The use of digital elevation models for soil type interpretation

The objective of this study was to map the relationship between soil and landform at a scale and resolution suitable for environmental modelling and site-specific farming. The current approach to high-resolution soil mapping is airphoto interpretation in combination with a grid survey. The result of this thesis is an automated mapping technique that allows for the accurate characterization of the soil landscape based on the relationship between soil type and landform.; The study was conducted in east-central Alberta, Canada, south-east of the city of Edmonton, at {dollar}53spcirc 33primeprime{dollar} north latitude and {dollar}113spcirc 28primeprime{dollar} west longitude. The DEM used in this research was surfaced from contour lines extracted from a 1:5000 orthophoto with 1 metre contour lines, available to the public from the City of Edmonton, Alberta. Analytical surfacing techniques were used to generate a DEM of the study area. Using the results of the geostatistical analysis, a spatial resolution of four meters was selected to produce a DEM with sufficient spatial resolution to capture the variability of the landscape. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...