based on available data on soil forming factors and demand only little additional field work (see McBratney et al. 2003, Lagacherie et al. 2006). This study investigates the applicability of airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data to delineate entities relevant for digital soil mapping using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach. Possible improvements of accuracy compared to the use of coarser relief data shall be exemplified.