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Measurement of Soil Color: A Comparison Between Smartphone Camera and the Munsell Color Charts
Author(s) -
Fan Zhaosheng,
Herrick Jeffrey E.,
Saltzman Rick,
Matteis Christina,
Yudina Anna,
Nocella Nicholas,
Crawford Edward,
Parker Rick,
Van Zee Justin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2017.01.0009
Subject(s) - environmental science , remote sensing , smartphone app , computer science , geography , internet privacy
Core Ideas Smartphone cameras can be used to reliably measure soil color. Soil color measured with smartphone cameras had less subjectivity and uncertainty. Natural lighting conditions affected the accuracy of the soil color measured with smartphone cameras. Soil color is one of the most useful soil properties for assessing and monitoring soil health. Here we present results of tests of a new soil color app for mobile phones. Various smartphone cameras (SPCs) were tested under sunny and cloudy conditions and compared with visual estimates using Munsell color charts (MCCs). The measured and estimated soil colors were then compared with the “true” colors determined using a spectrophotometer. The results indicated that soil color determinations based on SPC measurements under both sunny and cloudy conditions were as good as those obtained using the MCCs. The accuracy of the SPC measurements was affected by the natural illumination conditions, with higher accuracy in the sun than where clouds were present. Our results also indicated that the SPC measurements completed in the sun provide higher precision (lower variance) than SPC measurements completed under cloudy conditions or estimates based on MCCs. These results suggest that mobile‐device cameras have great potential to allow non–soil scientists, and others lacking access to color charts, to determine soil color.