The study was conducted in forested headwater catchments near Juruena, Mato Grosso with the objective of determining the spatial distribution of soil physical characteristics including clay content, redness ratio, and soil organic carbon along a transect that encompassed distinct soil classes. Soil samples from 0-20 cm and 40-60 cm depths were collected from 34 points. Variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics and geostatistics. The parameters analyzed by ordinary kriging demonstrated that the highest spatial variability occurred within the soil class Typic Kandiustox. In the study area, Plinthustults and Ultisols (with plinthic characteristics) were only found to occur in landscape positions less than 280 m above sea level; Oxisols were found exclusively above 280 m.a.s.l. The redness ratio and clay content were the soil parameters with the highest spatial variability across the transect. Poorly drained areas (demonstrated by lower values of redness ratio) demonstrated the lowest degree of spatial variability, and correspondingly, the highest consistency of color within the diagnostic horizons.
Redness ratio; spatial variability; pedotransfer functions
