Soil Compaction in different ages vineyards in Pannonian Croatia. Part II. Modeling spatial variability of soil compaction parameters in vineyard

Geostatistical modeling with different interpolation methods represents progress in describing and monitoring the spatial variability of soil properties. By choosing the proper interpolation method it is possible to produce distribution maps of investigated soil properties which are characterized by significant accuracy, and thus reduced required number of samples for the soil description and determination. On the example of determined soil penetration resistance and collected undisturbed soil samples from thirty years and seven years vineyards, and with geostatistical data analysis followed by comparison of interpolation models, spatial maps of soil resistance, bulk density and soil moisture are produced. This paper presents the applicability of GIS for characterization the spatial variation of soil resistance, bulk density and soil moisture based on 72 undisturbed samples collected at three depths (0-10 cm, 11-20 cm and 21-30 cm) and 177 measured soil penetration resistance in each of the studied vineyards located in central Croatia. The study points to the usefulness of geostatistical techniques analysis of spatial distribution of some physical soil properties. The results provided in graphical form and their associated variance, indicating the possibility of using geostatistical analysis for the sustainable management of soils in the vineyards and plans for soil conservation in the study area.