Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Department of Soil Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
2
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
3
Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
4
Soil Science and Engineering Department, Agriculture Faculty, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
In order to effectively manage soil and water resources, it is imperative to investigate wet aggregate stability (WAS) as a fundamental indicator for assessing soil structure and quality. In this study, machine learning techniques, specifically random forest (RF) and random forest optimized with genetic algorithm (GA-RF), were employed. The analysis focused on determining the texture, organic matter content, and lime characteristics of 55 soil samples collected from the Arsbaran forests. Utilizing various input combinations based on correlations with WAS, modeling was performed across seven distinct scenarios. Furthermore, three performance metrics including correlation coefficient (CC), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), and Wilmot coefficient (WI) were utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the models. The findings indicated that the RF5 model exhibited superior performance among the random forest models, achieving NRMSE = 0.038, CC = 0.736, and WI = 0.789. Similarly, the GA-RF5 model, optimized through a genetic algorithm approach, demonstrated exceptional performance with NRMSE = 0.031, CC = 0.800, and WI = 0.842 when considering input percentages of sand, silt, and clay. Moreover, results from RF1 (NRMSE = 0.047, CC = 0.589, WI = 0.721) and GA-RF1 (NRMSE = 0.036, CC = 0.662, WI = 0.797) emphasized that clay content exhibited the strongest correlation with stability. Additionally, the incorporation of calcium carbonate equivalent in scenario 7 significantly enhanced model performance and positively influenced the prediction of wet aggregate stability.
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