The Hindu Business Line : Geomatics lab inauguration today

THE State Soil Survey unit of the Department of Agriculture is setting up a geomatics lab for management of the spatial and non-spatial database on land resources using the GIS (Geographical Information System) technology.

Announcing this, Dr P.N. Premachandran, Additional Director (Soil Survey), said here that the Agriculture Minister, Ms K.R. Gowri, would inaugurate the lab at a function here on Thursday. A digitised soil map of the State and the digital watershed atlas of Ernakulam district would also be released at the function.

The geomatics lab with special emphasis on soil information system will enable collection, manipulation, storage and faster use of spatial data with greater accuracy, Dr Premachandran said. Geomatics purveys many fields, including information technology, geography, cartography, remote sensing, GPS (global positioning system) and GIS.

A strategy for sustainable agriculture in the State calls for a judicious use of soil resources. The State Soil Survey Organisation has been collecting information on the soil and land resources over the years through traditional methods.

Information on soils is a pre-requisite for agricultural planning. It is a three-dimensional quantity that requires not only interpretation of imagery but also of soil profile studies optimising their locations and also delineating soil association boundaries.

With the aid of GIS technology, preparation of innumerable soil maps and tabulation of voluminous spatial and non-spatial data can be accomplished in considerably less time, at reduced prices and with increased accuracy. Digital remote sensed data will be classified and interpreted for the natural resource inventory and transferred to the GIS environment for developing models on land utilisation.

The GIS environment will enable the evaluation of the factors of productivity and help arrive at the production potential of each piece of land for various corps and the best alternate use.

The irrigation, fertiliser and management requirement of each piece of land can be evolved using the GIS approach to enable optimum utilisation of inputs. Combination of soil information linked to GIS will provide information on resource assessment and monitoring.

With the establishment of the geomatics lab, the Soil Survey Unit will be able to provide the soil maps of the entire State down to the panchayats, districts and watersheds, Dr Premachandran said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Geomatics lab inauguration today

NCDEX launches maize, gur futures

Problems of plenty

Rubber prices ease on buyer resistance

Metal scrap prices rise on import curbs

Solvent extractors in a fix over hexane duty claim — Excise officials demand penalty for non-export of soyabean oil

Spices Board extends airfreight sops to cardamom exporters till Jan 31

Cardamom, pepper e-marketing put off