Reducing Temporal Uncertainty in Soil Bulk Density Estimation Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning Approaches

Abstract

Abstract. Soil bulk density (BD), a key physical property affecting soil compaction, porosity, and carbon stock estimation, exhibits considerable spatial and temporal variability. However, current BD estimation methods especially traditional pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are inherently static and not designed for temporal analysis. This presents a significant limitation for soil monitoring across large and heterogeneous regions. In this study, we developed a machine learning (ML) approach integrated with remote sensing data to map and monitor BD across Thailand from 2004 to 2009 at national scale. We used multispectral indices, topographic variables, climate data, and organic carbon content to train six ML models: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Deep Neural Networks, Random Forest, Support Vector Regression, XGBoost, and LightGBM. Model performance was evaluated using in-situ BD measurements from 236 soil samples collected in 2004. For benchmarking purposes, 76 published PTFs were also assessed on the same dataset. Results showed that the ANN model achieved the highest prediction accuracy (R² = 0.986; RMSE = 0.017 g cm^-3), outperforming both other ML models and all PTFs. Temporal analysis using the ANN model revealed a 7.27 % increase in mean BD and a 41.23 % reduction in standard deviation between 2004 and 2009, indicating increased soil compaction and reduced variability. Feature importance analysis identified organic carbon, vegetation indices, slope, and temperature as the most influential variables. The resulting high-resolution BD maps captured national-scale spatial and temporal trends and provide a robust foundation for soil quality monitoring, carbon accounting, and sustainable land use planning in tropical agroecosystems.