Kyebogola, S., C.L. Burras, B.A. Miller, O. Semalulu, R.S. Yost, M.M. Tenywa, A.W. Lenssen, P. Kyomuhendo, C. Smith, C.K. Luswata, M.J. Gilbert Majaliwa, L. Goettsch, C.J. Pierce Colfer, R.E. Mazur. Comparing Uganda’s indigenous soil classification system with World Reference Base and Soil Taxonomy. Geoderma Regional. doi: 10.1016/j.geodrs.2020.e00296.
Categories of cartographic scale correspond to the selection of environmental soil predictors used to initially create historical soil maps. Paradigm shifts in soil mapping and classification can be best explained by not only their correlation to historical improvements in scientific understanding, but also by differences in purpose for mapping, and due to advancements in geographic technology. Although the hierarchy of phenomena scales observed in this study is generally known in pedology today, it also represents a new view on the evolution of soil science.
We introduce, evaluate, and apply a new ordinally based soil Productivity Index (PI). The index has a wide application generally at landscape scales. Unlike competing indexes, it does not require copious amounts of soil data, for example, pH, organic matter, or cation exchange capacity, in its derivation. Geographic information system applications of the PI, in particular, have great potential. For regionally extensive applications, the PI may be as useful and robust as other indexes that have much more exacting data requirements.
