212-2 Soil Capability As a Framework for Interpretations in the National Cooperative Soil Survey.

See more from this Division: ASA Section: Land Management & Conservation
See more from this Session: Land Management & Conservation: I

Tuesday, November 17, 2015: 9:25 AM
Minneapolis Convention Center, M100 B

Maxine J. Levin1, David W. Smith2, Robert Dobos3, Steve Peaslee3 and Cathy A. Seybold3, (1)USDA-NRCS, Silver Spring, MD
(2)USDA-NRCS, Washington, DC
(3)National Soil Survey Center, USDA-NRCS, Lincoln, NE
Abstract:
Soil properties delimit the capability of a soil to function in various capacities. Historically, the U.S. National Cooperative Soil Survey used soil properties to define soil capability and function primarily for farm, forestry, and grazing land practices.  The maps, which are consolidated into an official web-based database, are derived from a framework of land classification, combined soil properties (both estimated and measured), and land management classification.  The mapping was originally conceived as a practical tool to provide farmers and community planners with information on the basic soil resource for economic gain.  For more than 75 years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) has used land capability classification as a tool for planning conservation measures and practices on farms so that the land could be used without serious deterioration from erosion or other causes. The land capability classification is one of innumerable methods of land classification based on broad interpretations of soil qualities and other site and climatic characteristics. Modern soil surveys have evolved to portray soil interpretations and soil capability both geospatially as well as with data analysis. As the functionality of the National Soil Survey Information System (NASIS) and Soil Survey Geographic System (SSURGO) increases, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is advancing its interpretation program nationally to address security issues within the context of soil capability beyond land use and land cover.  Soil capability for any potential human use or ecosystem service must be assessed within the context of soil properties, either measured or estimated.  Using soil security as a framework (including capability, condition, capital, connectivity, and codification), soil interpretations of the U.S. National Cooperative Soil Survey database may be tailored to address the questions of sustainability and climate change at local, regional, and global scales and to facilitate the transfer of technology to other countries and related scientific disciplines.

References

Andrews, S.S., D.L. Karlen, and J.P. Mitchell. 2001. A comparison of soil quality indexing methods for vegetable production systems in Northern California. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 1760:1-21.

Dobos, R.R., H.R. Sinclair, Jr., and M.P. Robotham.  2012. User guide for the National Commodity Crop Productivity Index (NCCPI), version 2.0. Available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/ref/.

Eswaran, H., F.H. Beinroth, and P.F. Reich. 2003. A global assessment of land quality. In K. Wiebe (ed.) Land Quality, Agricultural Productivity, and Food Security: Biophysical Processes and Economic Choices at Local, Regional, and Global Levels, pp. 111-132. Edward Elgar Publishing, Ltd., Northampton, MA.

Helms, Douglas. 1992. The development of the land capability classification. In The History of the Soil Conservation Service, USDA-SCS, Washington, DC, pp. 60-73.

Kiniry, L.N., C.L. Criver, and M.E. Keener. 1983. A soil productivity index based upon predicted water depletion and root growth. Resource Bulletin No. 1051. University of Missouri, Columbia.

Kolivras, K.N., P.S. Johnson, A.C. Comrie, and S.R. Yool. 2001. Environmental variability and coccidioiomycosis (Valley Fever). Aerobiologia 17:31-42.

National Cooperative Soil Survey. 2015. National Cooperative Soil Characterization Database. Available online at http://ssldata.nrcs.usda.gov.

Soil and Trouble. In Science 11, June 2004, vol. 304, no. 5677, pp. 1614-1615. DOI: 10.1126/science.304.5677.1614.

Soil Survey Staff. 1999. Soil Taxonomy: A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. 2nd edition. Natural Resources Conservation Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 436.

Soil Survey Staff. 2010. NASIS user guide. Chapter 19: Introducing interpretations. Available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/tools/?cid=nrcs142p2_053545.

Soil Survey Staff. 2010. NASIS user guide. Chapter 21: Developing interpretation criteria. Available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/tools/?cid=nrcs142p2_053545.

Soil Survey Staff. 2014. Soil habitat for saprophite stage of coccidioides. National Soil Information System. (Results generated 2/6/14.)

Soil Survey Staff. 2015. National soil survey handbook. Available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/ref/?cid=nrcs142p2_054242 (accessed 5/12/15).

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. National soil survey handbook, title 430-VI. Available online at http://soils.usda.gov/technical/handbook/ (accessed 4/21/2015).

See more from this Division: ASA Section: Land Management & Conservation
See more from this Session: Land Management & Conservation: I

<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract