Soil Map Digitization Project (Phase XII)

Background

The Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) participates with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS). This involves identifying, documenting, and mapping soils; developing this information for publication in the official survey books (usually by county); interpreting soils information for specific applications; and conducting related research.

Soils maps and manuscripts have been developed and published for most of Missouri's 114 counties. The maps and interpretive information in the manuscripts represent a substantial investment (each county represents about 12 to 18 person-years of work) and are very valuable resources for natural resource planning, research, and development. There are several agencies and other interests who would like to have access to this information, and would like to have it in an electronic format as provided by a Geographic Information System (GIS).

Objectives

The overall objective of this project is to develop in digital format individual county soil layers for selected counties in the state of Missouri using available GIS and scanning technology.

Methods

• All digital soils produced must meet NRCS Soil SURvey GeOgraphic (SSURGO) Standards.
• Mylar separates of soil boundaries and text used for the publication of the printed soil survey are obtained from NRCS and scanned into the computer.
• Raster-to-vector software running on AutoCAD is used to transfer the data to vector format for editing in a GIS.
• All information is transferred to ArcInfo, where it is georeferenced, edited and edge matched using AML programs and menus. The map unit symbol layer is developed and merged with the soil boundary layer and the combined layer is divided into 7.5 minute quadrangles.
• Digital soils developed at CARES are translated to DLG format and submitted to NRCS for SSURGO review.
• Pending SSURGO approval, un-reviewed digital soils are provided on the Internet through MSDIS.

Specific Tasks Include:

• Digitizing soils for at least 18 counties.
• Submitting digital soil data for SSURGO review.
• Transfer soils data development methods to NRCS to facilitate the national soils digitization effort.
• Conduct two hands-on workshops on utilizing digital soils for MoDNR and other agency staff.
• Assist Soil and Water Conservation Program with technical questions related to digital soils data.
• Work with the Soil Characterization Laboratory to utilize detailed soil information and identify mapping variations in existing soil data.

Major Findings

• Using automated digitizing technology (scanning, vectorization, OCR) improves data development speed and accuracy.
• Developing user interfaces for editing and quality control reduces training time and increases efficiency.

Major Products

• Digital soils data for twenty counties, submitted for SSURGO review.
• Individual full color county maps of each completed digital soil survey.
• A traveling presentation/workshop has been prepared and demonstrated.

Principal Investigators:

Project Manager: Bryan Mayhan

Project Staff: Scott Burton, Arin Stark, Chris Barnett, Dave Connett, Michael Barbaro, Michael Hardy, Richard Charrier, Jennifer Goyne, Garry Gunder.

Funding Amounts and Project Phases:

Funding Source: Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR)