Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling

Soil total phosphorus plays an important role in soil fertility, plant growth, and bioge-ochemical cycles. This study aims to determine the spatial distribution characteristics of soil total phosphorus and identify its main influencing factors in the study area, thereby providing a basis for the sci...

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Main Authors: Yameng Jiang, Jun Huang, Xi Guo, Yingcong Ye, Jia Liu, Yefeng Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Agriculture
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/1013
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author Yameng Jiang
Jun Huang
Xi Guo
Yingcong Ye
Jia Liu
Yefeng Jiang
author_facet Yameng Jiang
Jun Huang
Xi Guo
Yingcong Ye
Jia Liu
Yefeng Jiang
author_sort Yameng Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Soil total phosphorus plays an important role in soil fertility, plant growth, and bioge-ochemical cycles. This study aims to determine the spatial distribution characteristics of soil total phosphorus and identify its main influencing factors in the study area, thereby providing a basis for the scientific management of soil total phosphorus. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis by combining classical statistical analysis, ge-ostatistics methods, Pearson correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the spatial distribution patterns of soil total phosphorus and its influencing factors. The results showed that soil total phosphorus in the study area ranged from 161.00 to 991.00 mg/kg, with an average of 495.71 mg/kg. Spatially, soil total phosphorus exhibited a patchy distribu-tion pattern, with high values primarily concentrated in cultivated areas along rivers and low values mainly located in forested areas in the southeastern and central re-gions. Additionally, the nugget effect of soil total phosphorus was 71.5%, indicating a moderate level of spatial variability. The Pearson correlation analysis revealed that soil total phosphorus content was significantly correlated with multiple factors, including land use types, soil parent material, distance from settlements, slope, and soil pH. Based on these findings, we employed ANOVA to analyze the impacts of various fac-tors. The results indicated that soil total phosphorus content showed significant differences under the influence of different factors. Subsequently, we further explored in depth the action paths through which these factors affect soil total phosphorus us-ing SEM. The SEM results showed that the absolute values of the total effects of the influencing factors on soil total phosphorus, ranked from highest to lowest, were as follows: land use types (0.499) > soil parent material (0.240) > distance from settle-ments (0.178) > slope (0.161) > elevation (0.127) > soil pH (0.114) > normalized differ-ence vegetation index (0.103). These findings provide a scientific foundation for the effective management of soil total phosphorus in similar study areas.
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issn 2077-0472
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spelling doaj-art-2b9c53bd578c427aa9f2addad7ef29bb2025-08-20T02:59:14ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-05-01159101310.3390/agriculture15091013Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation ModelingYameng Jiang0Jun Huang1Xi Guo2Yingcong Ye3Jia Liu4Yefeng Jiang5Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Watershed Agricultural Resources and Ecology (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaBasic Geological Survey Institute of Jiangxi Geological Survey and Exploration Institute (Jiangxi Nonferrous Geological Mineral Exploration and Development Institute), Nanchang 330045, ChinaKey Laboratory of Poyang Lake Watershed Agricultural Resources and Ecology (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaKey Laboratory of Poyang Lake Watershed Agricultural Resources and Ecology (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaKey Laboratory of Poyang Lake Watershed Agricultural Resources and Ecology (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaKey Laboratory of Poyang Lake Watershed Agricultural Resources and Ecology (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, ChinaSoil total phosphorus plays an important role in soil fertility, plant growth, and bioge-ochemical cycles. This study aims to determine the spatial distribution characteristics of soil total phosphorus and identify its main influencing factors in the study area, thereby providing a basis for the scientific management of soil total phosphorus. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis by combining classical statistical analysis, ge-ostatistics methods, Pearson correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the spatial distribution patterns of soil total phosphorus and its influencing factors. The results showed that soil total phosphorus in the study area ranged from 161.00 to 991.00 mg/kg, with an average of 495.71 mg/kg. Spatially, soil total phosphorus exhibited a patchy distribu-tion pattern, with high values primarily concentrated in cultivated areas along rivers and low values mainly located in forested areas in the southeastern and central re-gions. Additionally, the nugget effect of soil total phosphorus was 71.5%, indicating a moderate level of spatial variability. The Pearson correlation analysis revealed that soil total phosphorus content was significantly correlated with multiple factors, including land use types, soil parent material, distance from settlements, slope, and soil pH. Based on these findings, we employed ANOVA to analyze the impacts of various fac-tors. The results indicated that soil total phosphorus content showed significant differences under the influence of different factors. Subsequently, we further explored in depth the action paths through which these factors affect soil total phosphorus us-ing SEM. The SEM results showed that the absolute values of the total effects of the influencing factors on soil total phosphorus, ranked from highest to lowest, were as follows: land use types (0.499) > soil parent material (0.240) > distance from settle-ments (0.178) > slope (0.161) > elevation (0.127) > soil pH (0.114) > normalized differ-ence vegetation index (0.103). These findings provide a scientific foundation for the effective management of soil total phosphorus in similar study areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/1013structural equation modelingspatial variabilityinfluencing factorssoil phosphorus
spellingShingle Yameng Jiang
Jun Huang
Xi Guo
Yingcong Ye
Jia Liu
Yefeng Jiang
Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling
Agriculture
structural equation modeling
spatial variability
influencing factors
soil phosphorus
title Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling
title_full Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling
title_fullStr Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling
title_full_unstemmed Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling
title_short Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of Soil Total Phosphorus Based on Structural Equation Modeling
title_sort factors influencing the spatial distribution of soil total phosphorus based on structural equation modeling
topic structural equation modeling
spatial variability
influencing factors
soil phosphorus
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/9/1013
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AT xiguo factorsinfluencingthespatialdistributionofsoiltotalphosphorusbasedonstructuralequationmodeling
AT yingcongye factorsinfluencingthespatialdistributionofsoiltotalphosphorusbasedonstructuralequationmodeling
AT jialiu factorsinfluencingthespatialdistributionofsoiltotalphosphorusbasedonstructuralequationmodeling
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