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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #373031
Research Project: Science and Technologies for the Sustainable Management of Western Rangeland Systems

Location: Range Management Research

Title: Landpks Soilid: A Smartphone-Based Soil Identification Tool for Rangeland Management

Author
item MAYNARD, JONATHAN - University Of Colorado
item Herrick, Jeffrey - Jeff
item Salley, Shawn
item BEAUDETTE, DYLAN - University Of California
item O'GEEN, ANTHONY - University Of California

Submitted to: Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/2019
Publication Date: 2/16/2020
Citation: Maynard, J., Herrick, J.E., Salley, S.W., Beaudette, D., O'Geen, A. 2020. Landpks Soilid: A Smartphone-Based Soil Identification Tool for Rangeland Management [abstract]. Society for Range Management Meeting. February 16-20, 2020, Denver, Colorado. #116.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Accurately identifying soil class at a specific point-location or position within a landscape is critical for implementing sustainable soil management. Soil classes (e.g., soil components) are information carriers that allow land managers to infer a general range of soil behavior in response to management actions and disturbance effects. Recent advances in information technologies, in particular the global ubiquity of smartphones, has made it possible to create mobile decision support tools that can inform rangeland management decisions. The Land Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) is one such example, providing a complete mobile computing platform for assessing land potential and informing management activities. Here we present the development of a global soil identification modeling framework (SoilID) implemented within the LandPKS mobile app. SoilID leverages smartphone-based data acquisition and information delivery, with cloud-based computing to determine the most probable soil class at a user specified point. SoilID makes it possible for non-soil scientists to describe and identify soils in the field using limited, simple soil observations. Additionally, SoilID provides information on Ecological Sites based on the most probable soil class matched to the user’s soil. Our presentation will describe the details of SoilID and its implementation in the LandPKS mobile app, and provide examples of its utility for rangeland management.