Usage of satellite data for soil mapping: Modern tendencies and problems

The modern specifics of the use of satellite data for soil mapping was analyzed. At present, despite that remote sensing methods have long been developed, the satellite data is still quite rarely used in soil science for compilation of soil maps. Some researchers use satellite color composites as the background as well as a data source for analysis of relief conditions of a territory for soil mapping. Others try to develop methods for automated analysis of satellite images. The use of different methods to a large extent is determined by the scale of maps and geographical features of the research area. In most cases, multispectral data of high and very high spatial resolution are used. Radar satellite imagery and hyperspectral data are used for soil mapping only in some cases. In contrast to previous decades, now more research is aimed on mapping of the individual properties of the surface soil horizon, rather than for compilation of soil maps. This is due to the fact that the properties of the upper soil horizon are not always related to their classification status, which have to be shown on soil maps.