Categories of cartographic scale correspond to the selection of environmental soil predictors used to initially create historical soil maps. Paradigm shifts in soil mapping and classification can be best explained by not only their correlation to historical improvements in scientific understanding, but also by differences in purpose for mapping, and due to advancements in geographic…
The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of high-resolution, minimally invasive sensor data to predict spatial variation of soil organic carbon stocks within highly degraded peatland soils in northeast Germany. Soil organic carbon density was related to elevation, electrical conductivity, and peat thickness. Modeling peat thickness based on sensor data needs additional…
After soil science became established as a scientific discipline, there has been a continued interplay between geologists and soil scientists, both fields benefiting from advancements made by the other. There is strong agreement between preliminary geology maps created from soil maps and traditional geology maps. Despite the results obtained when using soil maps to create…
A comparison of direct and indirect approaches for mapping SOC stocks from rule-based, multiple linear regression models applied at the landscape scale via spatial association. The final products for both strategies are high-resolution maps of SOC stocks (kg m‾²), covering an area of 122 km², with accompanying maps of estimated error. Although the indirect approach…
Classification of elevation rasters with this digital model of hillslope position represent base maps that can be used to (1) improve research on toposequences by providing explicit definitions of each hillslope element’s location, (2) facilitate the disaggregation of soil map unit complexes, and (3) identify map unit inclusions that occur due to subtle topographic variation.
Simulation of late glacial atmospheric conditions with atmospheric general circulation models suggest a strong anticyclone over the Laurentide Ice Sheet and associated easterly winds along the glacial margin. In the upper Midwest of North America, evidence supporting this modeled air flow exists in the orientation of paleospits in northeastern Lower Michigan that formed ∼13 ka…
Despite the widespread availability of relatively detailed soil maps in the USA, few areas have a surficial geology map published with as much spatial detail. This apparent gap between disciplines calls to question the accuracy of soil maps to represent the spatial distribution of surficial geologic materials. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to…
Results suggest that models with limited predictor pools can substitute other predictors to compensate for unavailable variables. However, a better performing model was always found by considering predictor variables at multiple scales. Although the scale effect of the modifiable area unit problem is generally well known, this study suggests digital soil mapping efforts would be…
This paper reviews the historical development of base maps used for soil mapping, and evaluates the dependence of soil mapping on base maps. Formerly, as a reference for spatial position, paper base maps controlled the cartographic scale of soil maps. However, this relationship is no longer true in geographic information systems. Today, as parameters for…
DTA has not been field tested to the extent that traditional field metrics of topography have been. Human assessment of topography synthesizes multiple parameters at multiple scales to characterize a landscape, based on field experience. In order to capture the analysis scale used by field scientists, this study introduces a method for calibrating the analysis…
