Assessment of geostatistical models for zoning spatial distribution of some soil properties in Darengan region with different land uses, Fars province

Determination of the physico-chemical characteristics of soil for sustainable agriculture on large scales is an important factor in achieving a precision agriculture. Different land use and management practices greatly impact soil properties, and knowledge of the variation in soil properties within different land uses, is essential in determining production constraints related to soil characteristics. Laboratory analyses of the soil properties are usually expensive and time consuming. Surmounting these problems is possible using geostatistics. This study was conducted to assess geostatistical methods for the spatial distribution of some soil properties of Darengan region with different land uses in Fars province. 134 surface soil samples at an interval of 1.0 × 1.0 km on a grid design were taken from pasture and agricultural land uses. Physico-chemical characteristics of the soil samples were analyzed. According to the results, the best spatial structure model with the highest accuracy was exponential model for the variables of sand, EC, CCE, pH, and BD, rational quadratic model for silt, and spherical model for clay, OC, and CEC. The spatial structure was weak for CCE, medium for organic carbon, and strong for the other variables. Among the characteristics studied, the variables of silt, clay and cation exchange capacity have the lowest range, and EC has the highest range. Based on the zoning map of the studied properties, the areas with agricultural land use had greater OC, clay, CEC, EC and lower pH. Understanding soil properties with their spatial dependency is of crucial importance for understanding the behavior of soil and hence providing better soil management.