Soil map and 3D virtual tour using a database of soil-forming factors

Soils are non-renewable resources and therefore must be conserved, particularly in protected natural areas. Correct and rational planning of human activities in fragile conservation landscapes should be based on detailed studies of soil-forming factors, such as climate, geology (lithology and surficial deposits), geomorphology (topography, morphology, slope and hydrology), biology (vegetation and human activity) and time and their relationships with the landscape and landforms. This study analyses the geospatial distribution of different soil units in the natural areas of “Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia” and “Quilamas” and is based on a soil sampling field programme and textural analyses that resulted in soil association maps, dominant soil maps and toposequences that could be extrapolated to natural resource and environmental problems (natural and/or human). In this study, a set of GIS-based digital maps was developed to illustrate the physical attributes of these natural areas. In particular, georeferencing of the various soil-forming factors was used to generate a specific soil map for each natural area and to create a geospatial database, including fact sheets and photographs, of characteristic soil profiles. This soil information was converted into the “kmz” format to geospatially visualise the various soil units in 3D virtual tours using viewers, such as Google Earth, to obtain information regarding the spatial referencing and elevation of the area, interact with the 3D modelling of the tour in Google Earth, overlay the soil map on the orthophoto, activate or deactivate the visible layers, modify the spatial resolution of every point by zooming in or out and obtain the numeric and graphical information for every stop. This soil map can be used in multidisciplinary approaches by adding other thematic layers: lithology, geomorphology, topography, morphology, slope, hydrology, vegetation, et cetera, which would facilitate decision-making by managers and directors of nature areas/parks.