Data for: Free, open, quantitative and adaptable digital soil map and database for Nigeria

Nigeria’s DSM data and soil database of Nigeria is a predictive or computer-assisted digital depiction of Nigeria’s soil types, properties and spatial distribution. In this novel DSM data and soil database, secondary data in the form of compiled hard copies, derived from the 1985 reconnaissance soil survey are transformed into vectors and symbols encoded and held as data structures within the map layout. The DSM data and its database hold information relating to the Nigerian soil in geographically referenced numerical format. Thus, it delineates quantitatively and interactively the 58 soil components (soil mapping units), based on three ecological zones, twenty-four broad geomorphic units and parent materials in Nigeria. These soil mapping units are numbered from ‘1a’ to ‘24b’ and provides much quantitative information for environmental modelling and analyses using the Nigeria’s DSM data and database (Refer to [1] for a full list of the mapping units that describes the Nigeria’s soil distribution and their spatial distinctions). This DSM and its database have a highly unique legend with flexible scales, are easy to update with location-specific measure of accuracy, and guarantees data security. Users can quickly generate spatial soil information that provides ample solutions to the growing demand for high-resolution soil data. This solves the cartographic and qualitative limitations of the 1990 FDALR hard copy soil maps. The DSM incorporates queries and spatial analyses tools to generate thematic maps of basic soil properties within the context of Nigeria such as soil mapping unit, geology (basement complex, basalt, sandstone, Aeolian sandstone, shale, etcetera), soil classification (USDA and FAO), pH scales (acidic, basic, neutral, etcetera) and ecological zones (wetland, rainforest, savanna).