Soil is extremely important for providing food, biomass and raw materials, water and nutrient storage; supporting biodiversity and providing foundations for man-made structures. However, its health is threatened by human activities, which can greatly affect the potential of soils to fulfil their functions and, consequently, result in environmental, economic and social damage. These issues require the characterisation of the impact and spatial extent of the problems. This can be achieved through the creation of detailed and comprehensive soil maps that describe both the spatial and vertical variability of key soil properties. Detailed three-dimensional (3D) digital soil maps can be readily used and embedded into environmental models. Three-dimensional soil mapping is not a new concept. However, only with the recent development of more powerful computers has it become feasible to undertake such data processing. Common techniques to estimate soil properties in the three-dimensional space include geostatistical interpolation, or a combination of depth functions and geostatistics. However, these two methods are both partially flawed. Geostatistical interpolation and kriging in particular, estimate soil properties in unsampled locations using a weighted average of the nearby observations. In order to produce the best possible estimate, this form of interpolation minimises the variance of each weighted average, thus decreasing the standard deviation of the estimates, compared to the soil observations. This appears as a smoothing effect on the data and, as a consequence, kriging interpolation is not reliable when the dataset is not sampled with a sampling designs optimised for geostatistics. Depth function approaches, as they are generally applied in literature, implement a spline regression of the soil profile data that aims to better describe the changes of the soil properties with depth. Subsequently, the spline is resampled at determined depths and, for each of these depths, a bi-dimensional (2D) geostatistical interpolation is performed. Consequently, the 3D soil model is a combination of a series of bi-dimensional slices. This approach can effectively decrease or eliminate any smoothing issues, but the way in which the model is created, by combining several 2D horizontal slices, can potentially lead to erroneous estimations. The fact that the geostatistical interpolation is performed in 2D implies that an unsampled location is estimated only by considering values at the same depth, thus excluding the vertical variability from the mapping, and potentially undermining the accuracy of the method. For these reasons, the literature review identified a clear need for developing, a new method for accurately estimating soil properties in 3D – the target of this research, The method studied in this thesis explores the concept of soil specific depth functions, which are simple mathematical equations, chosen for their ability to describe the general profile pattern of a soil dataset. This way, fitting the depth function to a particular sample becomes a diagnostic tool. If the pattern shown in a particular soil profile is dissimilar to the average pattern described by the depth function, it means that in that region there are localised changes in the soil profiles, and these can be identified from the goodness of fit of the function. This way, areas where soil properties have a homogeneous profile pattern can be easily identified and the depth function can be changed accordingly. The application of this new mapping technique is based on the geostatistical interpolation of the depth function coefficients across the study area. Subsequently, the equation is solved for each interpolated location to create a 3D lattice of soil properties estimations. For this way of mapping, this new methodology was denoted as top-down mapping method. The methodology was assessed through three case studies, where the top-down mapping method was developed, tested, and validated. Three datasets of diverse soil properties and at different spatial extents were selected. The results were validated primarily using cross-validation and, when possible, by comparing the estimates with independently sampled datasets (independent validation). In addition, the results were compared with estimates obtained using established literature methods, such as 3D kriging interpolation and the spline approach, in order to define some basic rule of application. The results indicate that the top-down mapping method can be used in circumstances where the soil profiles present a pattern that can be described by a function with maximum three coefficients. If this condition is met, as it was with key soil properties during the research, the top-down mapping method can be used for obtaining reliable estimates at different spatial extents.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The traditional soil analysis many techniques are used in order to determine the physical and chemical properties of the soil. The radiometry appears as a promising alternative technique in the analysis of soil properties. This technique has demonstrated great potential for identification and quantification of certain properties of the soil. It is a non-destructive and non-polluting tool, with the ability to collect data on large spatial dimensions with relative speed. The radiometry may in cases be simpler than the traditional analysis of the soil and on various occasions, more accurately. The main objective of this study was to determine pedotransfer functions to soil properties based on radiometric data. It was observed that the heterogeneity of the soil decreases the accuracy of the models, however it was possible to construct prediction functions for the content of sand, silt, clay and soil organic matter from the radiometry with a level of prediction models acceptable. Considering that, in the prediction of soil properties using radiometry, there is no reagents spending and less resource invested beyond the analysis time shorter than the traditional analysis, the results were promising. / Na análise tradicional do solo muitas técnicas são utilizadas na tentativa de determinar suas propriedades físicas e químicas. A radiometria aparece como uma técnica alternativa e promissora na análise de propriedades do solo. Essa técnica tem demonstrado grande potencial na identificação e quantificação de determinadas propriedades do solo. Trata-se, de uma ferramenta não destrutiva, não poluidora, com capacidade de coleta de dados em grandes dimensões espaciais com relativa velocidade. A radiometria pode, em muitos casos, ser mais simples do que a análise tradicional do solo e em várias ocasiões, mais precisa. O principal objetivo desse trabalho foi determinar funções de pedotransferência para as propriedades do solo tendo como base os dados da radiometria. Observou-se que a heterogeneidade do solo diminui a precisão dos modelos, porém foi possível construir funções de predição para o teor de argila, areia, silte e matéria orgânica do solo a partir da radiometria com um nível de predição dos modelos aceitável. Considerando que, na predição das propriedades do solo utilizando a radiometria, não há gastos com reagentes e menos recursos investidos além do tempo de análise menor que a análise tradicional, os resultados apresentados foram promissores.

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2017-07-18T18:30:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Helena Saraiva Koenow Pinheiro.pdf: 14533188 bytes, checksum: 58cff5581549af698fe42ba33bd8aa71 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-18T18:30:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Helena Saraiva Koenow Pinheiro.pdf: 14533188 bytes, checksum: 58cff5581549af698fe42ba33bd8aa71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-30 / CAPES / CNPq / FAPERJ / Quantitative soil-landscape models represent a new trend in soil surveys. In this regard, the various digital mapping techniques are applied to predict the natural patterns of occurrence of soil types. The objective of this study was to apply digital mapping techniques to predict soil classes and attributes in a watershed, with wide range of landscape conditions, in Rio de Janeiro State, in Brazil. The approach was based on tacit soil knowledge, regarding the choice of landscape attributes that represent the variability of soil-forming factors in the region. In regard to construct the predictive models, terrain variables were generate from the digital elevation model, geology map and remote sensing data. Ten terrain attributes were created on softwareArcGIS Desktop v. 10, such as altimetry, slope, curvature, parental material map, topographic compound index and euclidean distance of hydrography. In the software ERDAS Imagine v.9 were generated three indices derived from remote sensing data (Landsat 5 TM). They are: clay minerals, iron oxide and vegetation index normalized difference - NDVI. To represent the landscape forms was generated map the "geomorphons" maps, the GRASS-GIS program. To provide enough datato predict soil properties, additional terrain variables were derived from a digital elevation model (DEM) generated in the software SAGA-GIS. The work development was organized into three steps, presented as chapters. The first chapter comprised bibliography review and presents the context of the study. The detailed analysis of soil-landscape relationships, considering the variability of environmental attributes and characteristics of pedo-enviroments are performed on the second chapter. The predominant soils in the area were Ferralsols, Acrisols, Gleysols, Cambissolos, Fluvisols and Regosols. The third chapter presented the application of the landform maps (?geomorphons?) as a covariate to pretic soil classes by neural network approach. The fourth chapter targets the application of trees-based models (decision trees and random forest) to predict soil classes. The evaluation of the inferred products to represent the soil classes was performed based on statistical indices (kappa, overall), generalization of soil classes and validation with control samples. The best performance was observed for the random forest model that showed better values to statistical indices and better generalization of mapping units. The fifth chapter comprised the prediction of soil texture components on topsoil layer by using multiple linear regressions and regression trees. The analyses indicated better performance by using regression trees algorithm to all soil attributes (sand, silt, and clay), independent of the database (harmonized or original). All predictive models were implemented in R software. Additional research is needed to select an appropriated set of predictive covariates; as so, collect more soil samples to use as input to models and also validate of the final products. Soil survey research is important in the actual context once can enhance the information generated by the soil surveys, as well as to obtain useful information to the final users, as example of the maps that represent the spatial variability of soil texture components. / Modelos solo-paisagem quantitativos representam uma nova tend?ncia nos levantamentos de solos. Neste sentido, as diferentes t?cnicas de mapeamento digital s?o aplicadas para prever os padr?es naturais de ocorr?ncia de classes de solo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi a aplica??o de geotecnologias no mapeamento de classes e atributos dos solos em uma bacia hidrogr?fica, que apresenta grande varia??o de condi??es de paisagem, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. A abordagem foi baseada em conhecimento pedol?gico t?cito, culminando na escolha de atributos da paisagem que representem a variabilidade dos fatores de forma??o de solos na regi?o. Na constru??o do modelo solo-paisagem foram gerados no programa de computa??o ArcGIS Desktop v. 10, atributos relacionados a pedog?nese na ?rea em estudo, como geologia altimetria, declividade, curvatura, ?ndice topogr?fico composto e dist?ncia euclidiana de hidrografia. No programa ERDAS Imagine v.9 foram gerados tr?s ?ndices derivados de dados de sensoriamento remoto (Landsat 5 TM). S?o eles: clay minerals, iron oxide e ?ndice de vegeta??o por diferen?a normalizada ? NDVI. Para representar as formas do relevo foi gerado mapa com as dez formas mais comuns do relevo (?geomorphons?), no programa GRASS-GIS. Adicionalmente, a predi??o de atributos do solo contou com co-vari?veis derivadas do modelo digital de eleva??o (MDE) geradas no programa SAGA-GIS. O trabalho de tese foi dividido em etapas, apresentadas na forma de cap?tulos. O primeiro cap?tulo apresenta a revis?o de literatura espec?fica de contextualiza??o do trabalho. O estudo das rela??es solo-paisagem e da variabilidade dos atributos do terreno, a caracteriza??o das unidades de mapeamento com base no levantamento de campo, constituem o segundo cap?tulo. Os solos predominantes na ?rea foram: Latossolos, Argissolos, Gleissolos, Cambissolos, Neossolos Fl?vicos e Lit?licos. O terceiro cap?tulo tratou do uso do mapa de formas da paisagem (?geomorphons?) como vari?vel preditora para o mapeamento de classes de solos, por abordagem de redes neurais artificiais. O quarto cap?tulo teve como objetivo a aplica??o de modelos baseados em ?rvores (?rvores de decis?o e random forest) para a predi??o de classes de solos. A avalia??o dos produtos inferidos para classes de solos foi baseada em ?ndices estat?sticos (kappa, exatid?o global), generaliza??o das classes de solos e valida??o com amostras de controle. O melhor desempenho foi observado para o modelo random forest que apresentou valor superior para os ?ndices estat?sticos e melhor generaliza??o das unidades de mapeamento. O quinto cap?tulo compreendeu a predi??o da composi??o da textura na camada superficial do solo atrav?s de regress?es lineares m?ltiplas e ?rvores de regress?o. As an?lises indicaram desempenho superior do algoritmo de ?rvores de regress?o, para todos os atributos testados (areia, silte, argila), utilizando dados harmonizados ou originais. Todos os modelos preditivos foram aplicados no programa R. An?lises adicionais s?o necess?rias para ajudar a definir conjunto de co-vari?veis preditoras adequado, assim como a coleta de mais amostras de solo, tanto para o processo de modelagem como para valida??o dos produtos. Trabalhos dessa natureza s?o importantes no contexto global de melhor aproveitamento das informa??es geradas em levantamento de solos, assim como para obten??o de mapas de car?ter pr?tico, como ? o caso da distribui??o espacial de atributos dos solos.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Up-to-date and accurate information on soil properties is important for precision farming and environmental management. The spatial information of soil properties allows adjustments of fertilizer applications to be made based on knowledge of local field conditions, thereby maximizing agricultural productivity and minimizing the risk of environmental pollution. While conventional soil sampling procedures are labor-intensive, time-consuming and expensive, remote sensing techniques provide a rapid and efficient tool for mapping soil properties. This study aimed at examining the capacity of hyperspectral reflectance data for mapping soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P). Soil samples collected from Eagle Creek Watershed, Cicero Creek Watershed, and Fall Creek Watershed were analyzed for organic matter content, total N and total P; their corresponding spectral reflectance was measured in the laboratory before and after oven drying and in the field using Analytical Spectral Devices spectrometer. Hyperion images for each of the watersheds were acquired, calibrated and corrected and Hyperion image spectra for individual sampled sites were extracted. These hyperspectral reflectance data were related to SOM, total N and total P concentration through partial least squares (PLS) regressions. The samples were split into two datasets: one for calibration, and the other for validation. High PLS performance was observed during the calibration for SOM and total N regardless of the type of the reflectance spectra, and for total P with Hyperion image spectra. The validation of PLS models was carried out with each type of reflectance to assess their predictive power. For laboratory reflectance spectra, PLS models of SOM and total N resulted in higher R2 values and lower RMSEP with oven-dried than those with field-moist soils. The results demonstrate that soil moisture degrades the performance of PLS in estimating soil constituents with spectral reflectance. For in-situ field spectra, PLS estimated SOM with an R2 of 0.74, N with an R2 of 0.79, and P with an R2 of 0.60. For Hyperion image spectra, PLS predictive models yielded an R2 of 0.74 between measured and predicted SOM, an R2 of 0.72 between measured and predicted total N, and an R2 of 0.67 between measured and predicted total P. These results reveal slightly decreased model performance when shifting from laboratory-measured spectra to satellite image spectra. Regardless of the spectral data, the models for estimating SOM and total N consistently outperformed those for estimating total P. These results also indicate that PLS is an effective tool for remotely estimating SOM, total N and P in agricultural soils, but more research is needed to improve the predictive power of the model when applied to satellite hyperspectral imagery.

No description available.

Yes / Archaeological research at Stonehenge (UK) is increasingly aimed at understanding the dynamic of the wider archaeological landscape. Through the application of state-of-the-art geophysical techniques, unprecedented insight is being gathered into the buried archaeological features of the area. However, applied survey techniques have rarely targeted natural soil variation, and the detailed knowledge of the palaeotopography is consequently less complete. In addition, metallic topsoil debris, scattered over different parts of the Stonehenge landscape, often impacts the interpretation of geophysical datasets. The research presented here demonstrates how a single multi-receiver electromagnetic induction (EMI) survey, conducted over a 22 ha area within the Stonehenge landscape, offers detailed insight into natural and anthropogenic soil variation at Stonehenge. The soil variations that were detected through recording the electrical and magnetic soil variability, shed light on the genesis of the landscape, and allow for a better definition of potential palaeoenvironmental and archaeological sampling locations. Based on the multi-layered dataset, a procedure was developed to remove the influence of topsoil metal from the survey data, which enabled a more straightforward identification of the detected archaeology. The results provide a robust basis for further geoarchaeological research, while potential to differentiate between modern soil disturbances and the underlying sub-surface variations can help in solving conservation and management issues. Through expanding this approach over the wider area, we aim at a fuller understanding of the human–landscape interactions that have shaped the Stonehenge landscape.

Digital soil mapping (DSM) provides a cost-effective approach for characterizing the spatial variation in soil properties which contributes to inconsistent productivity. This study utilized Random Forest (RF) models to facilitate DSM of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa), estimated cation exchange capacity (CEC), and soil organic matter (SOM) in agricultural fields across the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The RF models were trained and tested using in situ collected ECa, CEC, and SOM data, paired with a bare soil composite of Landsat 9 imagery. Field data and imagery were collected during the study period of 2019 through 2023. Models ranged from fair to moderate in accuracy (R2 from 0.27 to 0.68). The contrasting performance between CEC/SOM and ECa models is likely due to the dynamic nature of soil properties. Accordingly, models could have benefitted from covariates such as soil moisture, topography, and climatic factors, or higher spectral resolution imagery, such as hyperspectral.

Soil is one of the most precious resources on Earth because of its role in storing and recycling water and nutrients essential for life, providing a variety of ecosystem services. This vulnerable resource is at risk from degradation by erosion, salinity, contamination and other effects of mismanagement. Information from soil is therefore crucial for its sustainable management. While the demand for soil information is growing, the quantity of data collected in the field is reducing due to financial constraints. Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) supports the creation of geographically referenced soil databases generated by using field observations or legacy data coupled, through quantitative relationships, with environmental covariates. This enables the creation of soil maps at unexplored locations at reduced costs. The selection of an optimal scale for environmental covariates is still an unsolved issue affecting the accuracy of DSM. The overall aim of this research was to explore the effect of spatial scale alterations of environmental covariates in DSM. Three main targets were identified: assessing the impact of spatial scale alterations on classifying soil taxonomic units; investigating existing approaches from related scientific fields for the detection of scale patterns and finally enabling practitioners to find a suitable scale for environmental covariates by developing a new methodology for spatial scale analysis in DSM. Three study areas, covered by detailed reconnaissance soil survey, were identified in the Republic of Ireland. Their different pedological and geomorphological characteristics allowed to test scale behaviours across the spectrum of conditions present in the Irish landscape. The investigation started by examining the effects of scale alteration of the finest resolution environmental covariate, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), on the classification of soil taxonomic units. Empirical approaches from related scientific fields were subsequently selected from the literature, applied to the study areas and compared with the experimental methodology. Wavelet analysis was also employed to decompose the DEMs into a series of independent components at varying scales and then used in DSM analysis of soil taxonomic units. Finally, a new multiscale methodology was developed and evaluated against the previously presented experimental results. The results obtained by the experimental methodology have proved the significant role of scale alterations in the classification accuracy of soil taxonomic units, challenging the common practice of using the finest available resolution of DEM in DSM analysis. The set of eight empirical approaches selected in the literature have been proved to have a detrimental effect on the selection of an optimal DEM scale for DSM applications. Wavelet analysis was shown effective in removing DEM sources of variation, increasing DSM model performance by spatially decomposing the DEM. Finally, my main contribution to knowledge has been developing a new multiscale methodology for DSM applications by combining a DEM segmentation technique performed by k-means clustering of local variograms parameters calculated in a moving window with an experimental methodology altering DEM scales. The newly developed multiscale methodology offers a way to significantly improve classification accuracy of soil taxonomic units in DSM. In conclusion, this research has shown that spatial scale analysis of environmental covariates significantly enhances the practice of DSM, improving overall classification accuracy of soil taxonomic units. The newly developed multiscale methodology can be successfully integrated in current DSM analysis of soil taxonomic units performed with data mining techniques, so advancing the practice of soil mapping. The future of DSM, as it successfully progresses from the early pioneering years into an established discipline, will have to include scale and in particular multiscale investigations in its methodology. DSM will have to move from a methodology of spatial data with scale to a spatial scale methodology. It is now time to consider scale as a key soil and modelling attribute in DSM.

A escassez de informações do solo que permitam o seu uso adequado, seja para fins agrícola, ambiental ou de projeto urbanos, pode ser minimizada com soluções provenientes do desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivo aplicar duas estratégias digitais para obtenção de mapas de solos preliminares em áreas onde não foram realizados levantamentos pedológicos convencionais. As estratégias foram executadas com base em variáveis ambientais que estabelecem relações entre ocorrência de solos e suas posições na paisagem. A área de estudo compreendeu o município de Barra Bonita-SP, totalizando 11.072 ha. Para uso na predição dos solos pela técnica de Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNA) foram utilizadas as variáveis: declividade, elevação, perfil de curvatura, plano de curvatura e índice de convergência derivados de um Modelo Digital de Elevação (MDE), além das informações de geologia e das superfícies geomórficas identificadas na região. Na primeira estratégia, por meio de uma análise de agrupamento (Fuzzy k-médias) das variáveis, foram escolhidas cinco áreas chaves distribuídas na área de estudo, nas quais foi realizado levantamento de solos de nível semidetalhado para reconhecimento das unidades de mapeamento. Na estratégia 2, elaborou-se um mapa de solos de nível detalhado a partir de dados pré-existentes de apenas uma área chave, localizada no centro da região. Com a identificação das unidades de mapeamento foram gerados arquivos de treinamento e testes das redes neurais. Utilizou-se o simulador JavaNNS e o algoritmo de aprendizado backpropagation. Conjuntos de variáveis ambientais foram testados, avaliando a importância de cada variável na discriminação dos solos. A rede que exibiu melhor desempenho do índice Kappa foi utilizada para generalização de suas informações, obtendo os mapas digitais de solos. Pela aplicação de tabulação cruzada foram analisadas as correspondências espaciais entre os mapas digitais e um mapa convencional nível semidetalhado da região. Foram coletados pontos de referência para validar o desempenho dos mapas digitais. De acordo com a posição na paisagem e material de origem subjacente, notou-se tendência na ocorrência das classes de solos nas áreas chaves mapeadas. A mesma disposição dos solos foi observada nas classificações digitais. Os atributos do terreno elevação e declividade exibiram maior influência na distinção entre os solos pelas redes neurais em ambas as estratégias. A comparação com pontos de referência mostrou que o mapa digital produzido com base em unidades de mapeamento provenientes de abordagem convencional detalhada teve um desempenho superior (81,8% de concordância) ao mapa baseado em levantamento pedológico de nível semidetalhado (72,7%). Este estudo mostrou que a obtenção de mapas digitais de solos, com uso de variáveis ambientais que expressem a relação solo-paisagem, pode contribuir para a geração de informações preliminares do solo em locais não mapeados, a partir de unidades de mapeamento obtidas em áreas adjacentes. / The scarcity of land information to enable its proper use, whether for agricultural, environmental and urban design, can be minimized by solutions from the development of new technologies. Accordingly, this study aimed to apply two strategies to obtain digital maps of soil in areas where no preliminary surveys were carried out conventional pedological. The strategies were implemented based on environmental variables that establish relations between the occurrence of soils and their positions in the landscape. The study area comprised the municipality of Barra Bonita, SP, totaling 11,072 ha. For use in the prediction of soil by the technique of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were used variables: slope, elevation, profile curvature, plan curvature and convergence index derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), in addition to information geology and geomorphic surfaces identified in the region. In the first strategy, through a cluster analysis (Fuzzy k-means) of variables, we selected five key areas distributed in the study area, soil survey being conducted semi-detailed level at these sites for recognition of the map units. In strategy 2, a map was drawn up detailed level of soil from pre-existing data of only one key area, located in the center of the region. Identifying the map units were generated files for training and testing of neural networks. Was used the simulator JavaNNS and learning algorithm \"backpropagation. Sets environmental variables were tested by assessing the importance of each variable to predict soil. The network showed better performance for the Kappa index was used to generalize their information, obtaining the digital soil maps. By applying cross tabulation analyzed the spatial correspondence between the digital maps and a conventional map of the region. Reference points were collected to validate the performance of digital maps. According to the position in the landscape and the underlying source material, was noticed a tendency of occurrence of soil classes in key areas mapped. The same arrangement was observed in the soil classifications digital. The attributes of the terrain elevation and slope exhibited a greater influence on the distinction between the soil by the neural networks in both strategies. The comparison with reference points showed that the digital map produced based on mapping units from the conventional approach detailed outperformed (81.8% agreement) to the map based on pedological survey of semi-detailed level (72.7 %). This study showed that to obtain digital maps of soils, use of environmental variables that express the soillandscape relationship, may contribute to the generation of information preeliminares soil in areas not mapped from map units obtained from adjacent areas.

A escassez de informações do solo que permitam o seu uso adequado, seja para fins agrícola, ambiental ou de projeto urbanos, pode ser minimizada com soluções provenientes do desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivo aplicar duas estratégias digitais para obtenção de mapas de solos preliminares em áreas onde não foram realizados levantamentos pedológicos convencionais. As estratégias foram executadas com base em variáveis ambientais que estabelecem relações entre ocorrência de solos e suas posições na paisagem. A área de estudo compreendeu o município de Barra Bonita-SP, totalizando 11.072 ha. Para uso na predição dos solos pela técnica de Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNA) foram utilizadas as variáveis: declividade, elevação, perfil de curvatura, plano de curvatura e índice de convergência derivados de um Modelo Digital de Elevação (MDE), além das informações de geologia e das superfícies geomórficas identificadas na região. Na primeira estratégia, por meio de uma análise de agrupamento (Fuzzy k-médias) das variáveis, foram escolhidas cinco áreas chaves distribuídas na área de estudo, nas quais foi realizado levantamento de solos de nível semidetalhado para reconhecimento das unidades de mapeamento. Na estratégia 2, elaborou-se um mapa de solos de nível detalhado a partir de dados pré-existentes de apenas uma área chave, localizada no centro da região. Com a identificação das unidades de mapeamento foram gerados arquivos de treinamento e testes das redes neurais. Utilizou-se o simulador JavaNNS e o algoritmo de aprendizado backpropagation. Conjuntos de variáveis ambientais foram testados, avaliando a importância de cada variável na discriminação dos solos. A rede que exibiu melhor desempenho do índice Kappa foi utilizada para generalização de suas informações, obtendo os mapas digitais de solos. Pela aplicação de tabulação cruzada foram analisadas as correspondências espaciais entre os mapas digitais e um mapa convencional nível semidetalhado da região. Foram coletados pontos de referência para validar o desempenho dos mapas digitais. De acordo com a posição na paisagem e material de origem subjacente, notou-se tendência na ocorrência das classes de solos nas áreas chaves mapeadas. A mesma disposição dos solos foi observada nas classificações digitais. Os atributos do terreno elevação e declividade exibiram maior influência na distinção entre os solos pelas redes neurais em ambas as estratégias. A comparação com pontos de referência mostrou que o mapa digital produzido com base em unidades de mapeamento provenientes de abordagem convencional detalhada teve um desempenho superior (81,8% de concordância) ao mapa baseado em levantamento pedológico de nível semidetalhado (72,7%). Este estudo mostrou que a obtenção de mapas digitais de solos, com uso de variáveis ambientais que expressem a relação solo-paisagem, pode contribuir para a geração de informações preliminares do solo em locais não mapeados, a partir de unidades de mapeamento obtidas em áreas adjacentes. / The scarcity of land information to enable its proper use, whether for agricultural, environmental and urban design, can be minimized by solutions from the development of new technologies. Accordingly, this study aimed to apply two strategies to obtain digital maps of soil in areas where no preliminary surveys were carried out conventional pedological. The strategies were implemented based on environmental variables that establish relations between the occurrence of soils and their positions in the landscape. The study area comprised the municipality of Barra Bonita, SP, totaling 11,072 ha. For use in the prediction of soil by the technique of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were used variables: slope, elevation, profile curvature, plan curvature and convergence index derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), in addition to information geology and geomorphic surfaces identified in the region. In the first strategy, through a cluster analysis (Fuzzy k-means) of variables, we selected five key areas distributed in the study area, soil survey being conducted semi-detailed level at these sites for recognition of the map units. In strategy 2, a map was drawn up detailed level of soil from pre-existing data of only one key area, located in the center of the region. Identifying the map units were generated files for training and testing of neural networks. Was used the simulator JavaNNS and learning algorithm \"backpropagation. Sets environmental variables were tested by assessing the importance of each variable to predict soil. The network showed better performance for the Kappa index was used to generalize their information, obtaining the digital soil maps. By applying cross tabulation analyzed the spatial correspondence between the digital maps and a conventional map of the region. Reference points were collected to validate the performance of digital maps. According to the position in the landscape and the underlying source material, was noticed a tendency of occurrence of soil classes in key areas mapped. The same arrangement was observed in the soil classifications digital. The attributes of the terrain elevation and slope exhibited a greater influence on the distinction between the soil by the neural networks in both strategies. The comparison with reference points showed that the digital map produced based on mapping units from the conventional approach detailed outperformed (81.8% agreement) to the map based on pedological survey of semi-detailed level (72.7 %). This study showed that to obtain digital maps of soils, use of environmental variables that express the soillandscape relationship, may contribute to the generation of information preeliminares soil in areas not mapped from map units obtained from adjacent areas.