Spatial analysis and hazard assessment on soil total nitrogen in the middle subtropical zone of China

Nitrogen (N) is one of the main factors affecting environmental pollution. In recent years, non-point source pollution and water body eutrophication have become increasing concerns for both scientists and the policy-makers. In order to assess the environmental hazard of soil total N pollution, a typical ecological unit was selected as the experimental site. This paper showed that Box-Cox transformation achieved normality in the data set, and dampened the effect of outliers. The best theoretical model of soil total N was a Gaussian model. Spatial variability of soil total N at NE60° and NE150° directions showed that it had a strip anisotropic structure. The ordinary kriging estimate of soil total N concentration was mapped. The spatial distribution pattern of soil total N in the direction of NE150° displayed a strip-shaped structure. Kriging standard deviations (KSD) provided valuable information that will increase the accuracy of total N mapping. The probability kriging method is useful to assess the hazard of N pollution by providing the conditional probability of N concentration exceeding the threshold value, where we found soil total N>2.0g/kg. The probability distribution of soil total N will be helpful to conduct hazard assessment, optimal fertilization, and develop management practices to control the non-point sources of N pollution.