The digital soil map of Wallonia (DSMW/CNSW)

Based on the Belgian soil map at 1/20,000, this digital map of Wallonia (DSMW) is composed of a cartographic database describing the soil characteristics of the region. Tool for a better soil management, this database will be integrated in a geographical information system where the soil layer could be used in relation with information concerning other aspects of land development. The different operations include : map drawing finalization of non edited sheets, creation of an image layer, vectorial capture of source objects, building up of the topology, characterization of the objects, geometrical corrections, creation of a continuous layer (edge-matching), creation of a homogeneous legend, integration in a geodatabase. The DSMW in figures corresponds to : 16,000 km2; 600,000 soil polygons delimited by 15 million intermediate points (vertex); 6,000 pedological symbols; 700MB. The advantages of this computerized cartographic database are continuity, legibility, accessibility and many possibilities of thematic analyses.