Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, vol. 17, no. 2

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Vol. 17 No. 2 (2023): Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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Submitted
Oct 17, 2022
Accepted
Nov 30, 2022
Published
Jan 30, 2023
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

SFMToolbox: an ArcGIS Python Toolbox for Automatic Production of Maps of Soil Fertility

https://doi.org/10.7494/geom.2023.17.2.105
Ranga Rao Velamala
Soil and Land Use Survey of India, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6171-2293
Pawan Kumar Pant
Soil and Land Use Survey of India, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7144-5483

Corresponding Author(s) : Ranga Rao Velamala

velamala.ranga@gmail.com

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, Vol. 17 No. 2 (2023): Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

Abstract

SFMToolbox is an ArcGIS Python toolbox developed in ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) to perform preprocessing tasks for the automatic creation of maps of soil fertility parameters. Through SFMToolbox, users can automatically produce 12 soil fertility parameter maps as a batch at one time. It is easy to use, where users can only provide input; the output files are automatically created from the name of the sample point and saved in the defined workspace. During the execution of the tools, various processes, such as Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) – a technique of interpolation, reclassification, adding color, merging, projection, area calculation, and legend are done automatically for all
12 parameters at the same time. The SFMToolbox was validated as part of the following case study: village – Kashipur, tehsil – Balrampur, district – Balrampur, state – Uttar Pradesh, Country – India. The results show that the user can quickly generate maps and save time, improve accuracy, and reduce human intervention and ensure uniformity among maps. This toolbox also applied to Cycle II data from the Government of India’s Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme and timely produced 12-parameters soil nutrient maps for 630 districts in a uniform format. The toolbox may be used by public and private organizations to make timely decisions on agricultural and environmental issues.

Keywords

ArcGIS GIS Python ArcPy ArcMap soil fertility toolbox soil health card
Velamala, R. R., & Pant, P. K. (2023). SFMToolbox: an ArcGIS Python Toolbox for Automatic Production of Maps of Soil Fertility. Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, 17(2), 105–145. https://doi.org/10.7494/geom.2023.17.2.105
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