Spatial variability assessment and mapping of soil properties for sustainable agricultural production using remote sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Abstract

Low knowledge of the suitability of land in agricultural production is a major problem for land users. To better assess soil distribution structures, remote sensing and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) are considered the most effective tools to achieve this goal. In this paper, we investigated the spatial variability of some soil chemical and fertility properties in the Ridhora watershed of Nagpur, Maharashtra region, India. From the study area 59 Soil samples were collected using a systematic sampling strategy from 0 to 15 cm below the surface at a regular grid spacing of 1km× 1km with different vegetation cover and all the samples were transported to the laboratory After the creation of standard data, Statistical analysis was used to describe the soil structure, geostatistical statistical analysis was used to describe the spatial correlation of soil properties, and the spatial distribution of these structures was adjusted using mapping techniques. The results showed that in the study area the variability of soil fertility was low to moderate N; Available P ranges from low to high and available K ranges from moderately high to very high. Available Zn and Fe showed deficiency in 60.9% and 7.40% of the study area, respectively