Open AccessMicroscale spatial variation of soil erodibility factor (K) in a young hummocky moraine landscape in Northern Poland
Author(s) -
Hanna Radziuk,
Marcin Świtoniak,
Marcin Nowak
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
bulletin of geography. physical geography series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2300-8490
pISSN - 2080-7686
DOI - 10.2478/bgeo-2021-0005
Subject(s) - moraine , physical geography , soil map , soil science , multivariate interpolation , scale (ratio) , spatial variability , pedology , mollisol , erosion , soil classification , environmental science , interpolation (computer graphics) , geology , hydrology (agriculture) , geography , geomorphology , soil water , mathematics , cartography , statistics , glacier , geotechnical engineering , animation , computer graphics (images) , computer science , bilinear interpolation
Soil erodibility is one of the crucial parameters for modelling soil erosion, expressed as the K-factor. The presented study tries to illustrate the spatial variance of K-factor on a local scale through the investigation of soil properties and descriptive spatial analysis utilising GIS tools at microscale in a young hummocky moraine landscape in Northern Poland. The results of the interpolation of K-factor values illustrate their changing from high values in eroded pedons on the tops of hummocks to low values in kettle holes. The middle position is occupied by slightly and non-eroded pedons. The mean weight results were very similar to data that were found on the scale of Europe and Poland. In landscapes with heterogeneous soil cover, there are significant differences in maps based on different approaches to data visualisation. There are advantages and disadvantages to both (1) referring to mean values of the K index for soil contours representing different soil types and (2) interpolating the values obtained from individual points (GIS tool). Interpolation can be used for a thoroughly examined area with a high number of input points, while a map based on mean K index values for soil contours would be more effective in homogeneous areas.