U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2017





- ARS@Work
- Blog
- Down on the Farm
- Image Gallery
- News Archive
- Podcasts
- Press Room
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Tellus
- Under the Microscope
- YouTube Channel

Read the magazine story to find out more.USDA-NRCS rangeland scientist Emilio Carrillo tests the new LandPKS mobile app on his smartphone. Click the image for more information about it.For further reading
Smart Phone Apps Series to Help Maximize Land's Productivity, Protect Resources
ARS Nutrient Data Available via Phone Apps and Interactive Websites
A Labor Saving Way to Monitor Vast Rangelands Smart Phone App Balances Conservation and Production By Jan Suszkiw January, 25, 2017 New mobile phone applications ("apps") are helping farmers and land managers balance productivity with conservation. Known as the "Land-Potential Knowledge System" (LandPKS), the suite of apps identifies and delivers information about specific soils to anyone with a mobile phone, according to Jeff Herrick, a soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Las Cruces, New Mexico. LandPKS, which includes the LandInfo and LandCover modules, combines cloud computing, digital soil-mapping data, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide information about the sustainable potential of land under current and future climate, adds Herrick, who is with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service's Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces. Herrick and his collaborators developed LandPKS because of the unique challenges that today's producers and land managers face in feeding a world population of seven billion people while also protecting soil, water, and other natural resources. The current version of the LandInfo module allows the user to collect soil and site-specific topographic data, while the LandCover module can document ground cover, vegetation height, plant density, and spatial patterns of vegetation affecting soil erosion. The collected information is stored in a centralized, open access database and becomes part of a data system that in the future will identify management options for sites having similar topography, soils, and climatic conditions, Herrick said. The app is available for free at LandPotential.org, the Google Playstore, and the iTunes App Store (by searching "LandPKS"). Herrick is part of an international team that developed, tested, and released the apps as part of a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development. His domestic collaborators include ARS ecologist Jason Karl; USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service soil scientists Joel Brown and Skye Wills; and Jason Neff, director of the Sustainability Innovation Lab at University of Colorado, Boulder. You can read more about LandPKS in the January 2017 issue of *AgResearch Magazine*. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov