Exploring the spatial variability of soil properties in an Alfisol soil catena

- Short-scale spatial heterogeneity in an Alfisol soil catena is elucidated.
- Moderate to strong spatial structure is present at soil catenary level.
- Human activities affect the soil spatial heterogeneity at soil catenary level.

Detailed digital soil maps showing the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties consistent with the landscape are required for site-specific management of plant nutrients, land use planning and process-based environmental modeling. We characterized the short-scale spatial heterogeneity of soil properties in an Alfisol catena in a tropical landscape of Sri Lanka. The impact of different land-uses (paddy, vegetable and un-cultivated) was examined to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on the variability of soil properties at the catenary level. Conditioned Latin hypercube sampling was used to collect 58 geo-referenced topsoil samples (0-30 cm) from the study area. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and texture. The spatial correlation between soil properties was analyzed by computing cross-variograms and subsequent fitting of theoretical model. Spatial distribution maps were developed using ordinary kriging. The range of soil properties, pH: 4.3-7.9; EC: 0.01-0.18 dS m− 1; OC: 0.1-1.37%; CEC: 0.44-11.51 cmol (+) kg− 1; clay: 1.5-25% and sand: 59.1-84.4% and their coefficient of variations indicated a large variability in the study area. Electrical conductivity and pH showed a strong spatial correlation which was reflected by the cross-variogram close to the hull of the perfect correlation. Moreover, cross-variograms calculated for EC and Clay, CEC and OC, CEC and clay and CEC and pH indicated weak positive spatial correlation between these properties. Relative nugget effect (RNE) calculated from variograms showed strongly structured spatial variability for pH, EC and sand content (RNE < 25%) while CEC, organic carbon and clay content showed moderately structured spatial variability (25% < RNE < 75%). Spatial dependencies for examined soil properties ranged from 48 to 984 m. The mixed effects model fitting followed by Tukey's post-hoc test showed significant effect of land use on the spatial variability of EC. Our study revealed a structured variability of topsoil properties in the selected tropical Alfisol catena. Except for EC, observed variability was not modified by the land uses. Investigated soil properties showed distinct spatial structures at different scales and magnitudes of strength. Our results will be useful for digital soil mapping, site specific management of soil properties, developing appropriate land use plans and quantifying anthropogenic impacts on the soil system.