Soil analysis is crucial for many reasons varying from agriculture, forensics and geology. Soil analysis provides information on the chemical, physical and biological status of the soil and this knowledge can help famers with their crop health as they have better understanding of nutrient levels in their soil. It also will prevent farmers over-applying fertilizers as the results of soil analysis can provide the farmer with an estimate of the amount of fertilizer nutrients needed to supplement soil. Soil analysis is also important in forensics as every soil has its own unique chemical properties which can be used as identification markers in crimes. In this study, 48 samples were collected from four areas of Papua New Guinea and a control site (Pacific Adventist University, NARI Laloki, Koitaki and Varirata National Park). These samples were collected to analyse the compositions in the soil and to differentiate the soil by location. Using XRF for elemental analysis, five main elements that were found in every location in high amounts, iron, titanium, calcium, aluminium and silicon. Silicon was the most abundant element that consistently had the highest concentrations in all locations whilst calcium had the lowest concentration throughout all locations. Statistical testing was conducted on the XRF results using ANOVA and it was performed on each main element which stated that the groups were statistically different from one another. Further post-hoc testing was done using multiple two-sample t-tests to identify specific elements with differing means. It was determined that there is a statistically significant difference between the means of the groups, for example, Ti and Ca elements with a high degree of confidence. XRD analysis was performed to identify any minerals in the soils, all samples were exported using OriginPro and stacked creating multiple spectra. Two samples were randomly selected and were analysed using Profex 5.3.0. Using an initial search-and-match process, the compounds with the highest matching fractions and FoM were incorporated as phases. Quartz was the most common and was present in both samples. By using both X-ray techniques, the soil was able to be differentiated by locations which aids in forensic science.
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