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Scale-dependent geostatistical modelling of crop-soil relationships in view of Precision Agriculture

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Abstract

Assessing and modelling within-field variability of crop and soil at different scales is a pre-requisite for effective management in Precision Agriculture. Actually, site-specific agronomic management cannot disregard knowledge of the associated scale(s) of the phenomena occurring in the soil and plant that a farmer wishes to control. A partition of the field into management zones has then to be scale-dependent because it may vary as a result of scaling. The objective of this study was to construct a scale-dependent model of spatial soil-crop relationships by using a multivariate geostatistical approach for producing field partition at the relevant scales. Some soil attributes and confined compression function parameters, photosynthetic parameters and wheat yields were determined at 100 locations on a regular grid (150 m × 150 m) covering the whole field area (200 ha). A nested linear model of coregionalization was estimated and a Factorial cokriging analysis was performed to model the multivariate correlation structure and calculate regionalized factors at three different scales. The retained regionalized factors were: the first factor at 545 m scale, showing greater spatial correlation with yield parameters; the second factor at the same scale, more correlated with plant photosynthetic parameter and mechanical properties of soil; the first longer-scale factor, which might be interpreted as an inverse indicator of soil compaction. It was more related to variables clay and bulk density that can be assumed stationary at a scale extending beyond the actual size of the field. Each of these three factors produced a different partition of the field, each of which could be used for different purposes and to manage distinct agronomic operations. The results showed the complexity of the soil-crop interactions due to the influence of distinct sources of variation working on several spatial scales. The multi-scale delineation of the field in homogeneous zones emphasises the need not to neglect the scale associated with agronomic operations, in order to increase the effectiveness of site-specific management.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Also, this research was partially supported by Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

    Ladan Heydari & Hossein Bayat

  2. G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti Scalo, Italy

    Annamaria Castrignanò

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  1. Ladan Heydari
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Correspondence to Ladan Heydari.

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Heydari, L., Bayat, H. & Castrignanò, A. Scale-dependent geostatistical modelling of crop-soil relationships in view of Precision Agriculture. Precision Agric 24, 1261–1287 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-023-09989-5

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