Mapping a hydrophysical soil property through a comparative analysis of local and global scale approximations

Abstract

Current available soil information allows building baselines to improve research, such as sustainable resource management; however, its use requires analysis of accuracy and precision that describes specific variables on local and global scales. Therefore, this study evaluated differences in the spatial distribution of water retention capacity (WRC) of the soil at a depth of 0.3 m, calculated from local general soil surveys and the global gridded soil information system (SoilGrids), using detailed or semi-detailed soil surveys as a reference, in two regions of Colombia (A and B). The qualitative and statistical analyses evaluated differences in WRC surfaces generated by the information sources. Neither information sources described WRC accurately, achieving correlations between -0.15 and 0.49 and average absolute errors between 9.65 and 19.52 mm for zones A and B, respectively. However, studies on the local scale remain within the ranges observed in the most detailed local studies. The use of products on the global scale is subject to regional analyses; nevertheless, they can be included as a covariate in digital soil mapping studies on more detailed scales.