Digital soil classification trough environmental covariables of the Mixteco river watershed.

  • Mario Roberto Martínez Menez Colegio de Postgraduados
  • Gerardo Colín García Colegio de Postgraduados
  • Demetrio Salvador Fernández Reynoso Colegio de Postgraduados
  • José Donaldo Ríos Berber Colegio de Postgraduados
  • Patricio Sánchez Guzmán Colegio de Postgraduados
  • Erasmo Rubio Granados Colegio de Postgraduados
  • Laura Alicia Ibáñez Castillo Universidad Autónoma Chapingo
Keywords: digital soil mapping, covariance analysis, soil units, Kappa Index, Mixteca region

Abstract

The lack of detailed maps of spatial distribution of soil units is a frequent constraint in decision-making processes, hydrological modeling, and productive assessment of an area. In this work, the Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) technique was applied, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to obtain the spatial distribution of dominant soil units in a watershed. The study area was the Mixteco watershed, which covers an area of 655 903 ha, of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. For DSM, topographic, hydrological, climatic and geological environmental covariables were used. The environmental covariables with greater impact on the spatial distribution of soil units, in order of importance, were geological, topographic and climatic. Digital classification was based on 142 randomly distributed training areas and 60 sites for validation of results. In the watershed, according to the FAO (2014) WRB Classif ication System, the following soil groups were identified satisfactorily (76.67% for overall accuracy and 71.20% for the kappa index): Cambisols (35.8%), Fluvisols (7.16%), Leptosols (48.25%), Regosols (8.00%) and Vertisols 0.79%). DSM satisfactorily determined the spatial distribution of soil units in the watershed and identified the most influential environmental covariables.

Author Biographies

Mario Roberto Martínez Menez, Colegio de Postgraduados
Postgrado de Hidrociencias
Gerardo Colín García, Colegio de Postgraduados
Postgrado de Hidrociencias
Demetrio Salvador Fernández Reynoso, Colegio de Postgraduados
Postgrado de Hidrociencias
José Donaldo Ríos Berber, Colegio de Postgraduados
Postgrado de Hidrociencias
Patricio Sánchez Guzmán, Colegio de Postgraduados

Postgrado de Edafología

Laura Alicia Ibáñez Castillo, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo
Departamento de Irrigación
Published
2017-10-08
Section
Scientific Papers

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