Abstract:The study on the spatial variability of soil properties is vital for sustainable land management. Both topography and land use are pivotal factors which affect the variability of soil properties on the catchment scale in the loess hilly area. This study analyzed the spatial variation of soil nutrients from different land use types and landscape positions, based on the data of 111 surface soil points (0~20cm) in the Zhujiagou catchment on the Loess Plateau. We measured soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) and used correlation analyses to determine relationships between soil nutrients and terrain attributes. Finally, terrain attributes and land use types were used to predict the spatial distribution of the soil properties by using multiple-linear regression analysis and regression-kriging. The results showed that concentrations of these soil nutrients were very low in the surface soil, and the coefficients of variation for soil properties were moderate. Soil nutrients were significantly different among different land use types. Higher values of SOM and TN were found in check-dam farmland and lower values from shrub land. Significant differences among landscape positions were observed for SOM and TN, and concentrations of SOM and TN located in the flat valley position were higher than in other positions. There were negative correlations between SOM and compound topographic index (CTI), stream power index (SPI), and sediment transport index (STI). Similarly, TN has negative correlation with sediment transport index (STI), and a significant negative correlation was found between TP and slope (β). To some extent, correlations between these terrain attributes and soil properties reflect patterns of soil development caused by water flow through and over the landscape. From the regression models, we determined that variability of measured soil properties ranged from 13% to 51%. The regression model for TN had the highest R2 value, followed by SOM and TP. The regression models were relatively precise for the SOM and TN, but variation was large with a high smoothing effect on the predicted values. For TP, the predicted result was very poor. To further explain the variations, we combined step-wise regression with residuals interpolated using kriging. Results showed that regression-kriging can improve the accuracy of prediction.