ABSTRACT
The term 'soil' refers to the pedological cover: upper layer situated between the atmosphere, biosphere and fresh rock. Remote sensing is useful for direct acquisition of soil information on multiple dates without altering the surface state and continuously in geographic space. Escadafal characterises it with the following parameters: colour, texture, effervescence, coarse soil components, vegetation and animal organic matter and its cover, algae, moss and other plant material; surface features such as slaking crusts, efflorescences, pores and cracks, microrelief, etc. Soil colour is measured in the field with reference to the Munsell code. Hues for soils vary from red to yellow, passing through all the intermediate spectral bands. Roughness may also be associated with microrelief created by sands, gravel, pebbles or blocks permanently situated on the soil surface. Interpretation is facilitated since information is acquired at a single moment in a homogeneous manner over a vast field.
