Effects of Soil Map Scales on Estimating Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Southeastern China

Junjun Zhi, Xinyue Cao, Enmiao Wugu, Yue Zhang, Lin Wang, Le’an Qu and Jiaping Wu ()
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Junjun Zhi: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Xinyue Cao: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Enmiao Wugu: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Yue Zhang: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Lin Wang: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Le’an Qu: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Jiaping Wu: Institute of Islands and Coastal Ecosystems, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-18

Abstract: Digital soil maps of different scales have been widely used in the estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, exactly how the scale of the soil map impacts SOC dynamics and the key factors influencing SOC estimations during the map generalization process have rarely been assessed. In this research, a newly available soil database of Zhejiang Province in southeastern China, which contains 2154 geo-referenced soil profiles and six digital soil maps at scales of 1:50,000, 1:250,000, 1:500,000, 1:1,000,000, 1:4,000,000, and 1:10,000,000, and three different linkage methods (i.e., the mean, median, and pedological professional knowledge-based (PKB) methods) were used to evaluate their influence on the estimates of SOC. The findings of our study were as follows: (1) The scale of the soil map was identified as being of crucial importance for regional SOC estimations. (2) The linkage method played an important role in the accurate estimates of SOC, and the PKB method could provide the most detailed information on the spatial variability of SOC estimations. (3) The key factors affecting the estimates of SOC during the map generalization process as the soil map scale decreased from 1:50,000 to 1:10,000,000 were determined, including the changes in the number of soil profiles, the conversions between different soil types, the conversions from non-soils to soils, and the linkage methods of aggregating the SOC density values of soil profiles to represent map units. The results suggest that the most detailed 1:50,000-scale soil map coupled with the PKB method would be the optimal choice for regional SOC estimations in China.

Keywords: soil map; soil database; scale effect; soil organic carbon (SOC); spatial patterns; Zhejiang (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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