Spatial Patterns of Agricultural Parcel Geometry and Their Environmental Associations: A Precision Agriculture Perspective

Agricultural parcel geometry represents an important but relatively underexplored component of spatial heterogeneity in precision agriculture. This study investigated the spatial organization of 375 lavender parcels in Burdur Province, Türkiye, and their associations with topographic and land-resource characteristics. Parcel area, Shape Index (SI), and Compactness Index (CI) were evaluated together with elevation, slope, curvature, major soil groups (MSGs), and land capability classes (LCCs) using spatial and statistical analyses. A 2500 m fixed-distance threshold identified by Incremental Spatial Autocorrelation was used for Global Moran’s I, Local Moran’s I, and Getis–Ord Gi* analyses. All geometric and topographic variables exhibited significant positive spatial autocorrelation, with substantially stronger spatial dependence for elevation (Moran’s I = 0.805) and slope (I = 0.489). Area hotspots occurred at significantly higher elevations and on steeper slopes than non-hotspot parcels, with the strongest effect for slope (r = 0.389). Area hotspots were also strongly associated with MSG (Cramer’s V = 0.528) and moderately associated with LCC (V = 0.346), whereas SI and CI showed weaker relationships. These findings demonstrate that parcel geometry represents a complementary dimension of agricultural spatial heterogeneity and can support the prioritization of areas for detailed field assessment, providing a spatial basis for future site-specific monitoring rather than directly defining agronomically validated management zones.