Comparison of Artificial Intelligence and Geostatistical Methods in Soil Surface Salinity Prediction in Ghorghori, Hirmand

In this study, geostatistical methods and artificial intelligence models (artificial neural network, decision tree, and support vector machine) were used to simulate the soil salinity of Ghorghori lands in Hirmand city. A total of 130 soil samples were collected from 0-30 cm layers of the soil. The electrical conductivity of each sample was measured using an electrical conductivity device. Soil salinity values were estimated using Geostatistical methods and artificial intelligence methods. Geostatistical and artificial intelligence models were applied and the best model was selected; the accuracy of the methods was compared using independent validation. The results showed that the artificial intelligence methods outperformed the geostatistical method in estimating the soil salinity of the artificial intelligence methods, the decision tree model was the superior model due to its coefficient of determination of 0.99 and RMSE and MAE statistics of 0.26 and 0.18 respectively. The salinity trend showed that the salinity of the soil of the region decreases from west to east first and then increases and decreases from north to south. In order to preserve the environment of the region, the field of planting plant species compatible with the region should be provided in accordance with soil salinity.