Kenya Soil and Agro-climatic Zone Map from 1980

A soil and agro-climatic zone map of Kenya produced by the Kenya Soil Survey in the Ministry of Agriculture. The dataset includes polygon features with attributes for soil type codes and area. Cartography and lithography were completed by the Soil Survey Institute in Wageningen, The Netherlands, with data last updated in 1982.

Use Cases

• Classify soil types across Kenya using the SOIL, TYPE1, and TYPE2 attributes for agricultural suitability modeling.
• Calculate the total area of specific soil classifications (e.g., 'Ux7', 'A3') using the AREA column for resource inventory.
• Analyze the spatial distribution of agro-climatic zones by joining polygon features with the SOIL-ID attribute to external documentation.
• Study historical land characteristics by examining the 1980 soil and climate classifications for change detection analysis.

Strengths

• Polygon features include specific area and perimeter measurements (AREA, PERIMETER columns).
• Soil classification uses a structured coding system with primary and secondary type identifiers (TYPE1, TYPE2).

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, representing a snapshot from 1980 with a last update in 1982.
• The sample table shows a limited number of rows (21), suggesting the full dataset may have a small sample size.
• Detailed documentation on soil type meanings is external, requiring access to the 1980 report for full interpretation.

Provenance

Source

Republic of Kenya, Kenya Soil Survey, Ministry of Agriculture Nairobi.

Collection Method

Soil survey and agro-climatic classification, with cartography by the Soil Survey Institute Wageningen.

Time Range

1980

Geography

Kenya