Accurate and helpful information regarding soils
- col-conservation-corner
- September 17, 2024
- 210
Today information is at a premium. Information is readily accessible in libraries and newspapers and through the television. But now more than ever before, information is accessible almost anywhere — through smartphones, tablets and anything that can connect to the internet. And people can learn about almost anything they could ever desire to know: shopping, travel, lifestyles and more.
But with this blessing of ample information comes the inherent difficulty of knowing where to look for reliable information, accurate information and helpful information. It does not take long to waste an hour or two trying to find the information needed.
To that end, I thought it might be helpful to provide some links to accurate and helpful information regarding soils. Although you may not have an urgent need for accurate and helpful soil information at the present time, at some time in your life, you will probably need such information about soils:
—When your basement begins to leak.
—When you build a house.
—When you need to replace your sewage system.
—When the hill behind your house begins to slip and move toward your house.
—When the stream channel changes due to flooding and you have lost 20 feet of your stream bank.
Numerous scenarios could be mentioned.
Thus, I have a brief list of reliable soil websites and apps that can help in gathering accurate and helpful soil information:
—The Web Soil Survey is a service provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service that can provide detailed soil information for virtually every location in the country. Visit websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/.
—NRCS has numerous soil resources for all levels of soil expertise. Visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/soil and access the official Soil Survey Manual, information on soil taxonomy and the Technical Soil Services Handbook.
—The University of California-Davis has developed a downloadable app called the SoilWeb App that can be downloaded by smartphones and used in the field. The app provides information regarding the type of soil where you are, the percentage of soils in that area and an interactive map of the site as well. This is good for anywhere in the U.S. Visit casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/.
—Official Soil Series Descriptions: NRCS has online the official descriptions for each soil type in the nation. Each description details the soil characteristics and where the soil was found that was described. Visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/resources/data-and-reports/official-soil-series-descriptions-osd.
—Tuscarawas County Soil Survey: For those who still want or appreciate having a book in their hands, the Tuscarawas SWCD has copies of the bound Soil Survey that are free upon request. Contact the SWCD Office for details. The Tuscarawas SWCD Office also has individual soil descriptions for Tuscarawas County soils, prepared by Dr. Charles Redmond, an NRCS soil scientist. These also are free.
—The Tuscarawas SWCD also has a CD Rom version of the Soil Survey. This also is free upon request. Contact the SWCD Office for details.
The Tuscarawas Soil and Water Conservation District can provide both onsite and over-the-phone assistance with soils and soil-related information at 330-339-7976. Or if you need help accessing any of the above resources, contact our office.
In addition, if you need to contact a soil professional, a list of soil scientists for the state of Ohio can be found at www.ohiopedologist.org/consultant-list.html.