State soil map of the Russian federation: An ArcInfo version

The results of the first stage of works on the creation of a digital version of the State Soil Map (SSM) in vector and raster formats are discussed. The inventory of all the sheets of the SSM has been performed. The map has been vectorized in strict correspondence to the scale and projections of the initial map sheets in paper format; i.e., the digitized version of the map exactly reproduces the soil polygons shown on the original map sheets. The methods and challenges of digital soil cartography are considered. With respect to the SSM, the importance of two major advantages of the digitized version of this map is emphasized: (a) the preservation of the initial materials in the new electronic formats and (b) the possibility to improve the map with the use of new materials, including satellite images, digital elevation models, and various thematic maps after the transformation of their scales and projections. The analysis of the SSM in the vector format makes it possible to systematize and formulate the major problems and difficulties related to this project and to suggest the particular technologies and methods of their solution; certain directions requiring the elaboration of new methods are outlined. The final goal of the project on the development of the digital version of the SSM is the creation of a unified consistent soil map of Russia on a scale of 1: 1 M.