Regional Inversion of Soil Heavy Metal Cr Content in Agricultural Land Using Zhuhai-1 Hyperspectral Images

With the development of hyperspectral imaging technology, the potential for utilizing hyperspectral images to accurately estimate heavy metal concentrations in regional soil has emerged. Currently, soil heavy metal inversion based on laboratory hyperspectral data has demonstrated a commendable level of accuracy. However, satellite images are susceptible to environmental factors such as atmospheric and soil background, presenting a significant challenge in the accurate estimation of soil heavy metal concentrations. In this study, typical chromium (Cr)-contaminated agricultural land in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China, was taken as the study area. Soil sample collection, Cr content determination, laboratory spectral measurements, and hyperspectral satellite image collection were carried out simultaneously. The Zhuhai-1 hyperspectral satellite image spectra were corrected to match laboratory spectra using the direct standardization (DS) algorithm. Then, the corrected spectra were integrated into an optimal model based on laboratory spectral data and sample Cr content data for regional inversion of soil heavy metal Cr content in agricultural land. The results indicated that the combination of standard normal variate (SNV)+ uninformative variable elimination (UVE)+ support vector regression (SVR) model performed best with laboratory spectral data, achieving a high accuracy with an R(2) of 0.97, RMSE of 5.87, MAE of 4.72, and RPD of 4.04. The DS algorithm effectively transformed satellite hyperspectral image data into spectra resembling laboratory measurements, mitigating the impact of environmental factors. Therefore, it can be applied for regional inversion of soil heavy metal content. Overall, the study area exhibited a low-risk level of Cr content in the soil, with the majority of Cr content values falling within the range of 36.21–76.23 mg/kg. Higher concentrations were primarily observed in the southeastern part of the study area. This study can provide useful exploration for the promotion and application of Zhuhai-1 image data in the regional inversion of soil heavy metals.