Spatial Trends in the Texture, Moisture Content, and pH of a Virginia Coastal Plain Soil

Abstract

Soil texture, moisture content, and pH data from an agricultural field area of 48 _ 32 m in a Suffolk sandy loam soil in the Virginia Coastal Plain was examined for spatial trends. Trend surface analysis of sand, silt, and clay content data (n = 35) found that 68%, 74%, and 31% of the total variability in sand, silt, and clay content, respectively, was explained by second-order trend surfaces. Soil moisture content and pH also exhibited spatial trends, which resulted in statistically significant differences between subsurface moisture content and pH in two 18 _ 27 m subplots within the study area. Both moisture content and pH trends had some similarity to the trend for clay content. The spatial trends in these soil properties, however, did not translate directly into spatial trends in depth to center of bromide mass, indicating the influence of other factors in the variability of chemical distribution in the soil.