Application of Autocorrelation Analysis to Transect Data from a Drainage Basin in Eastern Ohio
1981
Lanyon, L. E. | Hall, G. F.
Soil morphological, physical, and chemical properties from a transect across a drainage basin in eastern Ohio were evaluated by autocorrelation analysis to test the performance and value of this statistical technique. Autocorrelation analysis may be used to estimate the average magnitude of intervals of mutual dependence of observations within a continuous series of observations. Intervals of mutual dependence were determined from observations made every 20 m along a transect for solum thickness, fine-earth fraction of the A, B, and C horizons, and for soil pH, percent base saturation, and exchangeable cations from the deepest horizon. Using statistical criteria to estimate the magnitude of the intervals, the range was from 20 m for solum thickness and exchangeable K to 60 m for pH and exchangeable Mg. A difference in the event of mutual dependence among various properties, among similar properties in different horizons, and among similar properties within the same horizon was noted. Although interpretation of the results of autocorrelation analysis in pedological studies needs further development, the technique emphasizes the continuous, orderly nature of soils and the fact that spatially related observations may be mutually dependent.
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