Wednesday, November 15, 2006
289-3

Computer-Assisted Checks for Coordination of Interpretative Soil Information and Soil Properties.

Harold Raymond Sinclair Jr., Jim R. Fortner, Robert R. Dobos, and Sharon W. Waltman. USDA-NRCS, Federal Building, Room 152, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, NE 68508-3866

In order to provide coordinated soil survey information, computer applications have been programmed to produce tables and thematic maps of soil interpretations and information by Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) or other geographical areas of interest. Many of the same chemical and physical soil properties, climate, and landscape features are criteria for multiple soil interpretations. The computer is a valuable tool in accessing the soil survey database; specifically interpretative criteria for each soil. The results of the computer evaluation are useful in identifying inconsistencies in application of interpretive criteria, errors in soil database elements, or possible errors in the computer program. The resulting tables and thematic maps are useful to display interpretations for soils for a geographical area. For coordination purposes, it is useful to look at all the soils within an MLRA.  MLRA's should have rather uniform geomorphology, climate, water resources, natural vegetation, and land uses. Thus, many of these non-soils differences are suppressed and differences and similarities among soils become more apparent. Evolutionary procedures used to produce the sample tables and choroplethic maps are described.

Handout (.pdf format, 10441.0 kb)