Geospatial Information as a Tool for Soil Resource Information, Management and Decision Support in Nigeria

Oludare H Adedeji

doi:10.4314/jasem.v23i12.5

Abstract

Understanding and addressing the complexity of soil resources management and factors involved requires collection and interpretation of relevant data that will serve as decision support tools. Geospatial information is a veritable tool for soil resource information and decision support for soil management, which is yet to be well embraced in Nigeria. This paper emphasized the importance of geospatial information as a decision support tool to make better and informed decision in the management of soil resources. It also reviewed and discussed status of soil information systems and need to promote strategies for sustainable soil resource development in the country.Keywords: Soil information system, Decision support system, remote sensing, digital soil mapping

Highlights

Understanding and addressing the complexity of soil resources management and factors involved requires collection and interpretation of relevant data that will serve as decision support tools
The soil isan environmental medium that is often neglected because people sometimes do not realize the importance it has for the ecosystem and the economy (Nkwunonwo and Okeke, 2013)
Efforts at thematic mapping has increased in recent year as the result of advances in geographic information and remote sensing techniques but mapping of soil types and characteristics has not fully shared in this advancement especially in developing country like Nigeria, because of the complexity of soil geography and the high cost of its direct observation (Ismail and Yacoub, 2012).This makes it difficult to have reliable information and make better decisions on the soil resources

Summary

Introduction

Understanding and addressing the complexity of soil resources management and factors involved requires collection and interpretation of relevant data that will serve as decision support tools. Concerning soil mapping in Nigeria, existing information on soil resources are compiled on a national basis and were mostly based on coarse spatial resolution satellite remote sensing data plus small scale map covering very large areas but with very little details.

Results

Conclusion