SOILS, SEC 1 • SOIL ORGANIC MATTER DYNAMICS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING • RESEARCH ARTICLE Appraisal for site specific plant nutrient management through spatial variability and mapping in hilly areas of northern Pakistan Munir Ahmad 1 & Dost Muhammad 1 & Maria Mussarat 2 & Abid Ali Khan 1 & Shah Faisal Khan 3 & Muhammad Waqas Javed 3 Received: 24 October 2015 /Accepted: 13 November 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract Purpose The main purpose of this research work was to as- sess soil nutrient, spatial variability, and their mapping through GIS for better fertilizer recommendation and management. Materials and methods Soil samples (0–20-cm depth) were collected from major crop areas of district Chitral, northern Pakistan during April 2014. The crops areas were divided into eight main sampling units. Each sampling location was re- corded through GPS point. The samples were then brought to laboratory of Soil and Environmental Sciences, for further analysis. Results and discussion The overall results showed that Zn content was the most deficient nutrient followed by K with 86 and 64% of samples, respectively. These results are differ- ent from other plain and agricultural areas which are domi- nantly deficient in order of N > P > K that could be associated to steep topography, climatic condition, and parent materials. The analyzed nutrients varied independently as indicated by their lower correlation values but showed stronger spatial pat- terns. Gaussian, linear, and exponential models were used depending on mean prediction error (MPE), root mean square standardize prediction error (RMSSPE), and nugget values for semivariogram analysis and consequent mapping of different nutrients through GIS. Conclusions The N and P were weakly distributed, while K and all micronutrients had strong spatial pattern suggesting that only N and P were managed during farming practices and that varied irregularly in the sampled area. In contrast to other plain agricultural areas of the country, the Zn and K were the most deficient elements and should be applied with suit- able Zn and K fertilizers for optimum crop production in the area. This low Zn and K contents would be associated to the parent materials, low pH, and high organic matter contents especially in high altitude and comparatively high P content in the soil. The prepared maps can help on site-specific rec- ommendation of fertilizers for farmers, researcher, and planners. Keywords District Chitral . Fertilizer . Semivariogram . Soil nutrients . Spatial variability 1 Introduction Chitral is most romantic and mountainous district in the ex- treme north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Province of Pakistan. The landscaping in district Chitral is mysterious, with green valleys, beautiful meadows, steep mountains, and very large glaciers. It has common boundary with Badakshan, Kunar, and Nuristan Provinces of Afghanistan toward north and west, Dir and Swat toward south and Gilgit-Baltistan in the eastern side. It is the largest district of KPK Province covering a total area of 14,850 km 2 situated between 71.20 and 74.55°E longitude (East) and 35.12–36.50 o N latitude (North). According to latest estimate, the total population of district Chitral is 500,000 (Chitral today). The district is ad- ministratively subdivided into two tehsils (tehsil Chitral and Responsible editor: Gilbert Sigua * Dost Muhammad dostms76@yahoo.com 1 Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan 2 Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, The University of Agriculture, AMK Campus, Mardan, Pakistan 3 Center of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan J Soils Sediments DOI 10.1007/s11368-016-1606-z