Chemical sensors and biosensors for soil analysis: principles, challenges, and emerging applications

Soil analysis is the basis of the nutritional recommendation and the fertilization formulated. Research can be expected to expand into the detection of toxins in groundwater, vehicle emissions, biotoxins in public places, and a wide variety of chemicals in the control of manufacturing processes. Chemical sensors promise inexpensive and manageable analytical devices or instruments for environmental monitoring and soil analysis in particular. However, scientists define chemical sensors as devices that determine the detectable presence, concentration, or quantity of a given analyte. The capacity of chemical sensing technology is enormous and has grown steadily over the past decades, but it has been overtaken by the needs and diversity of chemical measurements. This chapter highlights the principal forms of chemical sensors (e.g., multisensory sensors, pH sensors, etc.) and the main benefits of using chemical sensors in soil analysis, as well as their technical challenges and emerging applications. The chapter also discusses different biosensors (microbial biosensors) employed for monitoring soil and the factors affecting their use from proof-of-concept to the commercialization stage.