Analysis on pedodiversity and spatial subset representativity—the German soil map 1:1,000,000 |
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Authors: | Thorsten Behrens Oliver Schneider Georg Lösel Thomas Scholten Volker Hennings Peter Felix‐Henningsen Reinhard Hartwich |
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Institution: | 1. University of Tübingen, Institute of Geography, Rümelinstra?e 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany;2. University of Applied Sciences, Center for Advanced Learning, Media and Simulation, Sch?fferstra?e 1, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany;3. Meterstra?e 37, 30169 Hannover, Germany;4. Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hannover, Germany;5. University of Gie?en, Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation, IFZ, Heinrich‐Buff‐Ring 26–32, 35392 Gie?en, Germany |
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Abstract: | Knowledge about spatial soil variation in terms of measured pedodiversity, as well as the spatial distribution of soils in terms of spatial subset representativity, offers the possibility to estimate the quality and variance within a soil map. Additionally, it can help to identify representative sample locations. Demonstrated at the German soil map at a scale of 1:1,000,000, this study describes a methodology to analyze the distribution of taxonomical pedodiversity using the Simpson index and a new approach to derive representative spatial subsets based on a modified χ2‐test (χm2), which can be used as monitoring areas. To analyze the spatial composition of the soil map and to detect differences in the underlying mapping schemes of the German soil map 1:1,000,000, three different spatial data structures were studied: (1) the entire soil map, (2) the soil map segmented into geomorphological regions, and (3) the soil map segmented into the Federal States of Germany. Representative patches of varying sizes were statistically derived for all spatial subsets as well as the entire soil map ranging from 20 km × 20 km up to 70 km × 70 km. The results show that the measured pedodiversity is linked to both the geomorphology as well as the political borders of the Federal States. On the one hand, this reveals the uncertainty of measuring pedodiversity on the basis of soil‐class maps as the spatial representation of pedodiversity is influenced by the different mapping traditions and methods applied in the 16 Federal States of Germany. On the other hand, it allows the analysis of the aggregation schemes of different landscapes. The presented approach helps to understand large soilscapes and to compare different soil maps of different states and countries as well as to enhance the soil map with additional information. Furthermore, the representative patches can be used to select soil‐monitoring areas. |
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Keywords: | spatial subset representativity pedodiversity pedometrics soil maps patch size soil monitoring landscape analysis GIS |
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