page_title: Pedometric mapping
section_title: Pedometric vs traditional soil mapping
hierarchical_section_title: Pedometric mapping / Pedometric vs traditional soil mapping
caption_attribution_description: English: Comparison of a traditional soil polygon map (http://www.alterra.wur.nl/NL/Producten/GIS-bestanden/Bodem/Bodemkaart+500000/), vs four simulations of zinc content for the same study area generated using geostatistical simulations (http://r-spatial.sourceforge.net/gallery/#fig07.R)
context_page_description: Pedometric mapping, or statistical soil mapping, is data-driven generation of soil property and class maps that is based on use of statistical methods. The main objective of pedometric mapping is to predict values of some soil variable at unobserved locations and access the uncertainty of that estimate using statistical inference i.e. statistically optimal approaches. From the application point of view, the main objective of soil mapping is to accurately predict response of a soil-plant ecosystem to various soil management strategies. In other words, the main objective of pedometric mapping is to generate maps of soil properties and soil classes that can be used to feed other environmental models or for decision making. Pedometric mapping is largely based on applying geostatistics in soil science and other statistical methods used in pedometrics.
  Although pedometric mapping is mainly data-driven, it can also largely be based on use of expert knowledge. The expert knowledge, however, needs to be plugged-in into a pedometric computational framework so that it can be used to produce more accurate prediction models.
context_section_description: In traditional soil survey, spatial distribution of soil properties and soil bodies can be inferred using mental models which leads to manual delineations. Such methods can be considered to be subjective, and it is hence difficult or impossible to statistically assess the accuracy of such maps without additional field sampling. Traditional soil survey mapping has some limitations for use in a multithematic GIS related to the fact that is often not consistently applied by different mappers, it is largely manual and it is difficult to automate. Most of traditional soil maps in the world are based on manual delineations of assumed soil bodies, to which then soil attributes are attached. In the case of pedometric mapping, all outputs are based on using rigorous statistical computing and are hence reproducible.
  Pedometric mapping is largely based on using extensive and detailed covariate layers such as Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derivatives, remote sensing imagery, climatic, land cover and geological GIS layers and imagery. Evolution of pedometric mapping can be closely connected with the emergence of new technologies and global, publicly available data sources such as the SRTM DEM, MODIS, ASTER and Landsat imagery, gamma radiometrics and LiDAR imagery, and new automated mapping methods.
caption: Traditional soil polygon map (left) vs pedometric map — four simulations of Zinc content in top-soil generated using geostatistical simulations as shown in this sp package gallery (right).
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