Spatiotemporal variability of soil fertility parameters in Xinhui District of Guangdong Province

By the methods of geostatistics and GIS, this paper studied the spatial distribution patterns of pH, organic matter, total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) in cultivated soils of Xinhui District, Guangdong Province from 1982 to 2003. The paired samples t test and Kriging results showed that soil pH and organic matter content were significantly lower in 2003 than in 1982, while the contents of soil total N and total P were in adverse. The spatial distribution of test parameters changed to different degrees over the past 20 years. Soil pH tended to decrease in most areas of the study district, soil organic matter decreased except at the banks of Yinzhou Lake and parts of south and northwest, soil total N increased in most areas except the parts of east and northwest, and soil total P increased in most areas.