Comparison of Geographically Weighted Regression and Regression Kriging for Estimating the Spatial Distribution of Soil Organic Matter

Abstract

Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important component of soils, and knowing the spatial distribution and variation of SOM is the premise for sustainably utilizing soils. The objective of this study was to compare geographically weighted regression (GWR) with regression kriging (RK) for estimating the spatial distribution of SOM using field-sample data in SOM and auxiliary data in correlated environmental variables (e.g., elevation, slope, ferrous minerals index, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Results showed that GWR was a relatively better method and could provide promising results for SOM prediction in comparison with RK. The map interpolated by GWR showed similar spatial patterns influenced by environmental variables and the nonapparent effect of data outliers, but with higher accuracies, compared to that interpolated by RK.