Evaluation of Spatial Interpolation Techniques for Mapping Soil pH

Abstract: Soil pH has a major effect on plant nutrient availability by controlling the chemical structure of the nutrient. Adjusting soil acidity or alkalinity improves soil nutrition without adding extra fertilizers. Soil nutrients needed by plants in the largest amount are referred to as macronutrients. In addition to macronutrients, plants also need trace nutrients and both macro and trace nutrient availability is controlled by soil pH. Understanding of spatial variability of soil properties is important in site-specific management. Analysis of spatial variation of soil properties is fundamental to sustainable agricultural and rural development. The special variability of soil property is often measured using various interpolation methods resulting in map generation. Selecting a proper spatial interpolation method is crucial in surface analysis, since different methods of interpolation can lead to different surface results. Among statistical methods, geo-statistical kriging-based techniques have been frequently used for spatial analysis and surface mapping