Soil survey as a knowledge system

Soil survey leads to the publication of soil maps and textual reports to communicate the knowledge gained by the surveyors. The argument that soil maps and their legends are representations of structured knowledge is made and discussed with some examples. An epistemology of soil survey is outlined. The relationship between the mental model of a soil surveyor, a soil map legend, and a soil map is formally represented. An analogy between knowledge engineers and soil scientists is made to understand how artificial intelligence, logic, and its formalism can be used in soil survey. Some frameworks for presenting soil surveyors mental models explicitly are suggested to improve soil survey reporting in the 21st century. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.