The Physical and Chemical Characteristic of 30 Soil Samples from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor: A Discriminative Study

Soil is one of the most common natural elements encountered by humans in their daily lives, either consciously or unconsciously. Soil is defined as ‘a material, which can be more or less friable and loose, in which the plant can obtain nourishment, foothold and other essential growth factors by means of their roots’ [1]. Soil is categorized as trace evidence in forensic science. The earliest written record pertaining to the application of soil in forensic science dates back to 1857 by a certain Hans Gross [2]. Although soil sample may look simple, if analyzed the right way, it can be deemed powerful, forensically. Soil possesses a range of characteristics that facilitates its usage as crucial forensic evidence. This includes the ability of soil to be individualized easily based on sampling location and content. In addition, the analytical process that follows for soil samples are non-tedious, direct, and easy and time savvy. It is also one of the least familiar trace evidence particularly to a criminal, making it highly likely to be encountered in forensic cases, untouched [3]. In Malaysia, although there have been many researchers conducted using soil, particularly for agricultural purposes, there has been little or no work steering towards forensic soil analysis in the country. Thus, this project was developed to fill the gap, by looking into various soil samples across the Klang Valley, focusing on the ability of simple techniques that utilizes the characteristics of soil such as particle size distribution, color, pH, percentage of organic content and trace metal analysis to differentiate soil samples originating from different locations in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.