Testing and improvement of a questionnaire to users soil maps

Soil survey and evaluation; 7(1987): 33-42Ninety-four people from 35 countries responded to a questionnaire on the use of soil maps. Most respondents had used soil maps in the fields of agriculture, of forestry, soil conservation, environmental pollution and protection. 98% of the respondents had used soil maps for locating suitable areas for their professional work, 15% for teaching and research and 13% had also used soil maps to help get financial assistance. Less than half of the respondents had used interpretation maps derived from soil maps. Most maps were produced by government soil survey institutes, but 51% had also used soil maps produced by other government institutions including universities and research stations. Only 19% had used soil maps made by private soil survey organizations. Major problems encountered in using soil maps include poor legibility, problems of location on the maps, vague and complicated terminology. Most respondents felt that soil maps are essential for their projects. Only a few found soil maps completely useless. Based on the problems encountered while using soil maps, recommendations have been made to those involved in soil resource inventories. A revised questionnaire has also been proposed following comments made by the respondents of the previous oneState University of Ghen