Decompacting Soil Data: LandPKS loosens up valuable soil information
Carolyn Kerchof
Communications and Storytelling Lead, LandPKS, USA
Using LandPKS for vegtation monitoring. Copyright LandPKS
Soil scientists, farmers, citizen scientists, rangeland managers, and educators who work in soil monitoring programs around the world have a common problem: how does one find out exactly what type of soil one is standing on? Soil maps are imprecise, and lab measurements of soils, such as of soil pH and organic matter, are inaccessible to most. Farmers in many countries lack the kind of infrastructure that would make laboratory analysis of soils timely and affordable. Until recently, there were no tools to help land managers characterize their soil, be they suburban homeowners in the United States, cacao farmers in Ghana, or rangeland managers on a wildlife preserve in Kenya.
The Land Potential Knowledge System, or LandPKS, was conceived as a tool to empower scientists and land managers of all kinds to characterize soil type efficiently and accurately to better inform their management decisions. With the mission to increase access to information and knowledge about soils and land for everyone, LandPKS defines “land potential” as the inherent, long-term potential of the land to sustainably support a wide variety of ecosystem services, including agricultural production. In the LandPKS mobile app, information on soils, wildlife habitat, and long-term trends in land cover can be accessed using the user’s location alone. The data collection modules, such as LandInfo and Vegetation, allow users to further characterize, measure, and monitor changes in their soil and vegetation. By combining soil map data with user input data, LandPKS makes it possible for anyone to characterize their soil and evaluate the potential of their land.
Publically uploaded sites on the LandPKS Data Portal. Copyright LandPKS
Simple, accessible methods for soil characterization
Through identifying your soil, you gain access to detailed information on the physical, chemical, and biological properties associated with your soil type. LandPKS is a reliable and easy way to identify your soil type through recording simple observations of soil properties, like soil texture and the presence of rock fragments. In multiple studies, the LandPKS team has proven that these simple, accessible methods work. In the article “A Comparison of Soil Texture-by-Feel Estimates: Implications for the Citizen Soil Scientist,” Shawn Salley et al show that the soil texture-by-feel method used by LandPKS is an easy and relatively accurate way for people who are not soil scientists, such as citizen scientists, seasonal resource scientists, and field technicians, to identify their soil type. The results of Salley’s study support the use of tools such as LandPKS that empower and train users to use soil characterization methods.
By understanding the soil’s potential to support various activities (based on inherent properties like texture) as well as its current condition (based on soil health), you can manage land to maximize both soil biodiversity and ecosystem services. The concept of soil health encompasses those dynamic soil properties that you can impact through changes in management. An example is susceptibility to erosion, which can be decreased by planting cover crops, or risk of drought, which can be mitigated by increasing soil organic matter. You can assess the health of your soil with the LandPKS SoilHealth module, which allows you to record a wide range of common soil health indicators, such as soil organic matter and biological diversity.
Increased knowledge leads to increased productivity
Researchers collecting soil data in the field. Copyright LandPKS
One of LandPKS’s user groups is smallholder farmers, who produce a significant percentage of the global food supply and are in critical need of information to help them better manage their land. Farm management decisions are best made with knowledge of the soils, their potential, and their current condition. The LandPKS team has demonstrated that mobile phone technology is an effective way to provide access to this kind of information, and that it has an overall positive impact on farm productivity and economic growth. In the article “Mobile phone use is associated with higher smallholder agricultural productivity in Tanzania, East Africa,” Amy Quandt et al show a positive association between mobile phone use for agricultural activities and reported crop yields. Mobile phone use increases profits while decreasing the costs and time investments of farming by, among other things, providing access to timely, actionable information to support decision making.
LandPKS seeks to serve a broad user base. The system is currently being used in a wide range of projects around the world, including in an Observational Carbon-Farming Program run by the non-profit Eco-Cycle in Boulder, Colorado (read more here), and to guide management decisions on cacao farms in Ghana (read more here). Thanks to feedback and input from our growing user base, the system continues to evolve to better address the problem of the frequent mismatch between a piece of land’s potential and how that land is being used.
You can learn more about the LandPKS project and contact us at LandPotential.org.