SSURGO-QA ArcGIS Pro Toolbox1. SetupDownload SSURGO by Areasymbol - Use Soil Data Access and Web Soil Survey download page to get SSURGO datasets. User can a wildcard to query the database by Areasymbol or by age.Download SSURGO by Region - Downloads SSURGO Soil Survey Areas that are owned by a specific region including an approximiate 2 soil survey area buffer.Generate Regional Transactional Geodatabase - Used to create the Regional Transactional Spatial Database (RTSD) for SSURGO.Generate SSO SSURGO Datasets - Create a SSURGO file geodatabase for a selected MLRA Soil Survey Office.Import SSURGO Datasets in FGDB - This tooll will import SSURGO spatial and tabular datasets within a given location into a File Geodatabase and establish the necessary table and feature class relationships to interact with the dataset.Insert NATSYM and MUNAME Value - This tool adds the National Mapunit Symbol (NATMUSYM) and the Mapunit Name (MUNAME) values to the corresponding MUKEY. An MUKEY field is required to execute. A network connection is required in order to submit a query to SDacess.RTSD - Check SDJR Project Out - Designed to work with the RTSD to manage SDJR projects and export data for those projects to be sent to the MLRA SSO.

ssurgoOnDemandThe purpose of these tools are to give users the ability to get Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) properties and interpretations in an efficient manner. They are very similiar to the United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resource Conservation Service's distributed Soil Data Viewer (SDV), although there are distinct differences. The most important difference is the data collected with the SSURGO On-Demand (SOD) tools are collected in real-time via web requests to Soil Data Access (https://sdmdataaccess.nrcs.usda.gov/). SOD tools do not require users to have the data found in a traditional SSURGO download from the NRCS's official repository, Web Soil Survey (https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm). The main intent of both SOD and SDV are to hide the complex relationships of the SSURGO tables and allow the users to focus on asking the question they need to get the information they want. This is accomplished in the user interface of the tools and the subsequent SQL is built and executed for the user. Currently, the tools packaged here are designed to run within the ESRI ArcGIS Desktop Application - ArcMap, version 10.1 or greater. However, much of the Python code is recyclable and could run within a Python intepreter or other GIS applications such as Quantum GIS with some modification.NOTE: The queries in these tools only consider the major components of soil map units.Within the SOD tools are 2 primary toolsets, descibed as follows:<1. AreasymbolThe Areasymbol tools collect SSURGO properties and interpretations based on a user supplied list of Soil Survey areasymbols (e.g. NC123). After the areasymbols have been collected, an aggregation method (see below) is selected . Tee aggregation method has no affect on interpretations other than how the SSURGO data aggregated. For soil properties, the aggregation method drives what properties can be run. For example, you can't run the weighted average aggregation method on Taxonomic Order. Similarly, for the same soil property, you wouldn't specify a depth range. The point here is the aggregation method affects what parameters need to be supplied for the SQL generation. It is important to note the user can specify any number of areasymbols and any number of interpretations. This is another distinct advantage of these tools. You could collect all of the SSURGO interpretations for every soil survey area (areasymbol) by executing the tool 1 time. This also demonstrates the flexibility SOD has in defining the geographic extent over which information is collected. The only constraint is the extent of soil survey areas selected to run (and these can be discontinuous).As SOD Areasymbol tools execute, 2 lists are collected from the tool dialog, a list of interpretations/properties and a list of areasymbols. As each interpretation/property is run, every areasymbol is run against the interpretation/property requested. For instance, suppose you wanted to collect the weighted average of sand, silt and clay for 5 soil survey areas. The sand property would run for all 5 soil survey areas and built into a table. Next the silt would run for all 5 soil survey areas and built into a table, and so on. In this example a total of 15 web request would have been sent and 3 tables are built. Two VERY IMPORTANT things here...A. All the areasymbol tools do is generate tables. They are not collecting spatial data.B. They are collecting stored information. They are not making calculations(with the exception of the weighted average aggregation method).<2. ExpressThe Express toolset is nearly identical to the Areasymbol toolset, with 2 exceptions.A. The area to collect SSURGO information over is defined by the user. The user digitizes coordinates into a 'feature set' after the tool is open. The points in the feature set are closed (first point is also the last) into a polygon. The polygon is sent to Soil Data Access and the features set points (polygon) are used to clip SSURGO spatial data. The geomotries of the clip operation are returned, along with the mapunit keys (unique identifier). It is best to keep the points in the feature set simple and beware of self intersections as they are fatal.B. Instead of running on a list of areasymbols, the SQL queries on a list of mapunit keys.The properties and interpretations options are identical to what was discussed for the Areasymbol toolset.The Express tools present the user the option of creating layer files (.lyr) where the the resultant interpretation/property are joined to the geometry and saved to disk as a virtual join. Additionally, for soil properties, an option exists to append all of the selected soil properties to a single table. In this case, if the user ran sand, silt, and clay properties, instead of 3 output tables, there is only 1 table with a sand column, a silt column, and a clay column.<Supplemental Information<sAggregation MethodAggregation is the process by which a set of component attribute values is reduced to a single value to represent the map unit as a whole.A map unit is typically composed of one or more "components". A component is either some type of soil or some nonsoil entity, e.g., rock outcrop. The components in the map unit name represent the major soils within a map unit delineation. Minor components make up the balance of the map unit. Great differences in soil properties can occur between map unit components and within short distances. Minor components may be very different from the major components. Such differences could significantly affect use and management of the map unit. Minor components may or may not be documented in the database. The results of aggregation do not reflect the presence or absence of limitations of the components which are not listed in the database. An on-site investigation is required to identify the location of individual map unit components. For queries of soil properties, only major components are considered for Dominant Component (numeric) and Weighted Average aggregation methods (see below). Additionally, the aggregation method selected drives the available properties to be queried. For queries of soil interpretations, all components are condisered.For each of a map unit's components, a corresponding percent composition is recorded. A percent composition of 60 indicates that the corresponding component typically makes up approximately 60% of the map unit. Percent composition is a critical factor in some, but not all, aggregation methods.For the attribute being aggregated, the first step of the aggregation process is to derive one attribute value for each of a map unit's components. From this set of component attributes, the next step of the aggregation process derives a single value that represents the map unit as a whole. Once a single value for each map unit is derived, a thematic map for soil map units can be generated. Aggregation must be done because, on any soil map, map units are delineated but components are not.The aggregation method "Dominant Component" returns the attribute value associated with the component with the highest percent composition in the map unit. If more than one component shares the highest percent composition, the value of the first named component is returned.The aggregation method "Dominant Condition" first groups like attribute values for the components in a map unit. For each group, percent composition is set to the sum of the percent composition of all components participating in that group. These groups now represent "conditions" rather than components. The attribute value associated with the group with the highest cumulative percent composition is returned. If more than one group shares the highest cumulative percent composition, the value of the group having the first named component of the mapunit is returned.The aggregation method "Weighted Average" computes a weighted average value for all components in the map unit. Percent composition is the weighting factor. The result returned by this aggregation method represents a weighted average value of the corresponding attribute throughout the map unit.The aggregation method "Minimum or Maximum" returns either the lowest or highest attribute value among all components of the map unit, depending on the corresponding "tie-break" rule. In this case, the "tie-break" rule indicates whether the lowest or highest value among all components should be returned. For this aggregation method, percent composition ties cannot occur. The result may correspond to a map unit component of very minor extent. This aggregation method is appropriate for either numeric attributes or attributes with a ranked or logically ordered domain.

These data depict the western United States Map Unit areas as defined by the USDA NRCS. Each Map Unit area contains information on a variety of soil properties and interpretations. The raster is to be joined to the .csv file by the field "mukey." We keep the raster and csv separate to preserve the full attribute names in the csv that would be truncated if attached to the raster. Once joined, the raster can be classified or analyzed by the columns which depict the properties and interpretations. It is important to note that each property has a corresponding component percent column to indicate how much of the map unit has the dominant property provided. For example, if the property "AASHTO Group Classification (Surface) 0 to 1cm" is recorded as "A-1" for a map unit, a user should also refer to the component percent field for this property (in this case 75). This means that an estimated 75% of the map unit has a "A-1" AASHTO group classification and that "A-1" is the dominant group. The property in the column is the dominant component, and so the other 25% of this map unit is comprised of other AASHTO Group Classifications. This raster attribute table was generated from the "Map Soil Properties and Interpretations" tool within the gSSURGO Mapping Toolset in the Soil Data Management Toolbox for ArcGIS™ User Guide Version 4.0 (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=nrcseprd362255&ext=pdf) from GSSURGO that used their Map Unit Raster as the input feature (https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/). The FY2018 Gridded SSURGO Map Unit Raster was created for use in national, regional, and state-wide resource planning and analysis of soils data. These data were created with guidance from the USDA NRCS. The fields named "*COMPPCT_R" can exceed 100% for some map units. The NRCS personnel are aware of and working on fixing this issue. Take caution when interpreting these areas, as they are the result of some data duplication in the master gSSURGO database. The data are considered valuable and required for timely science needs, and thus are released with this known error. The USDA NRCS are developing a data release which will replace this item when it is available. For the most up to date ssurgo releases that do not include the custom fields as this release does, see https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/home/?cid=nrcs142p2_053628#tools For additional definitions, see https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/geo/?cid=nrcs142p2_053627.

SSURGO PortalSSURGO Bulk Downloader QGIS Installation and User Guide

SSURGO-QA Tools for ArcMap1. Setup

The Soil Data Management Toolbox consists of five toolsets organized within a single toolbox. Each toolset contains several ArcTools that can be used to acquire, assemble and manage individual SSURGO datasets and to create gSSURGO databases. It is recommended that the tools be run in foreground mode (not background) because a lot of useful status information is printed to the geoprocessing window. SSURGO datasets for an entire state or region can require a large amount of storage space and computer resources to process. These tools are designed to make the process of acquiring, managing and using SSURGO datasets for large land areas much easier and faster. Each tool contains detailed built-in help which can be displayed on the right side of the tool dialog box. Much of this information in the help is not available in this document, so it would be a good idea to read the help for each parameter before using the tool. If the Help window is not visible, click on the ‘Show Help>>’ button. Other Documents to Reference:gSSURGO FactsheetgSSURGO User Guide ArcMap version 2.4Soil Data Development Toolbox User Guide v5 for ArcMapgSSURGO Mapping Detailed GuidegSSURGO Valu1 table column descriptions

Included with the gSSURGO database, but not a part of the standard SSURGO dataset is a table called Valu1. This table contains 57 pre-summarized or “ready to map” attributes derived from the official SSURGO database. These attribute data are pre-summarized to the map unit level using best-practice generalization methods intended to meet the needs of most users. The generalization methods include map unit component weighted averages and percent of the map unit meeting a given criteria. These themes were prepared to better meet the mapping needs of users of soil survey information and can be used with both SSURGO and gridded SSURGO (gSSURGO) datasets.Other Documents to Reference:gSSURGO FactsheetgSSURGO User Guide ArcMap version 2.4Soil Data Development Toolbox User Guide v5 for ArcMapgSSURGO Mapping Detailed GuidegSSURGO Valu1 table column descriptions

From gridded National Soil Survey Geographic Database (gNATSGO). Used Soil Data Development Toolbox > gSSURGO Mapping Toolset > Create Soil Map Tool, Exported Data Layer to TIFF, and Used Spatial Analyst > Reclass > Lookup Tool to create this data layer and display the HYDROLGRP_. Follow instructions in "How to Create an On-Demand Soil Property or Interpretation Grid from gNATSGO". Shows sSSURGO data for California. A - sand, loamy sand, sandy loam B - loam, silt, loam or silt C - sandy clay loam D - clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, or clay The gridded National Soil Survey Geographic Database (gNATSGO) is a USDA-NRCS Soil & Plant Science Division (SPSD) composite database that provides complete coverage of the best available soils information for all areas of the United States and Island Territories. It was created by combining data from the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), State Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO2), and Raster Soil Survey Databases (RSS) into a single seamless ESRI file geodatabase. The state-wide gNATSGO databases contain a 10-meter raster of the soil map units and 70 related tables of soil properties and interpretations. It is designed to work with the SPSD gSSURGO ArcTools. Users can create full coverage thematic maps and grids of soil properties and interpretations for large geographic areas, such as the extent of a State or the conterminous United States. Please note that for the CONUS database, only a 30 meter raster is included. SSURGO is the SPSD flagship soils database that has over 100 years of field-validated detailed soil mapping data. SSURGO contains soils information for more than 90 percent of the United States and island territories, but unmapped land remains. Click here for the current completion status of SSURGO mapping. STATSGO2 is a general soil map that has soils data for all of the United States and island territories, but the data is not as detailed as the SSURGO data. The Raster Soil Surveys (RSSs) are the next generation soil survey databases developed using advanced digital soil mapping methods. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/geo/?cid=nrcseprd1464625) Use the Create A Soil Map ArcTool from the gSSURGO Mapping Toolset in the Soil Data Development Toolbox to make a TIFF data layer (Instructions: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/geo/?cid=nrcseprd1464625#grid). Make a Hydrological Soils Group Map, and display it using the Hydrolgrp_ attribute. NotesThe SPSD refreshes all published soil databases annually. gNATSGO will be included in the refresh cycle, which will provide a new up-to-date version of the database each year. gNATSGO is an ESRI file geodatabase. The soil map units are delivered only as a 10-meter raster version and are uniquely identified by the mukey, which is included in the attribute table. No vectorized version of the soil map units is included in gNATSGO. The database has 70 tables that contain soil attributes, and relationship classes are built into the database to define relationships among tables. The raster can be joined to the Mapunit and Muaggatt tables in the MUKEY field. The database contains a feature class called SAPOLYGON. The “source” field in this feature class indicates whether the data was derived from SSURGO, STATSGO2, or an RSS. A gNATSGO database was created for the conterminous United States and for each state or island territory that does not have complete coverage in SSURGO or has a published RSS. If you encounter an ArcMap error when working with a gNATSGO dataset that reads “The number of unique values exceeds the limit” try increasing the maximum number of unique values to render in your Raster ArcMap Options. Specific instructions can be obtained here: https://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000010117

Gridded SSURGO (gSSURGO) is similar to the standard product from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database, but is in the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI®) file geodatabase format. A file geodatabase has the capacity to store significantly more data and thus greater spatial extents than the traditional SSURGO product. This allows for statewide or even Conterminous United States (CONUS) tiling of data. gSSURGO contains all of the original soil attribute tables in SSURGO. All spatial data are stored within the geodatabase instead of externally as separate shape files. Both SSURGO and gSSURGO are considered products of the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS). An important addition to the new format is a 10-meter raster (MapunitRaster_10m) of the map unit soil polygons feature class, which provides statewide coverage in a single layer. The CONUS database includes a 30-meter raster because of size constraints. This new addition provides greater performance and important analysis capabilities to users of soils data. Statewide tiles consist of soil survey areas needed to provide full coverage for a given State. In order to create a true statewide soils layer, some clipping of excess soil survey area gSSURGO data may be required. The new format also includes a national Value Added Look Up (valu) Table that has several new “ready to map” attributes.Other Documents to Reference:gSSURGO FactsheetgSSURGO User Guide ArcMap version 2.4Soil Data Development Toolbox User Guide v5 for ArcMapgSSURGO Mapping Detailed GuidegSSURGO Valu1 table column descriptions

Uses the Soil Data Development Toolbox for Gridded National Soil Survey Geographic Database (gNATSGO). Other Documents to Reference:gSSURGO FactsheetgSSURGO User Guide ArcMap version 2.4Soil Data Development Toolbox User Guide v5 for ArcMapgSSURGO Mapping Detailed GuidegSSURGO Valu1 table column descriptionsNotes:.A GeoTIFF version of the gNATSGO CONUS raster is availableThe USDA-NRCS-SPSD refreshes all published soil databases annually. gNATSGO will be included in the refresh cycle, which will provide a new up-to-date version of the database each year.gNATSGO is an ESRI file geodatabase.In the state and island territory databases, the soil map units are delivered only as a 10-meter raster version.In the CONUS database, the raster is 30-meter.No vectorized version of the soil map units is included in gNATSGO.The soil map units are uniquely identified by the mukey, which is included in the attribute table.The database has 70 tables that contain soil attributes, and relationship classes are built into the database to define relationships among tables.The raster can be joined to the Mapunit and Muaggatt tables in the MUKEY field.The database contains a feature class called SAPOLYGON. The “source” field in this feature class indicates whether the data was derived from SSURGO, STATSGO2, or an RSS.If you encounter an ArcMap error when working with a gNATSGO dataset that reads “The number of unique values exceeds the limit” try increasing the maximum number of unique values to render in your Raster ArcMap Options. Specific instructions can be obtained here: https://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000010117