LandPKS Toolbox: Open-source mobile app tools for sustainable land management

Authors: MAYNARD, JONATHAN - University Of Colorado; MANIAK, SABINA - University Of Colorado; HAMRICK, LAURA - University Of Colorado; PEACOCK, GEORGE - Texas Tech University; McCord, Sarah; Herrick, Jeffrey - Jeff

Submitted to: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/27/2022
Publication Date: 11/14/2022
Citation: Maynard, J.J., Maniak, S., Hamrick, L., Peacock, G., McCord, S.E., Herrick, J.E. 2022. LandPKS Toolbox: Open-source mobile app tools for sustainable land management. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 77(6):91A-97A. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2022.0927A.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2022.0927A

Interpretive Summary: This article describes a new feature in the LandPKS app that allows users to quickly access and use a variety of tools without creating a geo-located site record, or storing any information on the phone or in the cloud. The LandPKS "toolbox" includes three groups of tools that can be used for: (1) measuring soil properties (Texture Guide, Soil Color), (2) accessing soil reference materials (Soil Health Methods, Soil Conservation Technologies [WOCAT]), and (3) generating/accessing site-specific modeled information (SoilID, Climate, AWC and Infiltration Calculation).

Technical Abstract: Land use planning and implementation of productive, sustainable land management practices requires careful matching of land-use with its sustainable land potential at the field and even sub-field scale. Appropriate matching of land-use with land potential requires accurate, site-specific knowledge of soil, including information on its long-term potential (based on inherent properties like texture, minerology, slope), current condition (e.g., fertility, compaction, vegetation cover), and expected response to disturbances (e.g., management, climate). When land managers lack access to such information and knowledge, they are less likely to make informed management decisions that ensure long-term sustainability. To bridge this information gap, the Land Potential Knowledge System mobile application (“LandPKS”) was created with the goal of providing location-specific information on land potential that farmers and other land managers can use to make informed management decisions. The objective of this article is to describe a major improvement to the LandPKS app in the form of a virtual "toolbox", containing standalone tools, including several that were recently released. The toolbox allows these, and previously inlcuded tools, to be directly and anonymously accessed and used without creating a geo-located site record, or storing any information on the phone or in the cloud. The toolbox allows users to skip the Site-creation process, which can be time consuming, when not necessary for their work. The LandPKS Toolbox consists of three main groups of tools that can be used for: (1) measuring soil properties (Texture Guide, Soil Color), (2) accessing soil reference materials (Soil Health Methods, Soil Conservation Technologies [WOCAT]), and (3) generating/accessing site-specific modeled information (SoilID, Climate, AWC and Infiltration Calculation).