This study aims to analyze the influence of chemical and physical constituents of the soil in their spectral response, since the interaction of electromagnetic energy with the soil can be changed depending on the variability of their attributes. The research was conducted in reference-areas of preserved Caatinga, degraded Caatinga, buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) and Mango crop (Mangifera indica L.), located at Embrapa Semiarid in Petrolina - PE. We used georeferenced data of 120 soil samples. The chemical and physical analyzes were performed at the Soil Laboratory of Embrapa Semi-Arid and the spectral measurements in the Spectroradiometry Laboratory of UEFS. The spectral curves obtained by spectroradiometry demonstrated how soil attributes act upon their spectral response. From the spectral curves were defined absorption bands throughout the spectrum that correlated significantly with soil attributes. By correlating the chemical and textural analyzes with the spectral curves we can see how each attribute influences the soil reflectance and thus predict the range that each attribute can be better interpreted. In addition, the correlation can demonstrate which of attributes are most influential or significant for the formation of absorption features. For the analyzed soil the best responses were found for the micronutrients Fe, Cu and Zn.Pages: 9195-920
