AI-enabled UAV-based Soil Organic Carbon Mapping in Arid Environments: A Pilot Study Protocol

Introduction Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important indicator of soil health, agricultural productivity, and carbon sequestration potential. However, accurate and scalable SOC mapping in arid environments is constrained by high spatial heterogeneity and the limitations of conventional soil sampling. This study aims to develop a standardized UAV-enabled framework for high-resolution SOC mapping in arid agricultural environments. Methods A pilot-study protocol integrating UAV-based hyperspectral remote sensing with artificial intelligence and machine learning was developed. The workflow encompasses study-site selection, ground-reference sampling, UAV hyperspectral data acquisition, radiometric and geometric preprocessing, spectral feature extraction and selection, machine-learning model development, validation, uncertainty assessment, and performance evaluation using R 2 , RMSE, and MAE. The protocol also incorporates assessment of environmental confounders, including soil moisture, surface roughness, and crop residues. Results The resulting framework provides a systematic and reproducible workflow for UAV-based SOC estimation, integrating field observations, hyperspectral features, predictive modelling, and uncertainty assessment. It establishes defined procedures for evaluating model robustness and transferability across varying field conditions. Discussion The framework addresses an important methodological gap in UAV-enabled SOC mapping by integrating remote sensing and AI within a standardized pilot-study design. Its emphasis on environmental confounders and uncertainty assessment can improve the reliability and comparability of SOC mapping studies. However, field validation across diverse arid environments remains necessary. Conclusion The proposed protocol provides a practical foundation for reproducible SOC mapping and subsequent field validation, supporting precision agriculture, sustainable soil management, and carbon monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) in arid regions.