Developing a digital mapping of soil organic carbon on a national scale using Sentinel-2 and hybrid models at varying spatial resolutions

Mapping the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is crucial for monitoring soil health, understanding ecosystem functions, and contributing to global carbon cycling. However, few studies have directly compared the influence of hybrid models and individual models with varying spatial resolutions on SOC prediction at a national scale. In this study, by combining remote sensing data, we utilized the LUCAS 2018 soil dataset to evaluate the potential capacities of hybrid models for predicting SOC content at different spatial resolutions in Germany. The hybrid models PLSRK and RFK consisted of partial least square regression (PLSR) with residual original kriging (OK) models, and random forest (RF) models with residual OK models, respectively. Individual PLSR and RF models were used as reference models. All these models were applied to estimate SOC content at 10 m, 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m spatial resolutions. Sentinel-2 bands, band indices, and topography variables were as predictors. The results revealed that hybrid models had a more accurate prediction of SOC content with higher explanations and lower prediction errors compared with individual models. The RFK model at the spatial resolution of 100 m was the fittest model with R2 = 0.416, RMSE = 0.545, and RPIQ = 1.647, which enhanced 3.74% of explanation compared with the performance of RF model. The results also showed that hybrid models at a relatively coarse resolution (100 m) had better accuracy instead of those at high spatial resolution (10 m, 50 m). Sentinel-2 remote sensing data showed significant predictive capabilities for estimating SOC content. The predicted spatial distribution of SOC content revealed that the high SOC concentrated in the northwest grassland, central and southwestern mountains, and the Alps in Germany. Our study provided a benchmark SOC map in Germany for monitoring the changes resulting from land use and climate impacts, and we illustrated the accuracy of hybrid models and the effects of spatial resolutions on SOC predictions at a national scale.