Papers

Summary

Phosphorus is one of the limiting nutrients for sugarcane development in Brazilian soils. The spatial variability of this nutrient is great, defined by the properties that control its adsorption and desorption reactions. Spatial estimates to characterize this variability are based on geostatistical interpolation. However, inherent uncertainties in the procedure of these estimates are related to the variability structure of the property under study and the sample configuration of the area. Thus, the assessment of the uncertainty of estimates associated with the spatial distribution of available P (P_labile) is decisive to optimize the use of phosphate fertilizers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of sequential Gaussian simulation (sGs) and ordinary kriging (OK) in the modeling of uncertainty in available P estimates. A sampling grid with 626 points was established in a 200-ha experimental sugarcane field in Tabapuã, São Paulo State. The sGs algorithm generated 200 realizations. The sGs realizations reproduced the statistics and the distribution of the sample data. The G statistic (0.81) indicated good agreement between the values of simulated and observed fractions. The sGs realizations preserved the spatial variability of P_labile without the smoothing effect of the OK map. The accuracy in the reproduction of the variogram of the sample data obtained by the sGs realizations was on average 240 times higher than that obtained by OK. The uncertainty map, obtained by OK, showed less variation in the study area than that obtained by sGs. Thus, the evaluation of uncertainties by sGs was more informative and can be used to define and delimit specific management areas more precisely.