LandPKS 3.7.9

Knowledge for sustainable land management – in your hands!

The LandPKS app assists in making informed decisions for sustainable land management by enabling users to access and gather geo-located data on soils and vegetation. The app offers soil predictions and grants access to climate, habitat, and sustainable land management information. It also facilitates the easy monitoring of soil health and vegetation changes over time. Your data is securely stored in free cloud storage, allowing for convenient access from anywhere. Moreover, the app operates without requiring a data connection, ensuring data upload flexibility as per connectivity availability.

Key features include:

• A new Tools feature offering convenient access to tools for evaluating soil texture, color, identification, water holding capacity, climate data, soil health assessment methods, and a sustainable land management practice database.
• The LandInfo module simplifies site and soil characterization by guiding users through determining soil texture manually and collecting other crucial data points. It then estimates the soil ID and provides a Land Capability Classification to aid in land use planning and management.
• The Vegetation module allows swift and consistent monitoring of vegetation cover over time with just a yard or meter stick. Graphs of land cover data are generated promptly offline after these measurements.
• The SoilHealth module features clear instructions (supplemented with videos on the website) for monitoring soil health.
• The Soil Conservation module comprises a searchable database of sustainable land management practices sourced from the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), which can be personalized based on individual soil and land characteristics.
• The Habitat module supplies information on local animals, plants, fish, and other species while enabling users to compare their soil and vegetation data with habitat requirements (U.S. only).

For more information on the LandPKS app, comprehensive online guides and videos are available at https://landpotential.org. Data access can be facilitated through https://portal.landpotential.org.

The LandPKS app was developed by USDA-ARS in partnership with CU Boulder and NMSU with assistance from USAID, BLM, NRCS, FFAR, TNC, and contributions from numerous U.S. and global collaborators.