ASSESSMENT ON SOME OF SANDY SOIL PROPERTIES IN PHU VANG DISTRICT, THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE

This study was conducted in Phu Da town and Vinh Xuan commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province, with the aim of evaluating and mapping soil properties, including pHKCl, total nitrogen, electrical conductivity, total phosphorus, total potassium, and soil organic carbon. The results showed that most soil properties in the study area were low; the soil was poor in organic carbon and acidic, with a notable decrease in organic carbon content compared to previous studies (0.69% compared to 0.86%). Three out of six soil quality indicators—soil acidity, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus—showed statistically significant differences between land use types. This difference was observed between the two-season rice land use type and all other land use types. This study employs the Ordinary Kriging interpolation method for soil quality indicators mapping. However, the results indicate that the map's accuracy is relatively low. This finding suggests that conventional interpolation methods, which rely on distance and sample residuals, may not be appropriate for soil quality indicators mapping. Consequently, there is a need to explore and apply alternative methods to enhance mapping accuracy.