soil | Ag Data Commons

Soil and Water Hub Modeling Datasets

The Soil and Water Hub is jointly developed by USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, part of The Texas A&M University System. Modeling dataset resources are available for download for use with software tools Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender Model (APEX), Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), ArcSWAT, and related Conservation practices.

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SWAT - Soil and Water Assessment Tool

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a public domain model jointly developed by USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, part of The Texas A&M University System. SWAT is a small watershed to river basin-scale model to simulate the quality and quantity of surface and ground water and predict the environmental impact of land use, land management practices, and climate change. SWAT is widely used in assessing soil erosion prevention and control, non-point source pollution control and regional management in watersheds.

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USDA Forest Service Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC)

The Forest Service's Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) is in Salt Lake City, Utah, co-located with the agency's Geospatial Service and Technology Center. Guided by national steering committees and field sponsors, RSAC provides national assistance to agency field units in applying the most advanced geospatial technology toward improved monitoring and mapping of natural resources. RSAC's principal goal is to develop and implement less costly ways for the Forest Service to obtain needed forest resource information.

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Shawnee National Forest Geospatial Data

GIS data is available on the Forest’s FTP site in the form of “shape files” or layers and is available free for downloading. To utilize these data layers you will need a program that uses the Geographic Information System (GIS) such as ESRI’s ArcMap, ArcView or the free map reading program ArcGIS Explorer. ArcGIS Explorer has tools that let you zoom in/out, print the map, and query data. It also has map tips to identify features, and a help menu. Included is a list of GIS data files available for the Shawnee National Forest. These GIS data files are updated on a continuing basis.

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SNAP - Soil Nutrient Assessment Program

SNAP (Soil Nutrient Assessment Program) is a web-based tool that provides an estimate of plant-available nutrients that the soil naturally provides.

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Rocky Mountain Research Station Air, Water, & Aquatic Environments Program

The Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments (AWAE) research program is one of eight Science Program areas within the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). Our science develops core knowledge, methods, and technologies that enable effective watershed management in forests and grasslands, sustain biodiversity, and maintain healthy watershed conditions.

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SWIFT - Small Watershed Nutrient Forecasting Tool

SWIFT (Small Watershed Nutrient Forecasting Tool) is a web-based tool that allows the rapid estimation of sediment and nutrient loads from small watersheds for a given ecoregion in the US.

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NLET - National Load Estimating Tool

NLET (National Load Estimating Tool) is a web-based tool for estimating pollutant loads in watersheds across the contiguous United States. This tool helps visualize the effects of land use patterns, cultivated crops, and conservation practices through graphical representation.

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Ecoregions of North America

Ecoregions are identified by analyzing the patterns and composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity. These phenomena include geology, landforms, soils, vegetation, climate, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral classification scheme has been adopted for different hierarchical levels of ecoregions, ranging from general regions to more detailed. Included in this dataset is additional details about each level, and downloadable maps and GIS data files.

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Soil Data Access Web Service

Soil Data Access is the name of a suite of web services and applications whose purpose is to meet requirements for requesting and delivering soil survey spatial and tabular data that are not met by the Web Soil Survey and Geospatial Data Gateway websites.

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