SoilWeb
SoilWeb is an interactive map that allows a user to pan around the US and explore USDA-NCSS soil survey data, which is available for most of the country, save a few remote areas. In a world where decision making is based on the best available information from a country’s leading research institution, a resource like SoilWeb is an excellent resource for decision-makers and curious citizens alike to see, learn, and plan environmental practices around available information on soil. Soil web is a project that was founded at UC Davis’s California Soul Resource Lab with the support of the USDA. The data collected mainly consists of geochemical and mineralogical data, delineated on the surface of the map by yellow lines that roughly mark the boundaries of different types of soil categorization. SoilWeb is a valuable tool for land management offices and various levels of government to make decisions about development, environmental remediation, conservation, and any number of other applications that require knowledge about ground conditions. Even though the map is viewable on the web, data can also be exported to a personal computer for manipulation. The apparent drawback of SoilWeb appears to be that it isn’t clear how recent the data is, how often or if the data is updated, which can be an issue for making more dynamic regulation and the best possible decisions.
Categories
Data, Ecological Modelling, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Monitoring, Regulation
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