Estimation of Soil Organic Matter and Clay Using Digital Elevation Model

Different resolutions of digital elevation models (DEMs) can generate varied topographic and hydrological features. The objective of this study was determination of suitable cell size of DEMs and its effects on prediction of some soil properties. For this purpose, two study areas were selected with different topographic properties in Selin plain, East-Azerbaijan Province. A total of 31 and 37 points were selected randomly from study area (1) and (2), respectively, and then, elevation, slope, clay and organic matter contents were measured by GPS, manual, hydrometer and Walkly-Black methods. The results showed that the number of cells with sink was more in smaller cell size than bigger cells, causing error in determination of hydrological characteristics. Therefore, they must be removed. Appropriate cell size of DEMs depends on the properties of the area topography, which for the study area (1) and (2) with flat and severely undulating topography, the cell size was 50 and 40 meters, respectively. Geostatistical analysis showed that, in both study areas, spatial correlation linearly decreased with increases in cell size upto 75 m; while in study area (2), it decreased with more intensity, reflecting the loss of large volumes of topographic information. Difference between R² values for the estimation of soil organic matter and clay from DEMs with different cell sizes was less in area (1) than area (2). Generally, the results of this study showed that lower cell size (<75 m) was recommendable for areas with sever topographic changes and complex morphology, while higher cell size (200 m) was suitable for flat areas.