Delineation of site-specific management units for operational applications using the Topographic Position Index in La Pampa, Argentina

Abstract

In this work we propose the use of the topographic position index (TPI), which takes into account the local topography for a given neighborhood, to delineate management units (MU) for site-specific systems. This study was performed in the province of La Pampa, in central Argentina, an area with sandy soils where the main limiting condition for crops is soil moisture. Usually, multi-annual yield maps are used for the delineation of MU. However, those are strongly influenced by issues that could be related to un-calibrated data and previous agronomical practices. Thus, there was a need for a methodology based on stable and unbiased parameters.