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Soil map is a geographical representation showing diversity of soil types and/or soil properties (
In the digital era, soil maps come in various digital vector and raster formats and are used for various applications in 
It is important to distinguish between the following types of ''soil maps'':
* hand-drawn soil polygon maps representing distribution of soil types;
* simulated or predicted 2D/3D soil property maps (primary or secondary soil properties);
* simulated or predicted (2D) soil-class maps;
One should also distinguish soil maps that display primary soil attributes, i.e. the soil attributes originally described or measured in the field, and the soil inferred attributes also called secondary soil information, i.e. the properties of the soils in the context of the soil use: soil production capacity, soil reaction to certain use, soil functions, soil degradation measures etc.
International Working Group on Digital Soil MappingInternational Union of Soil Sciences
* EuDASM includes more than 5,400 Soil Maps of the worl
European Digital Archive on Soil Maps of the WorldNational Soil Maps
''listed by Country'') {{Authority control Map, soil Map types
soil pH
Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...
, textures, organic matter
Organic matter, organic material, or natural organic matter refers to the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have c ...
, depths of horizons etc.) in the area of interest. It is typically the end result of a soil survey inventory, i.e. soil survey
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former term ...
. Soil maps are most commonly used for land evaluation, spatial planning, agricultural extension, environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
and similar projects. Traditional soil maps typically show only general distribution of soils, accompanied by the soil survey report. Many new soil maps are derived using digital soil mapping Digital soil mapping (DSM) in soil science, also referred to as predictive soil mapping or pedometric mapping, is the computer-assisted production of digital maps of soil types and soil properties. Soil mapping, in general, involves the creation and ...
techniques. Such maps are typically richer in context and show higher spatial detail than traditional soil maps. Soil maps produced using (geo)statistical techniques also include an estimate of the model uncertainty.
In the digital era, soil maps come in various digital vector and raster formats and are used for various applications in geosciences
Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
and environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...
s. In this context, soil maps are only visualizations of the soil resource inventories commonly stored in a Soil Information System (SIS), of which the major part is a Soil Geographical Database. A Soil Information System is basically a systematic collection of complete (values of the target soil variables available for the whole area of interest) and consistent gridded or vector soil property and/or class maps with an attached report, user manual and/or metadata. A SIS is in the most cases, a combination of polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
and point maps linked with attribute tables for profile observations, soil mapping units and soil classes. Different elements of an SIS can be manipulated and then visualized against the spatial reference (grids or polygons). For example, soil profiles can be used to make spatial prediction of different chemical and physical soil properties. In the case of pedometric mapping Pedometric mapping, or statistical soil mapping, is data-driven generation of soil property and class maps that is based on use of statistical methods. Its main objectives are to predict values of some soil variable at unobserved locations, and to ...
, both predictions and simulations (2D or 3D — geographic location plus soil depth) of values are visualized and used for GIS modeling.
It is important to distinguish between the following types of ''soil maps'':
* hand-drawn soil polygon maps representing distribution of soil types;
* simulated or predicted 2D/3D soil property maps (primary or secondary soil properties);
* simulated or predicted (2D) soil-class maps;
One should also distinguish soil maps that display primary soil attributes, i.e. the soil attributes originally described or measured in the field, and the soil inferred attributes also called secondary soil information, i.e. the properties of the soils in the context of the soil use: soil production capacity, soil reaction to certain use, soil functions, soil degradation measures etc.
See also
* Map *Soil science
Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to th ...
*Soil survey
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former term ...
*Pedometric mapping Pedometric mapping, or statistical soil mapping, is data-driven generation of soil property and class maps that is based on use of statistical methods. Its main objectives are to predict values of some soil variable at unobserved locations, and to ...
*Digital soil mapping Digital soil mapping (DSM) in soil science, also referred to as predictive soil mapping or pedometric mapping, is the computer-assisted production of digital maps of soil types and soil properties. Soil mapping, in general, involves the creation and ...
*Geographic information system
A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...
(GIS)
*Pedometrics Pedometric mapping, or statistical soil mapping, is data-driven generation of soil property and class maps that is based on use of statistical methods. Its main objectives are to predict values of some soil variable at unobserved locations, and to a ...
References
External links
International Working Group on Digital Soil Mapping
* EuDASM includes more than 5,400 Soil Maps of the worl
European Digital Archive on Soil Maps of the World
''listed by Country'') {{Authority control Map, soil Map types