Localization of local soil classes in an arid region of Mexico, using satellite imagery

Abstract

A map of local soil classes (LSCs) was used to make digital maps of soil classes using computer-assisted cartography. The objectives were to establish classes of the local soils of an arid locality; to determine their physical and chemical characteristics; to relate the content of clay (Cl), organic matter (OM) and electrical conductivity (EC) to the levels of reflectance from the classes of soil; and to obtain a digital map of classes of local soils using a supervised classification of the image and verify its precision. The map of LSCs was used as basis for generating information about the physical and chemical characteristics of soils. The information was related to digital levels of a Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image, and a supervised classification was performed. The precision of the digital maps was verified. The results show that a map of LSCs can be used as basis for generating digital maps.