Use and management of the soils

The soil survey is a detailed inventory and evaluation of the most basic resource of the survey area-the soil. It is useful in adjusting land use, including urbanization, to the limitations and potential of natural resources and the environment. Also, it can help avoid soil-related failures in uses of the land.

While a soil survey is in progress, soil scientists, conservationists, engineers, and others keep extensive notes about the nature of the soils and about unique aspects of behavior of the soils. These notes include data on erosion, drought damage to specific crops, yield estimates, flooding, the functioning of septic systems, and other factors affecting the productivity, potential, and limitations of the soils under various uses and management. In this way, field experience and measured data on soil properties and performance are used as a basis for predicting soil behavior.

Information in this section is useful in planning use and management of soils for crops and pasture, rangeland, and woodland, and as sites for buildings, highways and other transportation systems, sanitary facilities, parks and other recreation facilities, and wildlife habitat. From the data presented, the potential of each soil for specified land uses can be determined, soil limitations to these land uses can be identified, and costly failures in houses and other structures, caused by unfavorable soil properties, can be avoided. A site where soil properties are favorable can be selected, or practices that will overcome the soil limitations can be planned.

Planners and others using the soil survey can evaluate the impact of specific land uses on the overall productivity of the survey area or other broad planning area and on the environment. Productivity and the environment are closely related to the nature of the soil. Plans should be designed to maintain or create a land-use pattern in harmony with the natural soil.

Contractors can find information that is useful in locating sources of sand and gravel, roadfill, and topsoil. Other information indicates the presence of bedrock, wetness, or very firm soil horizons that cause difficulty in excavation.

Health officials, highway officials, engineers, and many other specialists also can find useful information in this soil survey. The safe disposal of wastes, for example, is closely related to properties of the soil. Pavements, sidewalks, campsites, playgrounds, lawns, and trees and shrubs are influenced by the nature of the soil.