Multiscale Entropy-based Analysis of Soil Transect Data

A deeper understanding of the spatial variability of soil properties and the relationships between them is needed to scale up measured soil properties and to model soil processes. The object of this study was to describe the spatial scaling properties of a set of soil physical properties measured on a common 1024-m transect across arable fields at Silsoe in Bedfordshire, east-central England. Properties studied were volumetric water content (0), total porosity (4>), pH, and N20 flux. We applied entropy as a means of quantifying the scaling behavior of each transect. Finally, we examined the spatial intrascaling behavior of the correlations between 0 and the other soil variables. Relative entropies and increments in relative entropy calculated for 0, 4>, and pH showed maximum structure at the 128-m scale, while N20 flux presented a more complex scale dependency at large and small scales. The intrascale-dependent correlation between 0 and 4> was negative at small scales up to 8 m. The rest of the intrascale-dependent correlation functions between 0 with N20 fluxes and pH were in agreement with previous studies. These techniques allow research on scale effects localized in scale and provide the information that is complementary to the information about scale dependencies found across a range of scales.