Large Scale Soil Mapping Methodology: Approaches, Problems and Prospects

Obtaining accurate and objective information about the soil cover of any territory is the main goal of any soil-geographic research. The review of existing methods has shown that despite the fact that more than 100 years have passed since the times of V.V. Dokuchaev, no fundamentally new approaches have been developed. The existing approaches are still based on V.V. Dokuchaev’s ideas about soil connection with soil formation factors. Few attempts have been made to increase the information capacity of soil maps by representing soil microheterogeneities, as well as to add information on modern soil processes (dynamics of boundaries and plasticity of relief) to soil maps. All these methods can be used to modernize the mapping process. It is proposed to supplement the methods of traditional mapping by specifying, if possible, the boundaries of soil-geographic delineations on the basis of remote sensing data, saturating the delineations with information on soil cover patterns, showing the boundaries of soil cover mesostructures, taking into account the flow structures of relief plasticity, and, if possible, reflecting the long-term dynamics of the boundaries of soil-mapping delineations. Most of the operations to produce such soil maps can now be automated. Such maps will more accurately reflect the real geography of soils and their properties, as well as the processes of soil matter transport under the action of water flows and gravitational forces, which will significantly increase the practical value of soil data.