Geospatial and Multivariate Analysis of Soil Properties for Delineation of Management Zones in Arid to Semi-Arid Agroecosystems of Southern Haryana, India

We conducted the present study to gain insights into the spatial variation of selected soil properties and identify soil management zones in the arid and semi-arid soils of Charkhi Dadri district in southern Haryana, India. The collection, processing, and analysis of 140 surface soil samples (0–15 cm depth) was done for pH, soil organic carbon, electrical conductivity, available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK). The measured soil parameters exhibited substantial variability (CV: 4.51–123.96%). Results showed that the pH level of soils ranged from slightly to strongly alkaline, with most of them being non-saline, low in SOC and AN, low to high in AP, and medium to high in AK. Semivariogram analysis identified exponential and Gaussian models as best fits, with spatial dependencies from moderate to strong among soil properties. The patterns of spatial distribution were visualised using ordinary kriging interpolation. Principal component analysis extracted two components (eigenvalue >1), explaining 63.08% cumulative variability, and were subsequently used for fuzzy c-means clustering, which delineated three distinct management zones with statistically different soil characteristics. The observed variability across the east–west transect was attributed to parent material, prevailing climatic conditions and agricultural practices.