NUGGET EFFECT INFLUENCE ON SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL DATA

ABSTRACT Spatial variability description of soil chemical properties by thematic maps depends substantially on suitable geostatistical models. One of the parameters composing a geostatistical model is nugget effect. This study aimed to evaluate the simultaneous influence of nugget effect and sampling design on geostatistical model estimation and estimation of soil chemical properties at unsampled sites, considering simulated data. Our results will be used as scientific basis for spatial variability analyses of soil chemical properties in agricultural areas. Given the simulation results and agricultural data, we concluded that the high nugget effect values obtained here reduced spatial estimation efficiency. Moreover, a systematic sampling design promoted the least accurate estimates of geostatistical model and at non-sampled sites. Despite that, these nugget effect estimates should be kept in the analysis. However, further studies will be needed to investigate which factors are responsible for such high nugget effect values.