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Soils classification for North and South America (FAO)

Soils classification for North and South America (FAO)

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Metadata:

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Publication_Date: 1995
Title: Soils classification for North and South America (FAO)
Edition: 1
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Other_Citation_Details:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 1998. Digital Soil Map of the World and Derived Soil Properties CD-ROM. FAO, Land and Water Digital Media Series Number1, ISBN 92-5-104050-8, Rome, Italy.
Online_Linkage: <http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/dsmw.stm>
Description:
Abstract:
This is a subset of FAOs The Digital Soil Map of the World for North and South America and selected attributes. The Digital Soil Map of the World and Derived Soil Properties CD-ROM (Version 3.5, November 1995) is based on the FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World, original scale 1:5 million. The CD-ROM contains two types of files, Digital Soil Map of the World (DSMW) map sheets and derived soil properties files with images derived from the Soil Map of the World.

The Digital Soil Map of the World consists of ten map sheets: Africa, North America, Central America, Europe, Central and Northeast Asia, Far East, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. The maps are available in three different formats: one vector format (ARC/INFO Export) and two raster formats called ERDAS and IDRISI (or flat raster) formats. The ARC/INFO Export vector files can be read by ARC/INFO software on PC or other platforms that support ARC/INFO such as VAX/VMS and UNIX. The ERDAS raster files are in ERDAS version 7.5 GIS format and can be read by ERDAS software version 7.5 or later (e.g. version 8.1, called ERDAS/IMAGINE) on PC or UNIX and by other software that can import ERDAS 7.5 GIS files. The IDRISI raster files are in IDRISI IMG format and can be read by IDRISI software on PC and by most GIS and image-processing software that can read flat raster files.

All the maps are in geographic projection, with spherical datum. The coordinates are expressed in degree decimals. The scale of the original map (and the vector-formatted data) is 1:5 million. The cell size of the raster data is 5 x 5 arc-minute.

The Derived Soil Properties files consist of interpretation programs and related data files. The programs are written in QuickBASIC version 4.5 and can be read using a DOS or OS/2 operating system. Included are programs that interpret the maps in terms of agronomic and environmental parameters such as pH, organic carbon content, C/N ratio, clay mineralogy, soil depth, soil and terrain suitability for specific crop production, soil moisture storage capacity and soil drainage class. The output is given in the form of maps and data files which can be stored for later retrieval. Special country analyses can be made for specific soil inventories, problem soils and fertility capability classification for every country in the world. The output is in tabular form. Also included are maps of classification units of the World Soil Reference Base units and topsoil distribution, which can facilitate the teaching of soil science. In addition there is a soil database developed specifically for environmental studies on a global scale, which includes soil moisture storage capacity, soil drainage class and effective soil depth.

Purpose:
This subset of the FAO Soils database was extracted for the purposes of the Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean project (World Resources Institute, 2004) analysis of watershed-based sources of pollution and sedimentation.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: unknown
Currentness_Reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -115.169968
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -51.832405
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 50.249294
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 0.150406
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: general
Theme_Keyword: soils
Place:
Place_Keyword: Caribbean
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints: none
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Nachtergaele, Freddy O.F.
Contact_Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Contact_Position: Land and Water Development Division
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
City: Rome
Postal_Code: 00100
Country: ITALY
Contact_Voice_Telephone: +39-06-570-54888-5
Data_Set_Credit:
Please recognize the Land and Water Development Division, FAO, Rome as the originator of the source data.
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.0 (Build 2195) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.0.0.535
Data_Quality_Information:
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO)
Publication_Date: 1995
Title: DIGITAL SOIL MAP OF THE WORLD
Online_Linkage: <http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/dsmw.htm>
Source_Scale_Denominator: 5000000
Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: FAO_SOILS
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The polygon data layers was extracted from the FAO Soils database and saved as an ESRI shapefile. Only certain attributes were retsined for the purpose of the Reefs at Riskin the caribbean project.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: FAO_SOILS
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: World Resources Institute
Process_Step:
Process_Description: Metadata imported.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: C:\RRCARIB_CD2\GIS\Data_GIS\Soils\FAO_soils_mod.shp.xml
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: G-polygon
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 2111
Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Geographic:
Latitude_Resolution: 0.000001
Longitude_Resolution: 0.000001
Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: D_WGS_1984
Ellipsoid_Name: WGS_1984
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257224