Abstract:Soil spatial heterogeneity is an important property of soil integration and has significant effects on the spatial patterns related to the structure, function, and vegetation of soil. The object of the study reported in this paper was the soil in a Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. Pubescens forest, a core scenic spot within the South Sichuan Bamboo Sea. According to geo-statistical methods, a topographic map at a scale of 1:10000 was used to set the intersections of 1 km-square mesh points as observation points. At each observation point, the spatial heterogeneity of soil physical factors was analyzed, with the aim of supplying the basic data and theoretical reference for the sustainable management of the bamboo forest in the study area. The results showed that except for the maximum and the minimum water holding capacity of the soil, the five physical factors measured (soil clay particles, bulk density, non-capillary porosity, capillary porosity, and capillary water holding capacity) in the study area exhibited obvious spatial heterogeneity. Indexes, along with Gaussian and Spherical models, were used to fit the semi-variant function of the measured parameters. The major range of these indexes was between 1252.3 and 11887.1 m. The ratio of Nugget and Still, ranging from 0.03% to 52.07%, suggested that the physical factors had different levels of spatial autocorrelation. The soil water retention had a higher Nugget ratio, explaining a small-scale spatial heterogeneity existing in it. The Ordinary Kriging, and the spatial distribution map of physical properties showed that the soil physical properties had a plaque-type spatial distribution. Among the different layers, the spatial distribution was consistent. Human disturbance was the major factor affecting the space distribution pattern of the soil physical properties. To maintain and improve the productivity of the bamboo forest, human disturbance must be reduced and the stand structure optimized.