0000000000267942
AUTHOR
Bradley A. Miller
Soil Mapping and Processes Modeling for Sustainable Land Management
Soil maps and models are indispensable tools in sustainable land management. The sustainable land use of our territory is fundamental to providing long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits. The risk of land degradation and corresponding declines in ecosystem services depends on the type of land use. Soil restoration can be extremely expensive, more than the implementation of sustainable land use practices. This is especially important in the context of climate change and the increasing pressure that a growing population places on soil resources, which is a global phenomenon. The objective of this chapter is to show the advantages of using soil mapping and modeling in sustainable l…
Historical Perspectives on Soil Mapping and Process Modeling for Sustainable Land Use Management
Basic soil management goes back to the earliest days of agricultural practices, approximately 9000 BCE. Through time humans developed soil management techniques of ever increasing complexity, including plows, contour tillage, terracing, and irrigation. Spatial soil patterns were being recognized as early as 3000 BCE, but the first soil maps did not appear until the 1700s and the first soil models finally arrived in the 1880s. The beginning of the 20th century saw an increase in standardization in many soil science methods and wide-spread soil mapping in many parts of the world, particularly in developed countries. However, the classification systems used, mapping scale, and national coverag…