National Cooperative Soil Survey

National Cooperative Soil Survey
Name	National Cooperative Soil Survey
Abbreviation	NCSS
Formation	1896
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent organization	United States Department of Agriculture

National Cooperative Soil Survey The National Cooperative Soil Survey is a long-standing federal–state partnership that inventories, classifies, and maps soils across the United States. It coordinates scientific activities among agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Geological Survey, and state agricultural experiment stations, and supports resource planning for programs like the Soil Conservation Service, Civilian Conservation Corps, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Park Service. The Survey's work underpins applications in United States Department of the Interior land management, United States Forest Service stewardship, Bureau of Land Management planning, and conservation efforts linked to legislation such as the Taylor Grazing Act and the Clean Water Act.

History

The Survey originated in the late 19th century during efforts led by figures associated with the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Department of Agriculture, and land-grant colleges like Iowa State University and Cornell University. Early soil scientists connected to institutions such as Kansas State University, Rutgers University, University of California, Berkeley, and Ohio State University developed field classification systems influenced by international work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and research in Germany. Major expansions occurred during the administration of presidents including William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, with programmatic growth tied to initiatives like the Homestead Act and the response to the Dust Bowl era, which drew on expertise from the Soil Conservation Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Postwar developments involved collaborations with agencies such as the Atomic Energy Commission and research centers like the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for soil contamination and radiological studies. The modern era saw the integration of remote-sensing techniques from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and geospatial frameworks developed by the United States Geological Survey and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Organization and Governance

Governance combines federal leadership from the United States Department of Agriculture and program management by the Natural Resources Conservation Service with participation from state entities including state departments of agriculture and land-grant universities such as Michigan State University, University of Florida, and University of Minnesota. Advisory roles have included representatives from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Research Council, and professional societies like the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. Policy interfaces have engaged committees from the Office of Management and Budget, the Council on Environmental Quality, and congressional committees including the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the United States House Committee on Agriculture. International coordination has linked the Survey to organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Union of Soil Sciences, and bilateral programs with agencies such as Natural Resources Canada.

Survey Methods and Standards

Field and laboratory protocols evolved from early pedological frameworks to contemporary digital standards coordinated with bodies like the International Organization for Standardization and the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Techniques combine classical soil profile description refined by researchers at institutions such as Purdue University and University of Wisconsin–Madison with geospatial mapping methods employing Geographic Information Systems developed by vendors like Esri and analytics used by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The Survey standardizes taxonomy consistent with the United States Department of Agriculture's soil classification manuals and integrates laboratory assays performed with instrumentation from manufacturers such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and collaborations with academic labs at University of California, Davis. Remote sensing inputs include satellite data from Landsat, Terra, and airborne LiDAR flown in projects with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Metadata and data exchange conform to schemas recommended by the Open Geospatial Consortium and the International Soil Reference and Information Centre.

Data Products and Publications

Products encompass paper maps, digital soil survey geographic (SSURGO) datasets, and interpretive reports used by agencies like the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Major publications include county soil survey reports historically published in series similar to those from the United States Geological Survey and modern web-accessible databases aligned with portals such as the National Soil Survey Center and archives curated by the Library of Congress. The Survey contributes to national assessments coordinated with the National Climate Assessment and inventories used in programs led by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Technical guides and nomenclature updates are peer-reviewed through venues like the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation and conferences held by the Soil Science Society of America.

Applications and Uses

Survey outputs inform land planning by agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, agricultural conservation by the Farm Service Agency and NRCS, infrastructure siting with inputs to the Federal Highway Administration, and environmental modeling used by the Environmental Protection Agency. Soil data underpin ecosystem services assessments conducted with universities like Colorado State University, Oregon State University, and University of Minnesota, and support studies on carbon sequestration linked to initiatives by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the United Nations Environment Programme. Public health and contamination response efforts use soil anomaly data in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state departments of health, while private sectors including companies like John Deere and agribusiness firms apply soil maps for precision agriculture.

Partnerships and Funding

Funding streams combine federal appropriations from committees including the House Committee on Appropriations with state contributions, grants administered through entities like the National Science Foundation and cooperative agreements with land-grant universities including Iowa State University, Texas A&M University, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Cooperative projects have engaged non-governmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and international partners like the World Bank for landscape-scale initiatives. Industry partnerships involve collaborations with technology firms, geospatial service providers, and instrumentation companies, and philanthropic support has occasionally come from foundations including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Category:Soil science