Soil Characterization Data (Lab Data)

The National Cooperative Soil Survey - Soil Characterization Database (NCSS-SCD) contains laboratory data for more than 65,000 locations (i.e. XY coordinates) throughout the United States and its Territories, and about 2,100 locations from other countries. It is a compilation of data from the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL) and several cooperating laboratories. The data steward and distributor is the National Soil Survey Center (NSSC). Information contained within the database includes physical, chemical, biological, mineralogical, morphological, and mid infrared reflectance (MIR) soil measurements, as well a collection of calculated values. The intended use of the data is to support interpretations related to soil use and management.Data Usage Access to the data is provided via the following user interfaces:1. Interactive Web Map2. Lab Data Mart (LDM) interface for querying data and generating reports3. Soil Data Access (SDA) web services for querying data4. Direct download of the entire database in several formats.Data at each location includes measurements at multiple depths (e.g. soil horizons). However, not all analyses have been conducted for each location and depth. Typically, a suite of measurements was collected based upon assumed or known conditions regarding the soil being analyzed. For example, soils of arid environments are routinely analyzed for salts and carbonates as part of the standard analysis suite. Standard morphological soil descriptions are available for about 60,000 of these locations. Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is available for about 7,000 locations. Soil fertility measurements, such as those made by Agricultural Experiment Stations, were not made. Most of the data were obtained over the last 40 years, with about 4,000 locations before 1960, 25,000 from 1960-1990, 27,000 from 1990-2010, and 13,000 from 2010 to 2021. Generally, the number of measurements recorded per location has increased over time. Typically, the data were collected to represent a soil series or map unit component concept. They may also have been sampled to determine the range of variation within a given landscape.Individual Metadata [XML]

Data and Resources

Field Value
dcat_issued 2024-02-21T20:20:05.000Z
dcat_modified 2025-08-20T13:29:56.000Z
dcat_publisher_name USDA NRCS ArcGIS Online
guid https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=cedb886980ca462fbb114c082ea50ffb
Tags
  • FGDC
  • GDA
  • NGDA
isopen False
metadata_created 2025-09-29T13:45:01.732334
metadata_modified 2025-09-29T13:45:01.732340
notes <div style='text-align:Left;'><div><div><p><span>The National Cooperative Soil Survey - Soil Characterization Database (NCSS-SCD) contains laboratory data for more than 65,000 locations (i.e. XY coordinates) throughout the United States and its Territories, and about 2,100 locations from other countries. It is a compilation of data from the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL) and several cooperating laboratories. The data steward and distributor is the National Soil Survey Center (NSSC). Information contained within the database includes physical, chemical, biological, mineralogical, morphological, and mid infrared reflectance (MIR) soil measurements, as well a collection of calculated values. The intended use of the data is to support interpretations related to soil use and management.</span></p><p><span>Data Usage Access to the data is provided via the following user interfaces:</span></p><p><span>1. Interactive Web Map</span></p><p><span>2. Lab Data Mart (LDM) interface for querying data and generating reports</span></p><p><span>3. Soil Data Access (SDA) web services for querying data</span></p><p><span>4. Direct download of the entire database in several formats.</span></p><p><span>Data at each location includes measurements at multiple depths (e.g. soil horizons). However, not all analyses have been conducted for each location and depth. Typically, a suite of measurements was collected based upon assumed or known conditions regarding the soil being analyzed. For example, soils of arid environments are routinely analyzed for salts and carbonates as part of the standard analysis suite. Standard morphological soil descriptions are available for about 60,000 of these locations. Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is available for about 7,000 locations. Soil fertility measurements, such as those made by Agricultural Experiment Stations, were not made. Most of the data were obtained over the last 40 years, with about 4,000 locations before 1960, 25,000 from 1960-1990, 27,000 from 1990-2010, and 13,000 from 2010 to 2021. Generally, the number of measurements recorded per location has increased over time. Typically, the data were collected to represent a soil series or map unit component concept. They may also have been sampled to determine the range of variation within a given landscape.</span></p><p><span style='font-family:&quot;Avenir Next W01&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next W00&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next&quot;, Avenir, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size:16px;'>Individual Metadata [</span><a href='https://inventory.data.gov/dataset/69f36f6d-8212-47a7-bdb9-72025f849e6a/resource/9aebddcb-f3f1-4e81-a058-8c317675ec26/download/ncss-sc_iso19115_version3_20241209.xml' target='_blank' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'>XML</a><span style='font-family:&quot;Avenir Next W01&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next W00&quot;, &quot;Avenir Next&quot;, Avenir, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif; font-size:16px;'>]</span><span></span></p></div></div></div>
num_resources 22
num_tags 3
title Soil Characterization Data (Lab Data)
url https://ngda-portfolio-community-geoplatform.hub.arcgis.com/documents/nrcs::soil-characterization-data-lab-data