title: Quantifying spatial variability of selected soil trace elements and their scaling relationships using multifractal techniques.
abstract: Multifractal techniques were utilized to quantify the spatial variability of selected soil trace elements and their scaling relationships in a 10.24-ha agricultural field in northeast China. 1024 soil samples were collected from the field and available Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn were measured in each sample. Descriptive results showed that Mn deficiencies were widespread throughout the field while Fe and Zn deficiencies tended to occur in patches. By estimating single multifractal spectra, we found that available Fe, Cu and Zn in the study soils exhibited high spatial variability and the existence of anomalies ([α(q)max-α(q)min]≥0.54), whereas available Mn had a relatively uniform distribution ([α(q)max-α(q)min]≈0.10). The joint multifractal spectra revealed that the strong positive relationships (r≥0.86, P<0.001) among available Fe, Cu and Zn were all valid across a wider range of scales and over the full range of data values, whereas available Mn was weakly related to available Fe and Zn (r≥0.18, P<0.01) but not related to available Cu (r = -0.03, P = 0.40). These results show that the variability and singularities of selected soil trace elements as well as their scaling relationships can be characterized by single and joint multifractal parameters. The findings presented in this study could be extended to predict selected soil trace elements at larger regional scales with the aid of geographic information systems.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. fasheng.zhang@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Fasheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guanghua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Zhenying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.forename: Xiaoyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Zuoxin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003300:Copper; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007501:Iron; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D015032:Zinc
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D014131:Trace Elements; D003300:Copper; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc