Abstract
The potential, state of the art, and outlooks of using the pedotransfer functions concept in soil science were analyzed. Current methods of developing the pedotransfer functions and their statistical and functional testing were considered. Problems related to the spatially distributed estimates of soil properties and parameters and their use in predictive modeling and soilscape assessment are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
T. A. Arkhangel’skaya, “A New Empirical Formula to Estimate the Thermal Diffusivity of Soil,” in Proceedings of the Scientific Session on Basic Soil Science, Moscow, Russia, 2004 (Moscow, 2004), pp. 45–46 [in Russian].
T. A. Arkhangel’skaya, “Thermal Diffusivity of Gray Forest Soils in the Vladimir Opol’e Region,” Pochvovedenie, No. 3, 332–342 (2004) [Eur. Soil Sci. 37 (3), 285–294 (2004)].
T. A. Arkhangel’skaya, M. A. Butylkina, M. A. Mazirov, et al., “Occurrence of Soils with the Second Humus Horizon in the Relief of a Gentle Smoothed Slope,” in Basic Physical Research in Soil Science and Land Reclamation: Proceedings of the All-Russian Conference, Moscow, Russia, 2003 (Moscow, 2003) [in Russian].
T. A. Arkhangel’skaya, A. K. Guber, M. A. Mazirov, and M. V. Prokhorov, “The Temperature Regime of Heterogeneous Soilscape in Vladimir Opol’e Region,” Pochvovedenie, No. 7, 832–843 (2005) [Eur. Soil Sci. 38 (7), 734–744 (2005)].
T. A. Arkhangel’skaya, O. I. Khudyakov, T. N. Bedrina, and A. V. Mitusov, “Lateral Variation of Agrophysical Parameters and the Heterogeneity of Hydrothermal Field in the Complex Soil Cover of Southern Moscow Region,” Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser. 17: Pochvoved., No. 2, 8–15 (2005).
M. A. Butylkina, M. V. Kalisheva, L. A. Zolotaya, et al., “Characterizing the Soil Cover Structure by Geophysical Methods,” in Proceedings of the IV Congress of Dokuchaev Soil Science Society, Novosibirsk, Russia, 2004 (Novosibirsk, 2004), Vol. 1, p. 417 [in Russian].
A. F. Vadyunina and Z. A. Korchagina, Methods of Studying the Physical Properties of Soils (Agropromizdat, Moscow, 1986) [in Russian].
A. D. Voronin, A. V. Dembovetskii, and E. V. Shein, “Analysis of Basic Structural and Functional Relationships by Using the Database on Soil Physical Properties and Functions,” Pochvovedenie, No. 9, 1120–1123 (1997) [Eur. Soil Sci. 30 (9), 999–1002 (1997)].
A. M. Globus, Soil-Hydrophysical Support of Agroecological Mathematical Models (Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1987) [in Russian].
A. K. Guber, E. V. Shein, Ya. A. Pachepskii, and W. J. Rawls, “Effect of Particle-Size and Aggregate Composition of Soil on Soil-Hydrological Constants,” in Current Problems of Agriculture and Ecology: Proceedings of International Scientific-Practical Conference, Kursk, Russia, 2002 (Kursk, 2002) pp. 282–287.
A. V. Dembovetskii, Candidate’s Dissertation in Biology (Moscow, 1998).
N. R. Draper and H. Smith, Applied Regression Analysis, 2nd ed. (Wiley, New York, 1981).
S. A. Nikolaeva, Ya. A. Pachepskii, R. A. Shcherbakov, et al., “Simulation of the Water Regime of Micellary Calcareous Ordinary Chernozem,” Pochvovedenie, No. 1, 44–54 (1988).
E. V. Shein, T. A. Arkhangel’skaya, V. M. Goncharov, et al., Field and Laboratory Methods of Studying the Physical Properties and Regimes of Soils (Mosk. Gos. Univ., Moscow, 2001) [in Russian].
A. A. Smetnik, Yu. A. Spiridonov, and E. V. Shein, Migration of Pesticides in Soils (Moscow, 2005) [in Russian].
Yu. N. Tyurin and A. A. Makarov, Computer-Aided Statistical Analysis of Data (INFRA-M, Moscow, 1998) [in Russian].
E. V. Shein, Ya. A. Pachepskii, A. K. Guber, and T. I. Chekhova, “Experimental Determination of Hydrophysical and Hydrochemical Parameters of Mathematical Models for Water and Salt Transfer in Soils,” Pochvovedenie, No. 12, 1479–1486 (1995).
E. V. Shein, A. L. Ivanov, M. A. Butylkina, and M. A. Mazirov, “Spatial and Temporal Variability of Agrophysical Properties of Gray Forest Soils under Intensive Agricultural Use,” Pochvovedenie, No. 5, 578–585 (2001) [Eur. Soil Sci. 34 (5), 512–517 (2001)].
E. V. Shein and K. A. Marchenko, “The Relationship between the Pathways of Water Movement and Spatial Distribution of Bulk Density in the Soils of the Vladimir Opol’e Region,” Pochvovedenie, No. 7, 823–831 (2001) [Eur. Soil Sci. 34 (7), 733–740 (2001)].
E. V. Shein, A. V. Kirichenko, M. A. Butylkina, and Yu. N. Bueva, “Distribution of Soil-Genetic and Physical Properties of Gray Forest Soils in the Vladimirskoe Opol’e Region,” Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser. 17: Pochvoved., No. 4, 17–24 (2002).
E. V. Shein and L. O. Karpachevskii, Explanatory Dictionary of Soil Physics (GEOS, Moscow, 2003) [in Russian].
K. J. Beven, “Linking Parameters Across Scale: Subgrid Parameterizations and Scale Dependent Hydrological Models,” Hydrol. Process 9, 507–525 (1995).
G. Blöschl, “Scaling in Hydrology,” Hydrol. Process 15, 709–711 (2001).
G. Blöschl and R. B. Grayson, Spatial Observations and Interpolation. Spatial Patterns in Catchment Hydrology: Observations and Modeling, Ed. by R. B. Grayson and G. Blöschl (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2000), pp. 51–81.
J. Bouma, “Using Soil Survey Data for Quantitative Land Evaluation,” Adv. Soil Sci. 9, 177–213 (1989).
J. Bouma and H. Lin, A Proposal for a Symposium at the 18th World Congress of Soil Science, Philadelphia, 2006 (Philadelphia, 2006).
J. Bouma, J. Stoorvogel, B. J. van Alphen, and H. W. G. Booltink, “Pedology, Precision Agriculture, and the Changing Paradigm of Agricultural Research,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63, 1763–1768 (1999).
J. Bouma and H. A. J. van Lanen, “Transfer Functions and Threshold Values: from Soil Characteristics to Land Qualities,” in Proceedings of the International Workshop on Quantified Land Evaluation Procedures, Washington, DC, USA, 1987 (Washington, 1987), pp. 106–110.
A. Bruand, “Preliminary Grouping of Soils,” in Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology, Ed. by Ya. Pachepsky and W. J. Rawls (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 159–174.
M. Donatelli, H. Wösten, and G. Belocchi, “Evaluation of Pedotransfer Functions,” in Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology, Ed. by Ya. Pachepsky and W. J. Rawls (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 357–363.
P. A. Finke, J. H. M. Wösten, and M. J. W. Jansen, “Effects of Uncertainty in Major Input Variables on Simulated Functional Soil Behavior,” Hydrol. Process 10, 661–669 (1996).
D. Gimenez, W. J. Rawls, Y. Pachepsky, and J. P. C. Watt, “Prediction of a Pore Distribution Factor from Soil Textural and Mechanical Parameters,” Soil Sci. 166, 79–88 (2001).
G. Goovaerts, Geostatistics for Natural Resources Evaluation (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1997).
G. B. M. Heuvelink and E. J. Pebesma, “Spatial Aggregation and Soil Process Modeling,” Geoderma 89, 47–65 (1999).
R. Horn, “Compressibility of Arable Land,” in Impact of Water and External Forces on Soil Structure, Ed. by J. Drescher, R. Horn, and M. de Boodt, Catena Supplements, No. 11 (Hannover, 1988) pp. 53–71.
M. F. Hutchinson, “Development of a Continent-Wide DEM with Applications to Terrain and Climate Analysis,” in Environmental Modeling with GIS, Ed. by M. F. Goodchild, B. O. Parkks, and L. T. Steyaert (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1993), pp. 35–50.
H. Jenny, The Soil Resource, Origin, and Behavior (Springer, New York, 1980).
A. B. McBratney, B. Minasny, S. R. Cattle, and R. W. Vervoort, “From Pedotransfer Functions to Soil Inference Systems,” Geoderma, 41–73 (2002).
A. B. McBratney, I. O. A. Odeh, T. F. A. Bishop, et al., “An Overview of Pedometric Techniques for Use in Soil Survey,” Geoderma 97, 293–327 (2000).
R. A. McBride and P. J. Joosse, “Overconsolidation in Agricultural Soils: II. Pedotransfer Functions for Estimating Preconsolidation Stress,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60, 373–380 (1996).
N. J. McKenzie and D. W. Jacquier, “Improving the Field Estimation of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in Soil Survey,” Aust. J. Soil Res. 35, 803–825 (1997).
N. J. McKenzie and P. J. Ryan, “Spatial Prediction of Soil Properties Using Environmental Correlation,” Geoderma 89, 67–94 (1999).
D. A. Miller and R. A. White, “A Conterminous United States Multi-Layer Soil Characteristics Data Set for Regional Climate and Hydrology Modeling,” Earth Interactions (1998), http://EarthInteractions.org.
Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO): Data Use Information, Miscellaneous Publ. 1527 (USDA-NRCS, Washington, DC, 1995).
A. Nemes, “Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Database of Hungary: HUNSODA,” Agrokemia Talajtan 51, 17–26 (2002).
A. Nemes, M. G. Schaap, F. J. Leij, and J. H. M. Wösten, “Description of the Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Database UNSODA Version 2.0,” J. Hydrol. 251, 151–162 (2001).
I. O. A. Odeh, A. B. McBratney, and D. J. Chittleborough, “Further Results on Prediction of Soil Properties from Terrain Attributes: Heterotopic Cokriging and Regression-Kriging,” Geoderma 67, 215–226 (1995).
I. O. A. Odeh, A. B. McBratney, and D. J. Chittleborough, “Spatial Prediction of Soil Properties from Landform Attributes Derived from a Digital Elevation Model,” Geoderma 63, 197–214 (1994).
Ya. Pachepsky and W. J. Rawls, “Accuracy and Reliability of Pedotransfer Functions as Affected by Grouping Soils,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63, 1748–1757 (1999).
Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology, Ed. by Ya. Pachepsky and W. J. Rawls (Elsevier, 2004).
Ya. A. Pachepsky and W. J. Rawls, “Preface: Status of Pedotransfer Functions,” in Development fo Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology (Elsevier, 2004), pp. VII–XVI.
Ya. A. Pachepsky, W. J. Rawls, and D. J. Timlin, “The Current Status of Pedotransfer Functions: Their Accuracy, Reliability, and Utility in Field-and Regional-Scale Modeling,” in Assessment of Non-Point Source Pollution in the Vadose Zone, Geophysical Monograph, No. 108, (1999), pp. 223–234.
Ya. Pachepsky and M. S. Schaap, “Data Mining and Exploration Techniques,” in Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 21–32.
Ya. A. Pachepsky, D. Timlin, and G. Varallyay, “Artificial Neural Networks to Estimate Soil Water Retention from Easily Measurable Data,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60, 727–733 (1996).
V. Rasiah and B. D. Kay, “Characterizing Changes in Aggregate Stability Subsequent to Introduction of Forages,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 58, 935–942 (1994).
W. J. Rawls and Y. A. Pachepsky, “Using Field Topographic Descriptors to Estimate Soil Water Retention,” Soil Sci. 167(7), 423–435 (2002).
N. Romano, “Spatial Structure of PTF Estimates,” in Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 295–319.
N. Romano and G. B. Chirico, “The Role of Terrain Analysis in Using and Developing Pedotransfer Functions,” in Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 273–294.
M. G. Schaap, “Accuracy and Uncertainty in PTF Predictions,” in Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 33–43.
M. G. Schaap and W. Bouten, “Modeling Water Retention Curves of Sandy Soils Using Neural Networks,” Water Resour. Res. 32, 3033–3040 (1996).
A. C. Scheinost and U. Schwertmann, “Predicting Phosphate Adsorption-Desorption in a Soilscape,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 59, 1575–1580 (1995).
W. Sinowski, A. C. Scheinost, and K. Auerswald, “Regionalization of Soil Water Retention Curves in a Highly Variable Soilscape: II. Comparison of Regionalization Procedures Using a Pedotransfer Function,” Geoderma 78, 145–159 (1997).
K. Smettem, G. Pracilio, Y. Oliver, and R. Harper, “Data Availability and Scale in Hydrologic Applications,” Development of Pedotransfer Functions in Soil Hydrology (Elsevier, 2004), pp. 253–271.
National Characterization Data (Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE, 1997).
State Soil Geographic Data Base (STATSGO), Data User Guide, Miscellaneous Publ. 1492 (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1991).
S. Tamari, J. H. M. Wösten, and J. C. Ruiz-Suarez, “Testing an Artificial Neural Network for Predicting Soil Hydraulic Conductivity,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60, 1732–1741 (1996).
D. J. Timlin, Ya. Pachepsky, B. Alcock, and F. Whistler, “Indirect Estimation of Soil Hydraulic Properties to Predict Soybean Yield Using GLYCIM,” Agric. Syst. 52, 331–353 (1996).
B. J. van Alphen and J. J. Stoorvogel, “A Functional Approach to Soil Characterization in Support of Precision Agriculture,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 64, 1706–1713 (2000).
H. A. J. van Lanen, C. A. J. van Diepen, G. J. Reinds, and G. H. J. de Koning, “A Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Physical Land Evaluations, Using an Assessment of the Potential for Sugar-Beet Growth in the European Community,” Soil Use Manage. 8, 80–89 (1992).
M. Th. van Genuchten, “A Closed Form Equation for Predicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 892–898 (1980).
J. R. Wilford, P. N. Bierwirth, and M. A. Craig, “Application of Airborne Gamma-Ray Spectrometry in Soil-Regolith Mapping and Applied Geomorphology,” Austral. Geol. Geophys. J. 17, 201–216 (1997).
J. H. M. Wösten, M. H. Bannink, J. de Gruiter, and J. Bouma, “A Procedure to Identify Different Groups of Hydraulic Conductivity and Moisture Retention Curves for Soil Horizons,” J. Hydrol. 86, 133–145 (1986).
J. H. M. Wösten, A. Lilly, A. Nemes, and C. Le Bas, “Development and Use of a Database of Hydraulic Properties of European Soils,” Geoderma 90, 169–185 (1999).
J. H. M. Wösten, C. H. J. E. Schuren, J. Bouma, and A. Stein, “Functional Sensitivity Analysis of Four Methods to Generate Soil Hydraulic Functions”. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 832–836 (1990).
J. H. M. Wösten and M. Th. van Genuchten, “Using Texture and Other Soil Properties to Predict the Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Functions,” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 1762–1770 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Original Russian Text © E.V. Shein, T.A. Arkhangel’skaya, 2006, published in Pochvovedenie, 2006, No. 10, pp. 1205–1217.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shein, E.V., Arkhangel’skaya, T.A. Pedotransfer functions: State of the art, problems, and outlooks. Eurasian Soil Sc. 39, 1089–1099 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229306100073
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229306100073