Soil Potential Index & Surveys
Soil Potential Index (SPI)
SPI is a calculation made at the County Conservation District office which rates soil on a scale of 0-100 based on its capability to produce crops. For example, a rating of 10 would indicate a soil poorly suited to growing crops; a rating of 95 would mean top quality soil with virtually no impediment to crop production. The Conservation District uses USDA Natural Conservation Resources Service soil mapping data to compute SPI for each field, parcel or tract of land.
Soil Surveys
Understanding and assessing the land is the first step in addressing natural resource challenges and sustaining our limited resources. Soils, in particular, form the foundation for conservation efforts, and knowing the nature and properties of soils is essential for managing and preserving other natural resources.
Through its Soil Survey Program, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) studies and inventories the soil resources across the Nation. A key responsibility of the NRCS is conducting soil surveys on private lands throughout the United States.
Soil Surveys provide detailed soil maps, data tables, and narratives that are invaluable for land-planning programs. They offer predictions of soil behavior for specific land uses, highlight soil limitations and hazards, suggest improvements to overcome these limitations, and assess the impact of various land uses on the environment.
The Coos County Soil Surveys are available in print at the CCCD office. If you are interested in obtaining one, please contact us. Soil Surveys are also accessible online via the NRCS Web Soil Survey website.
If you need assistance navigating the website, please call the CCCD office for help.
NRCS Soil Resources:
New Hampshire Soils Handbook
This handbook provides information about New Hampshire soils and was created by NRCS staff with over 40 years of soil science experience. The handbook serves as a valuable resource and provides information on the following:
Important Soil Properties, such as texture, structure, slope, and color are explained and clarified.
Soil Parent Materials are described, and associated landforms are specified.
Soil Interpretations, such as drainage class, hydric criteria, important farmland, and hydrologic groups are defined.
The NH Soil Reference is also comprised of information, definitions, and terms to be used in conjunction with NRCS soil maps, providing essential information about the soil data available through Web Soil Survey (WSS) and the tables located on the NH NRCS website. All NRCS maps, descriptions, units of measure, and labeling of soil attributes conform to the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS). The maps, tables and associated data located in Web Soil Survey is the official soil data for the nation and is updated and maintained as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.