• Special to The Piney Woods Journal

Complete soil survey maps of the State of Louisiana have been completed and are available for use by agriculture, forestry, business, and industry, announces the USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service.

Soil surveys are detailed inventories of the soil that help people understand the diverse and complex properties of this important natural resource. Published reports of the soil surveys are now available for every parish in Louisiana according to Louisiana's top conservationist.

"For the first time ever, soil survey information is available in published format to all the citizens of Louisiana," said Don Gohmert, State Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "The reports contain detailed information on the different soil types within each parish. Every soil is described as to its thickness, color, texture, structure, consistency, pH, and other physical and chemical properties, as well as its suitability for various uses from agriculture to construction, and from home sites to playgrounds. We have been conducting soil surveys in the state since the early 1950's and now we are complete with this statewide effort known as the `once-over' mapping and publication process."

Although the primary users of the soil survey are farmers and ranchers, they are not the only ones who benefit from its information. Foresters, engineers, consultants, city planners, realtors, state and parish government entities and many others rely on the soil survey for information.

"Soil is a very complex, intricate resource," explained Jerry Daigle, NRCS State Soil Scientist. "The soil survey is a systematic examination, description, classification, and mapping of soils in an area. Soil scientists examined thousands of soil profiles in each of Louisiana's 64 parishes in an effort to understand, identify, and separate the different soils of which there are over 350 identified and named in the state at this time.

The soil survey report attempts to transfer this scientific information and knowledge in a useable way to help individuals make wise land use decisions."

The soil surveys of Louisiana were conducted under the auspices of the National Cooperative Soil Survey which establishes universal standards of excellence. Each report was compiled by NRCS, in cooperation with the LSU Agricultural Center -Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry - Louisiana Soil and Water Conservation Committee, and Louisiana's Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Louisiana Department of Agriculture soil scientists worked side-by-side with NRCS soil scientists on a day-to-day basis, examining, describing, classifying, and mapping soils. LSU Ag Center personnel assisted with laboratory analysis, quality assurance and research. The U. S. Forest Service, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, and parish units of government assisted as well, lending technical expertise, office space, laboratory analysis, and equipment to the effort.

Private landowners also helped by allowing soil scientists access to their land for soil investigations and mapping. Without their cooperation and support, this historic completion of the statewide soil survey could not have been accomplished. Soil survey reports are now available for all of the 64 parishes in the state, but the effort does not stop there.

"We have already begun the process of updating some of the older surveys to bring them to the scientific standards and knowledge of today," said Daigle. "The use of computers, databases, global positioning systems (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS) has really helped us modernize the soil survey program and make it more useable and accessible. We can navigate to known points or verify the location of unknown points using GPS. Color infrared photography helps us more easily identify ground features and vegetative differences; and that helps us separate the different soil types. Digital elevation models allow us to view the landscape in three dimensions which further enhances our ability to produce more accurate maps. Our ultimate goal is to make the soil survey a web-based product. Persons wanting soil survey information will only need to click on a web-site link and the information will be there for the taking."

For more information on a specific soil survey for a particular parish in Louisiana, contact the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office nearest you. The telephone number is located under U.S. Government in the telephone book. Information for any parish or county in the United States can also be obtained at http://soils.usda.gov/survey/ .This information is available free of charge.

All programs and services of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are available on a non-discriminatory basis.

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