ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

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The development of a spatial analysis model for the definition of strategies for sustainable management of soils dedicated to livestock and its application to the case of Hacienda Pacaguan in Ecuador was based on the determination of a set of physical-chemical soil variables collected through field sensors to facilitate the determination of homogeneous intervention zones for the definition of sustainable soil management strategies.

Methodologically, the starting point was to categorize the physical and chemical variables. Then, the study determined the scale of intervention on the soil resource. After that, the algorithm was defined in order to apply the model. Finally, the spatial analysis model was applied in the case of “Hacienda Pacahuan”. The categorization of the variables defined four or five levels in all cases, hence for the pH variable: acid (< 5); moderately acid (5 to 6.5); neutral (6.5 to 7 5); moderately alkaline (7.5 to 9); and alkaline (> 9). The electrical conductivity variable was defined as: not saline (0-2.0); slightly saline (2.1-4.0); moderately saline (4.1-8.0); strongly saline (8.1-16.0); and very saline (16.1). The variable water holding capacity/WHC was categorized as: saturated soil (<10); soil at field capacity (10 to 20); soil in usable moisture range (30 to 50); and soil at critical moisture (>50). The soil compaction variable was categorized as: low (< 1), moderate (1 to 2), high (2 to 4); and very high (> 4). The determination of intervention scales supported the definition of strategies to correct anomalous situations that limit the growth and development of pasture crops involving mechanization and soil amendments. The application of the spatial analysis model used the kriging interpolation method, which generates smoother data, that is, data that do not tend to produce valleys and peaks, since kriging uses semi-variograms to explain the behavior of each variable.

The model, which has been presented and developed here, is an effective tool to evaluate the state of soil quality in livestock farms, since it is a low-cost strategy that allows us to obtain highly reliable data, in accordance with a practical execution of a monitoring protocol and analysis of georeferenced information that provides the user with details of the areas that have been subjected to the pressure of inadequate management, facilitating the planning of future interventions that have been included in the model according to a weighted scale of actions based on the current situation of the soil.

Key words: Interpolation, Kriging, soil management, livestock, spatial analysis.