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Digital Atlas of Australian Soils LUT - Metadata
Background
Three lookup tables are currently available on the BRS web site for the Digital Atlas of Australian Soils (the 'Digital Atlas'). They are:
- Soil properties that affect land management (manage.lut)
- Interpreted typical land use (landu.lut)
- Interpreted A1 horizon organic content (a1org.lut)
Each of these lookup tables has one record for every soil landscape in the Digital Atlas, ie, for every value of the 'map_unit' attribute of the Digital Atlas. The lookup tables can therefore be used to attach additional attributes to each polygon in the Digital Atlas according to the value of 'map_unit' already ascribed to that polygon.
Since the soil type in each soil landscape is somewhat variable, the lookup tables should be used cautiously.
Each lookup table has an item (column) called map_unit which also occurs in the Digital Atlas polygon attribute table and can be used to relate each record in the Digital Atlas polygon attribute table to a record in the lookup table. Some of the lookup tables also have an item called map_code which can be used in the same way; there is a one to one correspondence between the values of map_unit and the values of map_code.
The lookup tables are stored as INFO™ tables and are supplied as ARC/INFO® export files or as comma delimited rich text format files.
An additional lookup table giving interpreted physical and chemical properties (csinterp.lut) is available on application and more lookup tables may become available soon. Please send any enquiries to Dataman.
Description of the Digital Atlas lookup tables
MANAGE.LUT
This lookup table gives properties of soils that affect land management. It was compiled by BRS (G Yapp and S Veitch). It is an interpretation of the Digital Atlas map units (soil landscapes) based on categories presented in the map entitled 'Soil Resources' published in the Atlas of Australian Resources, Third Series, (1980). Using this lookup table with the Digital Atlas results in a map which is similar to but not identical with the Soil Resources map. One reason for the discrepancies is that the Soil Resources map is at 1:5 000 000 scale whereas the Digital Atlas is derived from hard copy maps at 1:2 000 000 scale.
The illustration shows the Digital Atlas shaded using this lookup table to highlight areas of saline soils.
Item (column) headings in the lookup table with format details and meaning are as follows:
| Item Name | O/P Width, Type* | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| MAP_UNIT | 12,C | Digital Atlas map unit |
| MAP_CODE | 5,B | Digital Atlas map code |
| CLASS | 12,C | Northcote class for dominant soil of Digital Atlas map unit |
| MANAGE | 6,C | Atlas of Australian Resources 3rd Series, Soil Resources map unit |
| MANAGEDESC | 20,C | Atlas of Australian Resources 3rd Series, Soil Resources map unit category |
| SYMBOL | 5,B | Unique identification number corresponding to values of item 'manage' |
* O/P WIDTH, output width in bytes; TYPE, data type (B, integer stored as binary number; C, character string). These are the item definitions used in the INFO™ table version of the lookup table.
The values taken by items 'manage' and 'managedesc' with their meanings are set out in the following table. Note that each value of managedesc corresponds to one or more values of manage; in the table, each value of managedesc is followed by its corresponding value(s) of manage. The user should consult the Atlas of Australian Resources, Third Series, (1980) for more information.
|
tem Values |
Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
|
MANAGEDESC |
Manage | |
|
no chem/phys limit |
Soils generally without limiting chemical or physical properties |
|
|
A1 |
Deep loam soils |
|
|
A1 + |
As for A1 but additional 'Soil Resources' map units may also apply |
|
|
A2 |
Red, and also brown or yellow, duplex soils without subsurface bleaching |
|
|
chemlim hifert |
Soils with predominantly chemical limitations; deep, highly structured soils with high initial fertility |
|
|
Ba1 |
Structured loam soils |
|
|
Ba2 |
Structured clay soils |
|
|
Ba3 |
Structured earths |
|
|
chemlim lownutr |
Soils with predominantly chemical limitations; soils naturally low in nutrients |
|
|
Bb2 |
Organic loam soils |
|
|
Bb3 |
Earthy clay soils |
|
|
Bb4 |
Massive earths |
|
|
Bb5 |
Yellow duplex soils containing much ironstone gravel |
|
|
chemlim calc |
Soils with predominantly chemical limitations; calcareous soils |
|
|
Bc1 |
Calcareous sand soils |
|
|
Bc2 |
Calcareous earths |
|
|
chemlim saline |
Soils with predominantly chemical limitations; saline soils |
|
|
Bd1 |
Saline loam soils |
|
|
Bd1 + |
As for Bd1 but additional 'Soil Resources' map units may also apply |
|
|
Bd2 |
Saline clay soils |
|
|
Bd3 |
Red duplex soils with crusty surfaces |
|
|
physlim deepsand |
Soils with predominantly physical limitations; deep coarse- textured soils |
|
|
Ca1 |
Deep sand soils |
|
|
Ca1 + |
As for Ca1 but additional 'Soil Resources' map units may also apply |
|
|
physlim crackclay |
Soils with predominantly physical limitations; cracking clays |
|
|
Cb1 |
Finely structured (self-mulching) clays |
|
|
Cb1 + |
As for Cb1 but additional 'Soil Resources' map units may also apply |
|
|
Cb2 |
Coarsely structured clays |
|
|
physlim hardsetdisp |
Soils with predominantly physical limitations; hard-setting soils with dispersible clay subsoils |
|
|
|
Cc1 |
Red, and also brown, yellow or black, duplex soils with spotty bleaching or no subsurface soil over the subsoil |
|
physlim subsurfwater |
Soils with predominantly physical limitations; soils with periodic subsurface waterlogging |
|
|
Cd1 |
Bleached sands with subsoil pans |
|
|
Cd2 |
Yellow, and also brown or red, duplex soils with conspicuously bleached subsurface soils |
|
|
physlim surfwater |
Soils with predominantly physical limitations; soils with periodic surface waterlogging |
|
|
Ce1 |
Clay soils with gleyed subsoils |
|
|
Ce2 |
Gley duplex soils |
|
|
physlim shallow |
Soils with predominantly physical limitations; shallow soils |
|
|
Cf1 |
Shallow sand soils underlain by rock |
|
|
Cf1 + |
As for Cf1 but additional 'Soil Resources' map units may also apply |
|
|
Cf3 |
Shallow loam soils |
|
|
Cf3 + |
As for Cf3 but additional 'Soil Resources' map units may also apply |
|
|
Cf4 |
Shallow clay soils |
|
|
Cf5 |
Largely bare rock (Quaternary basalts) |
|
|
organic |
Organic soils |
|
|
|
O1 |
Peaty sands to peats |
|
unallocated |
No allocation to a 'Soil Resources' map unit |
|
|
|
unallo |
Ditto |
|
LAKE |
Lake (Digital Atlas map_unit = LAKE) |
|
|
|
LAKE |
Ditto |
|
NODATA |
No data (Digital Atlas map_unit = NODATA) |
|
|
|
NODATA |
Ditto |
LANDU.LUT
This lookup table gives an interpretation of the more common agricultural, pastoral or other activities associated with the dominant soil of each Digital Atlas map unit. It was compiled by BRS (S Veitch) with reference to Northcote et al (1975).
Item (column) headings in the lookup table with format details and meaning are as follows:
| Item Name | O/P Width, Type* | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| MAP_UNIT | 12,C | Digital Atlas map unit |
| MAP_CODE | 5,B | Digital Atlas map code |
| LANDUCODE | 5,B | Unique identification number corresponding to values of item 'landudesc' |
| LANDUDESC | 12,C | Land use description based on Northcote et al. (1975) |
| SYMBOL | 5,B | Unique identification number corresponding to values of item 'landudesc' |
* O/P WIDTH, output width in bytes; TYPE, data type (B, integer stored as binary number; C, character string). These are the item definitions used in the INFO™ table version of the lookup table.
The values taken by item 'landudesc' with their meanings are set out in the following table. The user should consult Northcote et al. (1975) for more information.
|
Item Values |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
UNUSED |
Unused |
|
SPARSE |
Sparse grazing |
|
NATFOR |
Native forest |
|
NATGRAZ |
Grazing of native vegetation |
|
IMPROVED |
Grazing on native and improved pastures; cereal crops |
|
DAIRY |
Grazing on native and improved pastures especially for dairying; various other activities including sugar cane growing and horticulture |
|
RAINFOR |
Virgin rainforests |
|
ALPINE |
Alpine and sub-alpine tracts of south-eastern Australia; summer grazing of sheep and cattle where permitted |
|
LAKE/ROCK |
Lakes (Digital Atlas map_unit = LAKE); basaltic areas lacking much soil; organic soils mainly unused or used only for sparse summer grazing of sheep and cattle |
|
NODATA |
No data (Digital Atlas map_unit = NODATA) |
A1ORG.LUT
This lookup table gives an interpretation of A1 horizon organic content for the dominant soil of each Digital Atlas map unit. It was compiled by BRS (S Veitch) with reference to Northcote et al. (1975).
Item (column) headings in the lookup table with format details and meaning are as follows:
| Item Name | O/P Width, Type* | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| MAP_UNIT | 12,C | Digital Atlas map unit |
| MAP_CODE | 5,B | Digital Atlas map code |
| A1ORGCODE | 12,C | Unique identification number corresponding to values of item 'a1orgdesc' |
| A1ORGDESC | 6,C | A1 horizon organic content based on Northcote et al. (1975); subjective - users should reappraise |
* O/P WIDTH, output width in bytes; TYPE, data type (B, integer stored as binary number; C, character string). These are the item definitions used in the INFO™ table version of the lookup table.
The values taken by item 'a1orgdesc' with their meanings are set out in the following table. The values are subjective and were taken from descriptive text in Northcote et al. (1975). The user should reappraise them.
|
Item Values |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
HIGH |
High A1 horizon organic content; includes all the organic soils and some others |
|
MODERATE |
Moderate A1 horizon organic content |
|
LOW |
Low A1 horizon organic content |
|
VARIES |
Variable A1 horizon organic content |
|
UNCAT |
Lakes (Digital Atlas map_unit = LAKE) and basaltic areas lacking much soil |
|
NODATA |
No data (Digital Atlas map_unit = NODATA) |
Space requirements
The space occupied by the Digital Atlas lookup tables as INFO™ tables, together with accompanying files, is:
- manage.lut, 0.2 MB
- landu.lut, 0.1 MB
- a1org.lut, 0.1 MB
- explanatory rich text format document covering all lookup tables, 57KB
Only two formats are available for download; their space requirements are given below. Visit the Download: Digital Atlas of Australian Soils: Lookup page for full list of available formats.
If you download the ARC/INFO® export file with no compression version of the Digital Atlas lookup tables, you will need the following amounts of space initially:
- manage.lut (export file), 0.2 MB
- landu.lut (export file), 0.2 MB
- a1org.lut (export file), 0.1 MB
- explanatory rich text format document covering all the lookup tables, 57KB
You will need additional space while reconstructing the lookup tables as INFO™ tables.
If you download the ASCII coordinate and attribute files version of the Digital Atlas lookup tables, you will need the following amounts of space initially:
- manage.lut (rich text format data file), 0.2 MB
- landu.lut (rich text format data file), 0.1 MB
- a1org.lut (rich text format data file), 0.1 MB
- explanatory rich text format document covering all the lookup tables, negligible size
You will need additional space while reconstructing the lookup tables in a different format.
How to reconstruct the lookup tables as INFO™ tables from the 'ARC/INFO® export file with no compression' versions
If you download the Digital Atlas lookup tables as ARC/INFO® export files made with the 'no compression' option of the ARC/INFO® 'export' command, first check that you have downloaded the following files:
1. For manage.lut- manage.lut.e00 (the ARC/INFO® export file)
- landu.lut.e00 (the ARC/INFO® export file)
- a1org.lut.e00 (the ARC/INFO® export file)
- lts_expl1.rtf (this document)
It doesn't matter if you change or have changed the file names except that you should retain the .e00 extensions for the export files.
Copy the files provided into the ARC/INFO® workspace you plan to use for the Digital Atlas lookup tables. If you do not already have one, create one using the ARC/INFO® command 'createworkspace' at the arc prompt.
Use the ARC/INFO® command 'import' at the arc prompt to re-establish the lookup tables as INFO™ tables. Use the ARC/INFO® commands 'items' and 'list' at the arc prompt for a preliminary view of the contents of the tables.
Structure of the 'ASCII coordinate and attribute files' versions of the lookup tables
If you download the Digital Atlas lookup tables as comma delimited rich text format files, you will have all the essential data from the original INFO™ tables in a simply structured form. From the data files downloaded it should be possible to reconstruct the tables in formats other than ARC/INFO®. Check that you have downloaded the following files:
1. For manage.lut
- manage.rtf (the comma delimited rich text format file)
- landu.rtf (the comma delimited rich text format file)
- a1org.rtf (the comma delimited rich text format file)
- lts_expl1.rtf (this document)
It doesn't matter if you change or have changed the file names.
The comma delimited rich text format files (such as csinterp.rtf) contain all the essential information from the parent INFO™ tables. Each line of one of these files corresponds to a single record (or row) in the original INFO™ table and contains the values from each successive item (or column) in the original INFO™ table listed in sequence, separated by commas. The order of the items, from left to right along each line of the comma delimited file, is the same as the order in which they are listed, from top to bottom, in the tables giving item names and definitions in the 'Description of the Digital Atlas lookup tables' section above. In the comma delimited files, values of character string type items are enclosed in single quotes. (This should not cause any difficulties since none of the character string item values in the original INFO™ tables contains any single quotes.) Use a word processing program to convert the comma delimited files to ASCII text.
How to cite the digital Atlas lookup tables
In any published work making reference to the Digital Atlas lookup tables manage.lut, landu.lut or a1org.lut, please structure the citations so that they include the elements contained in the following example:Revision History of the Digital Atlas Lookup Tables
The current versions of the Digital Atlas lookup tables manage.lut, landu.lut and a1org.lut were published on the web for the first time on 28 May 1999. No revisions have been made since that date. Some minor revisions were made to all three lookup tables immediately prior to first publishing on the web.
References
Atlas of Australian Resources, Third Series (1980). Volume 1, Soils and Land Use. NATMAP, Canberra.
Northcote K H, Hubble G D, Isbell R F, Thompson C H and Bettenay E (1975). A Description of Australian Soils. CSIRO Australia.