WebGeosis as soil information technology: A conceptual framework

Abstract

Soil is one of the essential natural resource for plant growth and agricultural production. Besides, there are other soil related concerns in environmental protection, pollution control, carbon sequestration vis-à-vis climate change, organic farming and other aspects of land use. Therefore, there is a need for an easily accessible and standardized soil information database at both temporal and spatial scales which can act as soil information technology (SIT). The SIT would allow a rational transfer of agricultural technologies and management practices and prove to be a sound reference base to facilitate effective transfer of soil information to those involved in planning, decision making and implementation. Web-based technology has facilitated the web publication of geo-referenced soil and other information that will be user-friendly and interactive with wider applicability and can be used by the stakeholders at any time and from any geographical locations. The present paper outlines a conceptual framework of WebGeoSIS, a web-based geo-referenced soil information system, that provides (i) access to soil and related data, (ii) tools to analyze the soil data, and (iii) capabilities to visualize all data in a map- based interface which can pave the way for developing soil information technology.