Open-Source Satellite Repository and Geographic Information System (GIS) for Soil Resource Mapping

Abstract

AbstractTo get the most out of geographical data, people are being encouraged to use open-source data and software. Freely available Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software is making rapid progress. These software’s can be used to look at various properties that a satellite-based data, and other geographic data from different sources provides. Overall, satellite based remote sensing applications for soil resource mapping and modelling has gained a huge success all over the world. Conventional soil analysis is time-consuming and labor-intensive, resulting in high costs. Interpolation and its derivatives have gained widespread acceptance as an important spatial analysis technique. In this context, prognostic soil mapping approaches have been created as a result of advances in RS and GIS technology. With thorough satellite-derived soil quality indices, in-situ soil quality measurements may be transformed, which can then be scaled up to cover wider geographical areas. The spatial maps can also be used as an ideal input for models that are spatially distributed. It was possible to distinguish four major land degradation categories based on data derived from remote sensing-based satellite data, namely undegraded, moderately degraded, degraded and severely degraded based on the amount of vegetation cover, slope and erosion. Likewise, different researchers have used application of RS & GIS in mapping natural resources, studying soil taxonomy, soil resource assessment and mapping and crop growth indicator integrated with crop models. In addition, RS & GIS application can also be used to track change in forest cover density, Land use land cover, coastal morphology, status of reef and biodiversity of islands. Realizing this, the chapter highlights the utilization of free open satellite dataset and GIS software’s as well as the presentation of open-source soil information and use of the application of RS & GIS in soil resource mapping and monitoring in India.KeywordsOpen-sourceRS & GISSoilSoftwareSatellite