Soil Associations of Iowa: STATSGO Database
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Author: Bradley Miller
This is an archived story. The content, links and information may have changed since the publication date.
This map presents the generalized Soil Associations of Iowa, derived from the State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) Database. Each color-coded region represents a group of soils that consistently occur together in the landscape and share common features such as parent material, texture, topography, and formation processes. Soil associations provide a broad overview of landscape-level soil variability.
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Source:
Produced by the Geospatial Laboratory for Soil Informatics (GLSI) at Iowa State University. State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) Data Base
Interpretation:
Soil associations simplify complex soil patterns by grouping related soil series for broad-scale mapping. While not suitable for site-specific management, they are valuable for regional planning, educational purposes, and statewide analyses of soil and landscape relationships.
Resolution:
Generalized polygon map units from the STATSGO database; displayed as a statewide static image
Suggested Use:
Useful for large-area land evaluation, conservation planning, educational displays, and identifying dominant soil-landscape patterns. This map supports research, outreach, and long-term land use strategy development.
References:
United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), STATSGO Database