HomeMy WebLinkAbout80-130 SOILS MAPS STUDYP
APRIL -MAY
The
Cal l'ornia Environmental Data Cer "te_r
Office of IPlanWng and Research
Natural Resources Land Cover Agriculture
STATE PROPOSES ACCELERATED PRODUCTION OF
U.S. SOiL CONSERVATiON SERVICE
IMPORTANT FARMLAND MAPS
The California Department of Conservation, In cooperation with
Unt use farmhand Is used for the production of specific high-value
the Office of Planning and Research, has requested.money trom
'foo and 'd liber crops. Additional Farmland of Statewide impor.
the California Environmental License Plate (CELP) Fund to
tante is; In addltion to prime an unique farmlands, ofstatewide
accelerate the production of Important Farmland series maps
Tmportance as defined by the appropriate state agency. Gener-
by the U.S. Soll Conservation Service (SCS).
ally, additional farmlands of statewide Importance include those
that are nearly prime 'farmlands and that economically rcoduce
The Service Is presently mapping Important farmlands in the
high yields of crops when treated and maneged ac:,,,. ,Ing to
state on a county -by -county basis, as part of national program
modern farming methods. Some may produee as high,a yield
to identify the extent and locationof rural, agricultural lands..
as prime farmlands, If conditlon:, are favorable.
To date , the Service has compiled Important Farmland 'Maps for
Alameda, Contra Costn, San Unito) San btego, Santa Clara,
Finally, In some areas there is concern for certain, 'ilddiilonal
Sonoma, and Yolo ContleS, at; well as collected the 'field data
farmlands, even though they arc "not Identified as havl!$; natlonal
I or an additional 40 to 50 maps.
or statewide impertance. In California, potentially o fine lands
(Le., those lands Which meet the criteria for Prime Arr}cultural,
The Department of Conservation plans to use the data Initially
but do not have a reliable water source) will be rriiipped as
to compare the location of Williamson Act agricultueW preserves
lands of local Importance, i
to prime agricultural land in the state. This Will permit the
Department, which administers the Williamson Act toe the Secre-
For further Information, contact.,
tary of Resources, to determine: the effectiveness of current
legtilatlon in preserving agricultural and open -space lands in and
Steve Kraus, Special Consultant
near urban areas. The Legislature will also find this information
Department of Conservation
Useful In developing a more comprehensive policy for preserving
1416 Ninth Street, Room 1326-2
prime agricultural lands. • -
Sacramento, CA 95914
1.16, 323-2986
hT55 473-2986
Potential belays in Map Production
i
Because of Federal budget constraints and a shortage of Per.
sonnet, the Soil ConservationService estimates that it can only
...—s.
publish from flve to eight ,naps a year for the state, At that
rate, the farmland mapping effort for California would hot end
until 1096s at the earliest.
in An effort to. -peed the completion of the maps so that current
Information on the location any) conversion of prime' agricultural
lands to other uses can be made available, the Department of
Conservation and the Office of Planning and Research have
requested License Plate funds from the Legislature. it approved,
the funds will be used to contract far the roductlon of 40 or
more Important Farmland m as and to di itize the Information
and Incorporate it Into the Department of Conservation's auto-
REMOTE SENSING Y DIRECTORY
matZi; ;esr�Urces lnforlriation data base;
FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS I'
imPortant Farmland Mapping Program
am
The SCS Important Farmland Nahpin series uses USCS taunty
public Techhologyi inc,, a ho-or-proft, public interests science
and technology transfer organization which Works nationally with
base maps at a scale of
easy to understand, Gress
11100,000. ,The maps are "simple and
'acreage `toe each category Appears
state and ]oral governments, Is compiling'a directory of United
States r6mote-sensing firms in cooperation with NASA's Regional
In the map's legend. The maps also 06W' the approximate
Remote Sensing Applications Transfer Program.'r hls directory
boundurles of developed areas, bodies of water, areas with
will be published as part of a set of remote-senI. sing procurement
Intermittent Water# and other lands: The maps" are four-color
guidebooks aimed at assisting state and localgoVernmehts to
and appeoxlmately 4011 x 480. Shull counties such as Napa,
mbre effectiVely Utilize the private sector to woVide remote-
Sonomn, and Yolo regUire only one mboi While larger' counties
such as kern, San Dlego, and San Bernardino require three to
'sensing pr0ductsy sarVices, and equlpmeht, Those gUldebooks
and industry directory Will be aVailabie in 'Fally 1980,
eight mapt::
use the federal hand tdehtiflcatloh Method (Elie) Which
classifies land as 'prime farmland, urltqque fa'rmland (other than
The sco of the guidebooks and Industry directory Will include
acquisition of aeriand satellite I riageey including Aerial photo-ssifies
Zemal
prime), addltlonal _farmland of staieWl' a mportance, an{( add,-
graphs, multlspectral imagery, infrared sue0ysy and
reAl and 'synihctic aperature radar burveysl also value:added
tlonal farmland of local Importancs� prime farmland hAa the
V'.,t combination of physical and chemlesl c aract_'t6'fiazt,:for
service: such as photo-ixocessing, image enhancements arialysia,
prvducing craps: It Is also Undev"'blopedi and liar the sol! (t�Ah tq,
p I q
et roductlon and a Uipinant and
lnsteprstit'%�.irmappingra� ndigit
y m e c lir s ` Ig (zing, processings VIeWing, ana:
growing seasons and molsture supjily nee,.2d to produce `susit`iined,
high- yields of crops acnnomlcally Whe,1 treated cria 1n',s hred1
lytllali lnteepretatibn, and plotting equipments
Imclho sg, waterrimm6haglatmandstyar ,:tbedh� c`towyi mbdern' inti t+llt8
r �, r,U r
r)rgItilutions wishing to be included in the Remote Sensing
Indo tr Director should regUest a directory quest enna re form
saturated with water for A longfit:, k;i yvcl ,
p t tt,; i y v rr""
do not flood or ere otectvd from 1' 4Wt�i
� g sa`�'
y
6r„, u c Tech noC)036 t Connecticut Avenue, N
"+i?t,sii►ng'tony
i•� , ,'l:s
lands that are how irrigated and h;tve .the .nt 1 crl�tt �� ale
At htld
D.C. ?.0036r Attention, Ned. Buchman, Remote
Remote
.,,�nB Coordinator.
considered prime farmland.
CALIFCRN1A REMOTE SENSING cOuumL WORKSHOP
On April 17, 19800 the California Remote Sensing, Council (CRSC1 Although participants recogntzed the shortcomings ,Qf current
Held a wt+rkshop cosponsored by the Energy Commisslon and technology To meet operational needs, mast appeared plees!d
others on Aerial Remote Sensing Techniques tot Evaluating Air with the prospects for the future. In particular, the potential
pollution and Its Effects on.V�eget_a_tlon at the L zence Finll of LI
DAR "technology in evaluating paile.tion plumes and the use
o c ence, U. cr c ey; Chairman of GI.SG , nd workshop of thermal infrared Imagery to evaluate plant stress. may have
coordinator, Barry Brown of the Energy Commission suggested Value in future invest{ ations.
the workshop berausc of his Involvement in the Comm+ssion's fi
Agricultural Sciences Advisory Panel (ASAP), The panel intends
focused on research in Inc use of thermal intratad for detecting
plant Stress. 'The rests n the
thai. plants
premise
to evaluate and recommend guidelines for detecting and moni-
under i'reasons) Will hihher temper-
aiueeslhalt- leaves than larit.Wiknowledge
toeing the effects of emissions from a coal-fired power plant
WORKSH013 AGENDA
possible to detect stress before any visual manifestatlon accurst
on veget.•ion. Over 70 people attended, representing planning
Dr. peter Murtha discussed S0 damage to plants, emphasizing
the importance of careful fleh work, statistical sampling, lab Office of planning and Res, bLrch
Worki and photo=hte'rpreation techniques in confirming 502
zns:llt)ng firms, regulatory bodies, research Institu-
agens,
)eni Greene Director
damage. •i i
During the fifth panel, audience members ealsed 'many good Timothy R. Hay's, Acting Project Director
tioand vocational orancies,,
g nizations,
Panel 14 Some Conc«arts and Considerations In Applying Remote
polluting facility Is built; being more aware of possible long-term+ cathy Graham+ Peoductlon Assistant
Sensing Techniques
(trach elemen� I Uildup, acid rain, etc.)= isolating point -source 5aclnta Pascoal, Composltor
workshop Highlights
J Andy Benson/Steve
enStevOlorla/Chris Kuretz (Remote Sent -
.large areas In .1 rapid, cost-effective manner,
Laboratory
Ing -U.S. Berkeley)
#ryp �V{,,�^y �`��,'�� U.S. POSTAGE
E N._ NI ~11 1■ AEI AIN PAID
PERMIT NO. 1493
The firste'panel set ,the stage for the; remaining panels by briefly
reviewing the basic concepts and w:hnIgoos of remote sensing,
panel 2: 'User Remote Sensing Needs and Applications
discussing the value of small-scale ftnagery in designhig a pro-
a Marilyn Eaton (Pacific Gas and Electric) - 'Siting, and
Planning Dirertor�02
gram to monitor the effects of pointos,,wraa emissions on vege-
Environmental Impacts Assessment
1400 Tenth Street provillef CA 95965
tation, reviewing several methods I& ;strath/Ing a study area
to identliy only those portions requiring ground truth, periodic
® Gene Leong (Association of Bay Area Governments) -
Governments)
(916) 322-3794
monitoring, etc., and discussing the benefits of and techniques
Remote Sensing Data Needs for Air a2 Planning
for statistical sampling within selected areas.
is nave Drummond ,(U.S. Foreit Service) •. Needs of USFS
for Remote Sensing to Detect Air Pollut on Di' amaze to
The second panel identified a number of needs for remote
Forests
"=
sensing,rncfuding developing thea"IIty io evaluate point -source
plume dynamics, detecting visual and pre -visual plant stress.
land
?anel 3: Sensors and Techniques for EvalL-ting Air 'Pollution
detecting and monitoring -use r.,hanges, detecting and Moni-
toring land disturbance and erosion, and defining 'base levt)
a John Livingston (Stanford Research institute) - LiDAR
conditions. Marilyn Eaton, Genc Leong, and Dave f)ruinmond
Observations of Particulate Pollution Dlstrlbutions
indicated that the needs reflected a desire either to collect
• Jon Eckert (Envlronmentai Protection Agency) -Recent
Information more economically than to the past or to acquire
Developments and Applications in Active Remoteens nR
new Information.
'
Panel 4* Sensors and Techniques, for ,Evaluating Pollution
The third panel discussed LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
Effects on Vegetation
research in evaluating urban and point -source plumes. As John
Livingston and Jon Eckert noted, L1DARs mounted on vans have
6 Jerry Hatfield (U.C'. Davis) - The Use of Spectra and
-stress
been successfully used Ii'urba areas to deline the boundaries
Thermal intrared to`Evaivate drop Stress
p
of plumes and their vertical profiles. Currently; such systems
a Peter Murtha (University of British Columbia) - Photo
are have
rofssuch In isystemsTtotplotthacct)
interpretation of S0 Damage to Plants
stra edngtheaabtlty ately the
dynamics of plumes for great distances from their source even
Panel 5: Open Discussion., Statements, Questions, and Answers
Invisible. LIDAIZ research underway
tdi
detecting P)'^�nstltuents ofpfu mes
h
(eg,502, particulaoading, etc..
For further Information on the Workshop, contact:
Panelists also touched on other airborne pollution ue,ection
Barry Brown
h
systems, such as 'types of spectrometers for evaluating gases
California oergy Commission
and Interferometers for evaluating gases and trace elements.
lith Howe Avenue
Sacremehio, GA 95825
The fourth panel featured two presentations. Dr. Jerry Hatfield
(916) 9244327
`P
� • "
focused on research in Inc use of thermal intratad for detecting
plant Stress. 'The rests n the
thai. plants
premise
under i'reasons) Will hihher temper-
aiueeslhalt- leaves than larit.Wiknowledge
of ons ressed temperatures for Specific plants, It then becoMes
possible to detect stress before any visual manifestatlon accurst
Dr. peter Murtha discussed S0 damage to plants, emphasizing
the importance of careful fleh work, statistical sampling, lab Office of planning and Res, bLrch
Worki and photo=hte'rpreation techniques in confirming 502
)eni Greene Director
damage. •i i
During the fifth panel, audience members ealsed 'many good Timothy R. Hay's, Acting Project Director
points: the need for careful baseline data collection before a CW udia "Buckneri Editor
polluting facility Is built; being more aware of possible long-term+ cathy Graham+ Peoductlon Assistant
l chronic effects on plants resulting from change in soli chemistry Judy Jacobsi Composltor
(trach elemen� I Uildup, acid rain, etc.)= isolating point -source 5aclnta Pascoal, Composltor
pollution pluir' 4rom nonpoint plumes; and the need to evaluate
.large areas In .1 rapid, cost-effective manner,
t1ilk RATE
#ryp �V{,,�^y �`��,'�� U.S. POSTAGE
E N._ NI ~11 1■ AEI AIN PAID
PERMIT NO. 1493
SACRAMENTO. CA
Planning Dirertor�02
butte County
Office of Plahhing, and k iesearoh 7 County Center Drt�le
1400 Tenth Street provillef CA 95965
Sacramento, 01 .95814
(916) 322-3794