Downloadable Layers: Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA)

Land resource areas used in the United States, Caribbean, and Pacific Basin Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA) Geographic Database serve as the geospatial expression of the map products presented and described in Agriculture Handbook 296 (2022). Land resource categories historically used at state and national levels are land resource units, major land resource areas, and land resource regions (National Soil Survey Handbook, Part 649; Land Resource Hierarchy). Although Agriculture Handbook 296 (AH 296) does not describe land resource units (LRUs) directly, they are the basic units from which major land resource areas are determined. They are also the basic units for state land resource maps. LRUs are commonly but not necessarily coextensive with state general soil map units. LRUs generally are several thousand acres in size. A unit can be one continuous area or several separate areas that are near each other. In 2005, these areas were designated as common resource areas (CRAs) within the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Like LRUs, common resource areas are not described in AH 296 and are not shown on the national mapbut are mentioned for historical purposes. Major land resource areas are geographically associated land resource units at a broader scale and higher hierarchical level than LRUs. Land resource regions (LRR) are a group of geographically associated major land resource areasat the highest hierarchical level shown at the continental scale. Identification of these large areas is important in statewide agricultural planning and has value in interstate, regional, and national planning.In AH 296, major land resource areas are generally designated by numbers and identified by a descriptive geographic name. Examples are MLRA 1 (Northern Pacific Coast Range, Foothills, and Valleys), MLRA 154 (South-Central Florida Ridge), and MLRA 230 (Yukon-Kuskokwim Highlands). Some MLRAs are designated by a letter in addition to a number because a previously established MLRA had been divided into smaller, more homogeneous areas, for example, MLRAs 102A, 102B, and 102C. Other MLRAs, especially smaller ones approaching the LRU scale, have been recombined. The use of numbers and letters to identify the newly created MLRAs requires fewer changes in existing information in records and in databases. A few MLRAs consist of two or more parts separated for short distances by other land resource areas. In some places one of the parts is widely separated from the main body of the MLRA and is in an adjoining LRR. The description of the respective MLRA also applies to these outlying parts. The spatial illustration of the MLRAs has been smoothed for the contiguous United States and Alaska to better reflect the scale at which the MLRA resource attributes (climate, soils, land use, vegetation, geology, and physiography) were aggregated for delineation.

Land resource areas are used in the United States, Caribbean, and Pacific Basin. The “Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA) Geographic Database” serves as the geospatial expression of the map products presented and described in AH 296 (2022). Land resource categories historically used at State and National levels are land resource units, major land resource areas, and land resource regions (National Soil Survey Handbook, Part 649; Land Resource Hierarchy). Although AH 296 does not describe land resource units (LRUs) directly, they are the basic units from which major land resource areas are determined. They are also the basic units for State land resource maps. LRUs are commonly, but not necessarily, coextensive with State general soil map units. LRUs generally are several thousand acres in size. A unit can be one continuous area or several separate areas that are near each other. In 2005, these areas were designated as common resource areas (CRAs) within the NRCS. Like LRUs, CRAs are not described in AH 296 and are not shown on the National map but are mentioned for historical purposes. MLRAs are geographically associated LRUs at a broader scale and higher hierarchical level than LRUs. Land resource regions (LRR) are a group of geographically associated MLRAs at the highest hierarchical level shown at the continental scale. Identification of these large areas is important in statewide agricultural planning and has value in interstate, regional, and national planning. In AH 296, MLRAs are generally designated by numbers and identified by a descriptive geographic name. Examples are MLRA 1 (Northern Pacific Coast Range, Foothills, and Valleys), MLRA 154 (South-Central Florida Ridge), and MLRA 230 (Yukon-Kuskokwim Highlands). Some MLRAs are designated by a letter in addition to a number because a previously established MLRA has been divided into smaller, more homogeneous areas—for example, MLRAs 102A, 102B, and 102C. Other MLRAs, especially smaller ones approaching the LRU scale, have been recombined. The use of numbers and letters to identify newly created MLRAs requires fewer changes in existing information in records and in databases. A few MLRAs consist of two or more parts separated for short distances by other land resource areas. In some places, one of the parts is widely separated from the main body of the MLRA and is in an adjoining LRR. The description of the respective MLRA also applies to these outlying parts. The spatial illustration of the MLRAs has been smoothed for the contiguous United States and Alaska to better reflect the scale at which the MLRA resource attributes (climate, soils, land use, vegetation, geology, and physiography) were aggregated for delineation.Individual Metadata [XML]

The Soil Data Warehouse and Data Mart provide the authoritative pathway for distributing current official soil survey data to service centers and to the public. Interactive maps and dynamic reports available include Dynamic Maps

Query by Location Query by Location and Connect to Web Soil Survey Prototype Soil (Beta Version) MLRA Explorer

Lists of Hydric Soils

Query by State Query by Soil Survey Area Query by State Map Unit Rating Query by Soil Survey Area Map Unit Rating

Map Unit Description (Brief, Generated)

Query by Soil Survey Area and Map Unit (All Components) Query by Soil Survey Area (Major Components)

Ecological Site Extent

Query by MLRA and Ecological Site

Legend & Prime Farmland

Query by Soil Survey Area

Wisconsin Soil Moisture Regime Site Assessment Guide

Query by Soil Survey Area

Wisconsin Forage Suitability Group Guide

Query by Soil Survey Area

RUSLE2 Related Attributes

Query by Soil Survey Area Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Soil Data Mart. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/wi/soils/?cid=nrcseprd1326315 Links pull information and hits from the official soils database live. Interactive maps and dynamic reports are available.

A CRA map delineation is defined as a geographical area where resource concerns, problems, or treatment needs are similar. It is considered a subdivision of an existing Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) map delineation or polygon. Landscape conditions, soil, climate, human considerations, and other natural resource information are used to determine the geographic boundaries of a Common Resource Area.View Dataset on the Gateway

Downloadable Layers: SPSD Office Locations 2024SPSD MLRA Soil Survey Office Area's 2024SPSD Region Polygons 2024Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA)

The USDA-NRCS Soil Series Classification Database contains the taxonomic classification of each soil series identified in the United States, Territories, Commonwealths, and Island Nations served by USDA-NRCS. Along with the taxonomic classification, the database contains other information about the soil series, such as office of responsibility, series status, dates of origin and establishment, and geographic areas of usage. The database is maintained by the soils staff of the NRCS MLRA Soil Survey Region Offices across the country. Additions and changes are continually being made, resulting from on going soil survey work and refinement of the soil classification system. As the database is updated, the changes are immediately available to the user, so the data retrieved is always the most current. The Web access to this soil classification database provides capabilities to view the contents of individual series records, to query the database on any data element and produce a report with the selected soils, or to produce national reports with all soils in the database. The standard reports available allow the user to display the soils by series name or by taxonomic classification. The SC database was migrated into the NASIS database with version 6.2. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Website Pointer to Soil Series Classification Database (SC). File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/class/data/?cid=nrcs142p2_053583 Supports the following queries:

• View Classification Data by Series Name
• Create Report for a List of Series (with download option)
• Create Report by Query (with download option)
• Create National Report (with download option)
• Soil Series Name Search

A soil temperature and soil moisture simulation model developed in 2011 in response to a USDA-NRCS need to better understand soil climate in soil survey, the Java Newhall Simulation Model or jNSM is an update to a traditional soil climate simulation model called Newhall Simulation Model (NSM) by Franklin Newhall. The jNSM application takes batch run input in the form of a CSV file (easily created from standard spreadsheets), and also allows interactive input of data comprising a single model run. Output products are displayed on screen and can be saved and printed in PDF format. Output reports include soil moisture and temperature regime classification, biological window calendars and precipitation/potential evapo-transpiration climographs, plus a summary of model inputs and user information. The jNSM software is a mesoscale model that is appropriate for use in regional geospatial analyses that support the MLRA update of published digital soil geographic databases (SSURGO/STATSGO2). This software can be used with monthly, serially complete records from weather stations, Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) stations, and local soil climate monitoring sensors. Such data sources can be used with jNSM to refine soil moisture and temperature regime boundaries to assist in correlation, map soil and temperature regimes with existing vegetation, study orographic and "rain shadow" effects in the soil landscape, and study the change of soil climate through time to help formulate climate change adaptive strategies. The jNSM version 1.5.1 application is a product of the National Cooperative Soil Survey partnership of the Pennsylvania State University (Center for Environmental Informatics) and the USDA-NRCS (National Soil Survey Center - Geospatial Research Unit). Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Java Newhall Simulation Model (jNSM). File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/class/?cid=nrcs142p2_053559 A soil temperature and soil moisture simulation model developed in 2011. User Guide; Download; Sample Input Weather Station Datasets (xlsx, CSV); Sample output(XML); Link to Useful Climate Data and Information Sources.

Downloadable Layers: NASIS PedonsSPSD Region Polygons 2024Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA)

A Watershed Resource Assessment, completed in 2000, laid the foundation for the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance's conservation programs. The premise of the assessment was to recommend future activities based on an integrated evaluation of land use history and watershed resource condition. The project was generously funded by an Arizona Water Protection Fund grant that was generously supplemented by pro bono and volunteer time. An outstanding project team consisting of Dr. Nathan Sayre (now a professor at University of California - Berkeley), Dan Robinett, Walt Meyers, and WestLand Resources spent hours in the field interviewing ranchers, engaging partners, and covering the country. Assessment results substantiated resource management problems already familiar to Altar Valley agricultural operators and partners. Mesquite encroachment and excessive erosion emerged as key resource concerns. The Alliance Fire and Restoration Programs have evolved in response. With the Resource Assessment a decade old as of 2010, the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance has begun to look for funding and partnership opportunities to update the resource assessment program and integrate lands that were not thoroughly incorporated in the original assessment. Stay tuned!You can learn a great deal about the Altar Valley from the reports and maps that emerged from the Watershed Resource Assessment. The maps in particular have been a vital tool for planning and collaboration. They have been carried to many meetings and tossed across the hoods of many trucks. Please keep in mind that they were produced in 2000, and are thus not up to date, particularly in the area of land ownership. Specifically, they do not portray Pima County acquisitions in the Altar Valley. Also, there are ranches that are active partner ranches now, that were not involved with the Alliance back in 2000.

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project – Grazing Lands (CEAP-GL) team at the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) needed a spatial and tabular means of displaying soil characteristics that typically indicate potential changes in ecological sites, and to both discretize and aggregate heterogenous landscapes for modeling purposes. The team partnered with Stone to create an online, map-based application that provides management-pertinent soils data for more efficient conservation planning, links research-scale data to soils data, helps users identify soil/ecological site concepts and groups landscapes for modeling purposes.The intended users are soil scientists or conservationists, rangeland/pastureland management specialists, agronomists, foresters, ecological site specialists, and anyone wanting to query specific soil properties or characteristics at the MLRA (major land resource area) scale from current soil survey geographic information (SSURGO). The query tool allows users to choose desired soil characteristics from current SSURGO and 30m gSSURGO data. CEAP-GL team members identified the most useful soil characteristics that influence vegetation and water dynamics needed for grazing land modeling and other project work. Data is displayed by MLRA, in which the user can select different soil moisture and temperature regimes, then query all soil components for specific physical and chemical characteristics (derived from specified depths or thicknesses in the profile) for all mapped components. The output soil map unit component data will allow users to more efficiently display or create ecological site concepts, group soil components for modeling, and aid NRCS planners, ranchers and other agencies in developing conservation and monitoring plans.SSURGO-Query Tool

Ecological states around transects and enclosures at the Santa Rita Experimental Ranch. The ecological state mapping was done by Dan Robinett, Alessandra Gorlier, and Linda Kennedy.LAYER COLUMNSPasture: the SRER pastureTransect: the SRER transect where the state was mappedS_Desc: the ecological site descriptionPlant_Comm: the plant community of the ecological statePOLY_AREA: the area (in acres) of the ecological stateExclosure: the exclosure (if applicable)ES_Code: the ecological site codeES_ST_ID: the ecological state IDES_ST_Code: a code used to combine the ecological site code and ecological state IDDate: the date when the ecological state was mapped in the fieldPhase: the phase (if applicable) of the ecological stateUtility: defines how homogeneous an ecological state polygon isAccess: an accessibility code for the mapped ecological state (how easy it is to access the area)Ecological State Mapping of Long Term Vegetation Transects and Livestock Exclosure Vegetation Transects on the Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) 11-27-18 through 1-15-19. D. Robinett, Robinett Rangeland Resources LLC. 2-7-19IntroductionIn February and March of 2007 Robinett Rangeland Resources LLC completed an ecological site inventory at 94 long term vegetation transects on the SRER. Many of these transects were installed in the 1950s. Currently transects are re-read every three years. In March and April of 2009 Robinett Rangeland Resources LLC completed an ecological site inventory of 19 livestock grazing exclosures on the SRER. In this inventory ecological sites were mapped inside and outside exclosures and locations were determined for new vegetation monitoring transects. Transects were installed by UA staff in 2011 and re-read in 2104 and 2017. In November, December of 2018 and January of 2019 Robinett Rangeland Resources LLC mapped ecological state, as defined by Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in draft State and Transition models, on ecological sites occurring at vegetation monitoring transect locations throughout the SRER. Locations selected were limited to Major Land Resource Area 41-3, the desert grasslands in SE Arizona. A total of 74 long term transects and 80 exclosure transects were visited in the field in this inventory.Methods Prior to field inventory ecological status was predetermined by using the 2017 (exclosure) and 2018 (long term transect) vegetation data in the SRER archives. The field inventory was conducted by travel via vehicle and on foot to transect locations and determining the ecological state and mapping a small polygon around each transect. Minimum polygon size was 30m X 30m. Maximum polygon size is 100m x 100m. Polygons are irregular in shape due to ecological site and state complexity. In addition, polygons of contrasting ecological state were mapped if adjacent to transect locations. Polygons were digitized on 2018 NEON imagery in the Tucson office of the Southwest Watershed Research Center, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) with the assistance of Gerardo Armendariz, Information Technology Specialist. People involved in the field portion of the inventory include Dan Robinett, Linda Kennedy (Robinett Rangeland Resources LLC) and Allessandra Gorlier (University of Arizona). ARS staff in Tucson including Phil Heilman, Guillermo Ponce and Joel Biederman each participated in a day of inventory. Mitch McClaran (University of Arizona) funded and directed the inventory. The product will include a report, pictures of transect sites, an EXCEL file showing ecological site and state for each transect location, transect accessibility, a rating for research use and digitized polygons. Findings will be used in selecting remote sensing sites for a study being done in the spring of 2019.154 transects were visited in the field. Most transect locations occur on three ecological sites as described by NRCS in MLRA 41-3 on SRER. They include Sandyloam Upland Deep, Sandyloam Upland and Loamy Upland in MLRA 41-3. A few transect locations occurred on minority ecological sites on the SRER including Sandy Wash and Loamy Slopes. Ecological Site Descriptions in MLRA 41-3 are available from the Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool (EDIT), (https://edit.jornada.nmsu.edu). This website is managed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Jornada Experimental Range and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Draft State and Transition models for Sandyloam Upland Deep, Sandyloam Upland and Loamy Upland ecological sites in MLRA 41-3 are attached (Appendix A). Ecological states were defined by threshold values for attributes of the plant community including basal cover of both native perennial grass and exotic perennial grass species, canopy cover of large shrubs like velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina), median fetch values in inches and Rangeland Health indicators (eroded state). The key for ecological states for the three ecological sites encountered in this study is attached (Appendix B).Some states that were mapped were also differentiated by community phases including canopy cover of succulents (cacti species) and predominance of annual grass and/or forbs. Threshold values for large shrub canopy cover are 5% for Sandyloam Upland and Loamy Upland ecological sites and 10% for Sandyloam Upland Deep. Threshold values for non-native perennial grass basal cover are 1% for Sandyloam Upland and Loamy Upland ecological sites and 2% for Sandyloam Upland Deep. Threshold value for succulent canopy cover is 3% for Sandyloam Upland, Loamy Upland and Sandyloam Upland Deep ecological sites. Threshold value for native perennial grass basal cover is 0.5% for Sandyloam Upland, Loamy Upland and Sandyloam Upland Deep ecological sites. Threshold value for an eroded state is a median fetch distance > 20 inches plus the presence of rills / gullies and continuous waterflow paths (Rangeland Health indicators) for Sandyloam Upland, Loamy Upland and Sandyloam Upland Deep ecological sites. One soil mapped in this area on the SRER falls between two ecological site concepts. The soil series name is Diaspar. This soil is classified as a Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, thermic Ustic Haplargid. Soil surface textures are loamy sand to coarse sandyloam. The argillic horizon is sandyloam in texture, reddish in color and varies in depth from 10 to 30 inches. When the argillic horizon occurs at shallow depths (10-16 inches) the best fit for ecological site is Sandyloam Upland. When the argillic horizon occurs below 24 inches the best fit for ecological site is Sandyloam Deep.When livestock exclosures were mapped to ecological site in 2009, transects had yet to be installed. Soils were determined inside and outside exclosures but not necessarily at transect locations. Ecological site was not stated for exclosures with Diaspar soils at the time of this inventory due to the nature of the soil. Ecological site was later assigned to the exclosures based upon texture and depth to the argillic horizon. During the current inventory, at each exclosure mapped to Diaspar soil series, soil investigations were done at each transect location to more accurately determine best fit for ecological site. A few transect locations in and around Exclosure #9 (Helvetia Rim) had Diaspar soils with argillic horizons at 18-24 inches and very much in between ecological site concepts. These locations are not recommended for use in remote sensing investigations.Findings154 transect locations were mapped to ecological state using NRCS technical guides for three major ecological sites on SRER. In addition 7 small polygons of contrasting ecological state were mapped adjacent to transect polygons. Non-native perennial grass species most frequently encountered in the field are Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) and Boer lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula var. confertifolia). Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) is found in nearly all the larger wash bottoms. Bufflegrass (Pennisetum ciliare) and Natal grass (Melinis repens) were encountered throughout the SRER. Soft feather pappusgrass (Enneapogon cenchroides) and African lovegrass (Eragrostis echinocloidea) were seen in several locations. Wilman lovegrass (Eragrostis superba) was seen near exclosure 8. Thimble grass (Fingerhutia africanas) was seen in one new location near transect 8-03 (12R 512810E and 3516229N).The Sawmill fire (April 2017) resulted in high percentage of mesquite top-killed in the south part of the UA Cell. Long term monitoring transects affected by the fire were read in the spring of 2018. Many had less than the threshold level of live canopy. However the dead canopy of mesquite is still high and will be reflected in remote sensing efforts. As a result we left most of these transects in the large shrub state. Most of the exclosures visited during this inventory are in need of new exterior fencing. Exclosure 23 (Box Station) needs immediate repair work (new fence posts) in the NW corner. RecommendationsAn excel file (attached) details the ecological site, state and other conditions at each of the long term and exclosure transects visited. Locations were assigned a rating (good, fair, poor) for both research utility and accessibility. Several exclosures offer good possibilities for remote sensing research because of ease of access and diversity of conditions inside and out. Exclosures 35A and 35B are located within walking distance of the road at Exclosure 1A (Rodent Station) in Pasture 2S. Both are Sandyloam Upland ecological site and both have contrasting conditions inside versus outside. Exclosure 35 offers the best possibilities. Inside at transects 35-U1 and 35-U2 the ecological state is Large shrub – Non-native grass. Outside there is a good polygon around transect 35-G1 (north and east of the exclosure) of Large shrub-Eroded ecological state. Exclosure 35B has similar conditions inside but the area outside at transects 35B-G1 and G2 is a mixture of Large shrub- Non-native grass