Forensic Science Program, CODTIS, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia.
Jabatan Kimia Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
Crit Rev Anal Chem. 2024;54(8):3520-3558. doi: 10.1080/10408347.2023.2253473. Epub 2023 Sep 6.
Soil is one type of Earth material demonstrating a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological properties. As the compositional profile of soil is a product of interaction between numerous abiotic and biotic components, it tends to be unique by its geographic origin. Hence, soil is paramount for predicting source or origin in forensic provenance and intelligence, food provenance, biosecurity, and archaeology. In the context of forensic investigation, source tracing of soil could be executed by a comparison or provenance analysis. Soil compositional fingerprints acquired using analytical methods must be carefully interpreted suitable mathematical and statistical tools since multiple sources can contribute to the variability of soil other than its provenance. This article reviews recent trends in soil sampling and data interpretation strategies proposed for source tracing of soil evidence. Performances of soil provenance indicators are also described. Then, perspectives on possible research directions guiding forensic soil provenance are proposed. This timely critical review reveals the essential idea and gap in forensic soil provenance for stimulating the development of more efficient and effective provenance strategies.
土壤是一种展示出广泛物理、化学和生物特性的地球物质类型。由于土壤的成分剖面是众多非生物和生物成分相互作用的产物，因此它往往因其地理起源而具有独特性。因此，土壤对于预测法医来源和产地、食品产地、生物安全和考古学中的来源至关重要。在法医调查的背景下，可以通过比较或产地分析来执行土壤来源追踪。使用分析方法获得的土壤成分指纹必须仔细解释，因为除了产地之外，还有其他因素会导致土壤的变异性，因此需要使用适当的数学和统计工具。本文综述了最近在土壤采样和数据解释策略方面的发展趋势，这些策略是为了追踪土壤证据的来源。还描述了土壤产地指标的性能。然后，提出了指导法医土壤产地研究方向的观点。这一及时的批判性综述揭示了法医土壤产地中的关键问题和差距，为刺激更高效和有效的产地策略的发展提供了思路。
