User guide : soil parent material 1 kilometre dataset

This document provides information for users of the Soil Parent Material 1km dataset. The Soil Parent Material 1km (SPM1k) database is part of a series of GIS maps designed to help environmental scientists and consultants assess the characteristics of the ‘near-surface’ weathered zone. In particular, the data focuses upon the material from which top soils and subsoils (A and B horizons) develop (i.e. from the base of pedological soil down to c. 2-3m). This Soil Parent Material1km resolution dataset is provided as a free-to-use dataset under the Open-Government License. The 1km dataset is derived from the standard 1:50,000 scale Soil Parent MaterialV6 dataset by spatial generalising (onto a regular vector grid of 1km cell size) the dominant Parent Material type onto a 1km resolution vector grid. Each grid cell being attributed seven fields of simple information derived from the dominant parent type. The attribution of the dataset mirrors that available within the UK Soil Observatory. www.UKSO.org. The 1km resolution makes the data an ideal vector layer to use with other freely available layers from the UKSO.