Soil survey and information is of great importance for the use and conservation of soil resources that are essential for human welfare and ecosystem sustainability. This paper introduces soil survey and soil inventory of Korea focusing on national soi...
Soil survey and information is of great importance for the use and conservation of soil resources that are essential for human welfare and ecosystem sustainability. This paper introduces soil survey and soil inventory of Korea focusing on national soil database, soil and environment information system, and use of soil database for natural resources management focusing on agricultural fields. Various scales of soil maps and soil testing data were established through a series of intensive National Soil Survey Projects and Soil Testing Projects conducted by Rural Development Administration (RDA) since early 1960s. An internet-based information system for soil and environment (http://soil.rda.go.kr) was developed on the basis of ‘National Soil Survey Projects’ and ‘Agro-environmental Change Monitoring Project’, which monitors spatial and temporal changes of agricultural environment. Soils data has a great potential of further application in estimation of soil carbon storage, water capacity, and soil loss. Digital mapping of soil and environment using state-of-the-art and emerging technologies with a pedometrics concept will lead to future direction.