In order to search for the difference of the soil of Chinese herb growth, and provide useful information for the area choice of Chinese herb culture, 53 soil samples were detected by FTIR. The results showed that all the samples have 8 peaks at 3,621, 3,425, 1,642, 1,435, 1,029, 878, 760 and 690 cm(-1), respectively, but the relative intensity is different. In addition, the peaks at 1,796, 2,982 and 2,874 cm(-1) show difference too. This can be used to distinguish soil in different area. The study also showed that soil in Tianshui and Dingxi of Gansu province are similar to that in Shanxi province.
Conclusions: FTIR finger print of soil can provide useful information for the area choice of Chinese herb culture and transplantation and can be used in the study of soil.