Results on a questionnaire to soil surveyors around the world related to existing soil surveys and their attributes

Seventy respondents from 40 countries replied to a questionnaire on methodologies used in soil surveys. Observations and conclusions worth noting are given. Some terminologies in soil surveys are not conceived and used consistently by soil surveyors. The nature of soil surveys is determined by soil surveyors themselves and only occasionally do users determine the nature of these documents. The most common immediate users of soil surveys are ministries of agriculture and natural resources, private farmers and land owners, engineering departments and state farms. Many soil surveyors do not monitor the utility of soil surveys to see if users are satisfied with them or not. Grid mapping is more commonly used in the very detailed inventories than in reconnaissance and exploratory surveys, while free-hand surveys are more widely used in detailed, semi-detailed and reconnaissance surveys. Detailed and semi-detailed surveys are the most often used both directly and indirectly through interpretation maps. Some of the reasons why soil surveys sometimes are not used despite their availability, include their complicated nature and insufficient knowledge about their existence. Some recommendations are given for improvement in future soil surveys.UNESC