Abstract
Thematic maps are essential tools in precision agriculture to demonstrate the information of spatially distributed phenomena. A thematic map can be created from sampling data, a standard procedure for soil attributes. Interpolation methods are used to estimate data in unknown locations, such as inverse distance weighting (IDW) and ordinary Kriging (OK). For both interpolators, it is essential to use the appropriate parameters to estimate values in non-sampled locations, either the exponent value and the number of neighbors for IDW, or the theoretical model adjusted to the experimental semivariogram for OK. Thus, this trial aims at adopting additional criteria in selecting interpolators and evaluating their performance. AgDataBox platform’s data interpolation module was improved, where the process of selecting the interpolator and determining its parameters considers the criteria (i) effective spatial dependence index, (ii) the first semivariance significance index, and (iii) slope of the model ends index. The experimental data come from an experiment in two agricultural areas in Brazil, using grids with good sampling density (2.7, 2.6, and 3.5 points per ha). It was observed that, usually, the application method of the three new criteria selected different models for a dataset and this must be considered in the interpolator selection process. Thematic maps varied from 0.1 to 64%, according to the coefficient of relative deviation, when comparing the three methods of applying the selection criteria.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Western Paraná State University (UNIOESTE), the Federal University of Technology of Paraná (UTFPR), the Coordination for the Upgrading of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), the Itaipu Technological Park Foundation (FPTI, Fundação Parque Tecnológico Itaipu), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA, Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento) for funding this project.
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Funding was provided by CNPq, CAPES, and FPTI with studentships, UNIOESTE and UTFPR with studentships, analysis payment, and equipment purchase.
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Sobjak, R., de Souza, E.G., Bazzi, C.L. et al. Process improvement of selecting the best interpolator and its parameters to create thematic maps. Precision Agric 24, 1461–1496 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-023-09998-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-023-09998-4