Can citizen science assist digital soil mapping?

Abstract

The essential element of citizen science is the participation of non-specialists in scientific research. The citizen acts as an observer or experimenter within structures established by a project run by professional scientists. The recent explosion in projects is due to the development of enabling technology, exemplified by the spatially-enabled “smart” phone with mapping applications and its supporting networks including the GPS system. Citizen science projects have two purposes: (1) to amplify scientific research; and (2) to build citizen support for, and understanding of, science. Current initiatives in citizen soil science include the OPAL Soil and Earthworm Survey, GLOBE, and mySoil, but these are not aimed at soil mapping. We propose digital soil mapping (DSM) citizen science initiatives for countries with and without well-organized extension and advisory services and existing soil surveys, and identify types of citizens who might be motivated to contribute to such initiatives. Contributions could be in the form of tacit knowledge, opportunistic or protocol-guided new information, information from precision agriculture, and physical samples submitted for analysis. The primary beneficiary of such projects would be the professional mapper using digital information to produce or enhance maps of soil properties or types. The secondary beneficiary would be the citizen scientist, who would benefit from an enhanced map, and may be better able to participate in policy debates related to the soil resource. In addition, participation would enhance the connectivity between the soil resource and the citizen.