Using fGIS to Display NRCS Digital Soil Maps

The Natural Resources Conservation Association (NRCS) Digital Soil Maps for U.S. counties are available to download on the Internet at the soil data market [1]. Download and unzip both the tabular and spatial data. The unzipped files will include a Soil folder containing “Spatial” and “Tabular” subfolders, and a Microsoft Access database file, such as “soildb_US_2002.mdb.”

fGIS is a free GIS computer program available for download on the Internet at the fGIS Web site http://www.forestpal.com/fgis.html.

1. Starting fGIS requires loading an existing project or creating a new project. Type the name for a new project (sample) in the “File Name” box. Click “OK.”

2. Add a soils map to the view by clicking the “Add Layer” button, navigate to the folder on your computer where the spatial soils map is stored, choose the soils shapefile (example: soilmu_a_nd019.shp), and click “OK.”

3. The soil map will be displayed with filled polygons. Double-click the soil layer name in the fGIS table of contents to display the layer properties window to enable tools to change the soil polygons to a transparent display. Select the “Area” tab and choose the “Transparent” pattern.

4. This view shows the soils map displayed over National Agricultural Imagery.

John Nowatzki, Agricultural Machine Systems Specialist
Ag & Biosystems Engineering Department
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102