Exploratory and geostatistical analysis of physical properties on a tropical soil

Abstract

Design and management of irrigation systems depends on adequate measurements of soil physical properties. Soil water relationships are affected by soil texture, particularly by its clay content. Some soil samples are randomly obtained from the irrigated field, while an average is obtained to describe the soil texture variables in all fields. However, if a spatial dependence exists, the spatial distribution of these variables is not adequately described. Research has been conducted at experimental irrigated field of ESALQ/USP - Brazil, to evaluate the spatial dependence and the influence of the exploratory analysis on geostatistical study of sand and clay contents of soil. Results showed that a careful exploratory analysis could be previously undertaken for semivariograms and their interpretation