Spatial Variability of Soil pH and Phosphorus Content at UTP Campus

• Main Author: Darail, Nuraini
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi Petronas 2008
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/7391/1/2008%20-%20Spatial%20variability%20of%20soil%20pH%20phosphorus%20content%20at%20University%20petronas%20Campus.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/7391/

This study was done to determine the spatial variability of soil pH and Phosphorus content at University Technology PETRONAS (UTP) in Tronoh, Perak. This study is important to determine the spatial variability of the soil pH and Phosphorus content that may be useful in the field management zones and could maximize application benefits. Accurate information on the spatial variability of these soil properties is very essential to develop site-specific management for this study area. This study was done by applying geostatistical methods to characterize the spatial variability of soil pH and Phosphorus at UTP campus geostatistically and correlate it to the environment practices and characteristics. An evaluation of the scale of variability of soil pH and Phosphorus at UTP campus was conducted using autocorrelation analysis of 50 samples which were grid-sampled by 50m spacing. The locations of sample were determined by geo-rid positioning done by using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The samples were then collected at depth of 0-20 em by using soil auger and clean plastics to preserve its properties. Collection of the soil samples was done in order to cover all types of the soil series dominant in the study area. The soil samples were then analyzed to determine its pH and Phosphorus content. From the laboratory results, geostatistical analyses; semivariogram and kriging were done. The semivariogram analysis examines the autocorrelation among the data set using GS+ software while kriging method enables mapping of soil pH and Phosphorus content over the entire study area using Surfer32 software. Results indicate that significant spatial variability of soil pH and Phosphorus exist. Nugget-tosill ratio for both soil pH and Phosphorus are lower than 25%. This indicates that both pH and Phosphorus has a strong dependency.