How is the learning process of digital soil mapping in a diverse group of land use planners?

ABSTRACT The use of new technologies, the development of new software, and the advances in the machines ability to process data have brought a new perspective to soil science and especially to pedology, with the advent of digital soil mapping (DSM). To meet the demand for soil surveys in Brazil, it will be necessary to popularize the techniques used in DSM. To identify and map the soil to generate maps of land use capability, we proposed a theoretical and practical course focused on the training in DSM for professionals involved in the management of land resources. The methodology was divided into five modules: I. Introduction to pedology, soil-landscape relationship, soil survey and soil classification (theory); II. Identification of soils in the field and study of the soil-landscape relationship (practice); III. Digital soil mapping and geographic information system (theory) and obtaining environmental covariates (practice); IV. Statistical learners and quality measures of spatial predictions (theory) and spatial pseudo-sampling (practice); V. Database organization, calibration, and validation of predictive models (practice). Results such as the average level of confidence of the participants in the soil classification, as well as the number of pseudo-sampling classified by the participants, chosen statistical apprentice, environmental covariables used, and overall accuracy, were influenced by the participants level of knowledge regarding DSM soils and techniques. The structure, focus, and time of each module should be based on the participants needs. It is suggested that a survey should be carried out to consider the level of knowledge in relation to the topics addressed in DSM before the preparation and execution of the course. The contribution of individual experiences showed the importance of multidisciplinarity in the teaching-learning process because it is a technique that involves soil knowledge, statistics, and mathematics applied to geoinformation science to understand soil variability in the landscape. The practical classes were fundamental, enabling an approximation of the content studied with the participants’ reality and consolidation of the acquired knowledge. In general, the course was well evaluated by the participants regarding the contents covered and practical field training and laboratory geoprocessing, who reported that the practical classes were fundamental for the appropriation of knowledge in DSM. This course could be a model for the PronaSolos, which tend to have heterogeneous groups of participants, being necessary to plan specific protocols to tend the particularity.

摘要：随着新技术的应用、新型软件开发以及机器数据处理能力的提升，数字土壤制图（Digital Soil Mapping, DSM）的出现为土壤科学，尤其是土壤学（pedology）带来了全新的研究视角。为满足巴西国内土壤调查的需求，亟需推广数字土壤制图相关技术。为识别并绘制土壤分布图以生成土地利用潜力图，我们针对参与土地资源管理的专业人员开设了一门聚焦数字土壤制图培训的理论与实践课程。

本课程的教学方法分为五个模块：
I. 土壤学导论、土壤-景观关系、土壤调查与土壤分类（理论环节）；
II. 野外土壤识别与土壤-景观关系研究（实践环节）；
III. 数字土壤制图与地理信息系统（Geographic Information System, GIS）（理论）及环境协变量获取（实践环节）；
IV. 统计学习方法与空间预测质量评估指标（理论）及空间伪采样实践；
V. 数据库构建、预测模型校准与验证（实践环节）。

参与者对土壤分类的平均置信水平、参与者分类的伪采样数量、所选统计学习方法、使用的环境协变量以及总体精度等结果，均受参与者对DSM相关土壤与技术的知识掌握水平影响。各模块的结构、侧重点与时长应基于参与者的实际需求制定。建议在课程筹备与实施前，先开展调研以了解参与者对DSM相关主题的知识掌握水平。

参与者的个体经验分享凸显了教学过程中多学科融合的重要性：数字土壤制图作为一项技术，需结合土壤学知识、统计学与应用于地理信息科学的数学方法，以解析景观中的土壤空间变异性。实践课程至关重要，能够帮助参与者将所学内容与自身实际场景相结合，并巩固所获知识。总体而言，参与者对课程涵盖的内容、野外实践培训与实验室地理信息处理环节均给予了较高评价，他们均表示实践课程对于掌握DSM相关知识具有关键作用。

本课程可为PronaSolos项目提供参考范本——该项目的参与者群体往往异质性较强，因此需制定针对性方案以适配其个性化需求。