Advances in Digital Mapping of Soil Ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest National Forests.

Predictive mapping is an effective method of developing Landtype Association maps for soil ecosystems of the  National Forests.  LTA maps can be quickly created through a streamlined process of predictive mapping and field checking, and then used to create more focused, detailed studies about individual regions of interest.  LTA maps can be created consistently and objectively relative to traditional experiential maps.  De-convolving data sets from diverse sources requires expertise and skill in recognizing the common attributes and taxonomy relevant to LTA classification.  Initial development of the landform groups map, used as a basis for associating environmental co-variates with landscape features, requires human analysis and digitization of these features from GIS data sets.  Population of the LTA tables requires human evaluation of the data and personal observation of their accuracy.  This makes the process both efficient and objective, but creates flexibility for updating both input and output data sets by trained professionals.