Variabilidade espacial de classes de textura, salinidade e condutividade hidráulica de solos em planície aluvial

Aiming to evaluate the soil textural classes distribution and the spatial correlation between the soil textural classes and both infiltration rate and salinity in an alluvial area, in Pernambuco State “agreste” region, indicator geostatistics has been applied, adopting a binary distribution based on the presence/absence of loam soils. Considering sampling points and test locations along the main longitudinal transect in the valley, as well as randomly distributed locations, the spatial variability of the main soil classes, the infiltration rate, and the electrical conductivity of the saturated extract have been analyzed, for the subsurface soil layer. The fitted semivariogram ranges were 333, 320, and 520 m, respectively. It has been verified that the indicator geostatistics preserved the spatial correlation between texture and hydraulic conductivity, and between texture and electrical conductivity. Thus, the main soil classes can be adopted to represent different leaching and salinisation risk patterns. The discussed methodology has a potential for spatial variability investigations on soil physical properties in alluvial areas where contrasting soil classes prevail.