Mapping of Spatial Variability of Soil Organic Carbon Based on Radial Basis Functions Method

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in soil physico-chemical processes as well as in soil fertility and soil quality. Management of SOC can reduce soil erosion and improve crop productivity. Accurate estimation of SOC variability could provide critical information for understanding nutrients cycling and sediment. In this study, Radial Basis Functions (RBF) method was used to investigate the spatial pattern of SOC in the Kouhin watershed in Qazvin province, Iran. SOC values for 110 surface soil samples were measured using standard methods. The performance of the interpolation technique, in term of the accuracy of prediction, was assessed by comparing the deviation of estimates from the measured data by performing a cross-validation technique over the validation dataset (20% data) by using the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The results showed that RBF method can be used as effective approach for mapping of spatial variability of soil organic carbon.