A synoptic approach for crop loss assessment used to study wheat. II. Relationships between soil properties and traditional soil classifications

Abstract

Study of the relationship between soil properties and traditional soil classifications, using the canonical analysis procedure, showed that both a highly significant and a substantial relationship exists. Classification data on average accounts for about 35% of the total variation of the soil variable data, individual values ranging from about 8% for average log salinity to 74% for the -0.1 bar water content of the soil. The analysis showed that classification data in five soil groups could be substantially retained in two dimensions. The soil variables most involved in the first dimension were per cent clay and the -0.1 bar water content of the soil, and in the second dimension, the available water content of the subsoil (30-100 cm), average pH and average log salinity. These results should be useful in other studies where it is desired to incorporate soil information in a model designed to account for variation in one or more measures of interest.