DOI

Topographic features of territory have a significant impact on the spatial distribution of soil properties. This research is focused on digital soil mapping (DSM) of main agrochemical soil properties-values of soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, pH, and thickness of the humus-accumulative (AB) horizon of arable lands in the Trans-Ural steppe zone (Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia). The methods of multiple linear regression (MLR) and support vector machine (SVM) were used for the prediction of soil nutrients spatial distribution and variation. We used 17 topographic indices calculated using the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) digital elevation model. Results showed that SVM is the best method in predicting the spatial variation of all soil agrochemical properties with comparison to MLR. According to the coefficient of determination R2, the best predictive models were obtained for content of nitrogen (R2 = 0.74), SOC (R2 = 0.66), and potassium (R2 = 0.62). In our study, elevation, slope, and MMRTF (multiresolution ridge top flatness) index are the most important variables. The developed methodology can be used to study the spatial distribution of soil nutrients and large-scale mapping in similar landscapes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number243
Number of pages12
JournalISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
Volume10
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 7 Apr 2021

    Scopus subject areas

  • Computers in Earth Sciences
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)

    Research areas

  • Agrochemical properties, Digital soil mapping, MLR, SVM, Topographic variables, agrochemical properties, digital soil mapping, topographic variables

ID: 77777739