Distribution Characteristics and Seasonal Variation of Soil Nutrients in the Mun River Basin, Thailand

Abstract

Based on soil sampling data from the dry season and the rainy season, the spatial heterogeneity and spatial pattern of soil nutrients in the Mun River Basin, Thailand, were studied and the seasonal variation in soil nutrients was analyzed using classical statistical methods and geostatistical methods. The soil nutrient content in the Mun Basin showed moderate and strong variations, and the descending order of soil variability was as follows: available phosphorous (AP) > electric conductivity (EC) > soil organic matter (SOM) > total nitrogen (TN) > pH value in the dry season, with AP showing strong variation, and EC > AP > SOM > TN > pH in the rainy season, with EC showing strong variation. Different soil nutrients and different soil properties had different spatial variation characteristics, and their corresponding best-fitting models were also different. Based on the nugget (C0), sill (C0 + C), and range (A), spatial analysis was performed for the soil nutrients, pH, and EC in the dry season and in the rainy season. Analysis based on kriging spatial interpolation data showed that pH, SOM, TN, and EC had convex or concave distributions, whereas AP had a patchy distribution. Terrain, vegetation, and human disturbance are the main factors that contribute to the differences in the soil nutrient pattern of the Mun River Basin.