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NATMAP vector

NATMAP vector is the flagship product from the NSRI. It is a 1:250,000 scale map of England and Wales, showing the locations of the 297 distinct soil associations wherever they occur within the countries. Within each of the soil associations are multiple soil series. This hierarchical data structure allows for easy integration with the the series-based, non-spatial SOILSERIES data, pulling this tabular data also in the the spatial framework.

Key Facts and Stats about NATMAP vector

1:250,000 scale digitised National Soil map with 1:50,000 registered linework

Coastal and inland water bodies registered to 1:50,000 scale

Soil associations are the map units. Multiple soil series comprise a soil association

297 map units (Soil associations)

Over 200 man-years went into the creation of this map product.

Who and what is this useful for?

NATMAP vector is useful for anyone wanting detailed soil information at 1:250,000 scale.
NATMAP vector is essential for the best resolution soil series based work for most of England and Wales.

NATMAP vector is being used by most of the major water companies, many universities, consultants and governmental bodies. Because of the structure of NATMAP vector, it is readily customised with additional datasets, providing task-specific targeted information crucial to so many operations.

How much does this product cost?

£500 per 1000km².
Significant discounts apply for larger areas.

NATMAP vector data and description

The table below describes the various properties within this data product. Each polygon contains the information outlined below.

Property	Example from data	Description

LANDIS_NAT	1266991.75	Area of Polygon in square metres
PERIMETER	4785.984	Perimeter of Polygon
NATMAP_	4	NATMAP ID number for Shapefile purposes
NATMAP_ID	3	NATMAP ID number for Shapefile purposes
MAP_SYMBOL	541r	Map Symbol displayed on the map - combination of the unsurveyed flag with the map unit
MAP_UNIT	0541r	National Soil Map Unit, Regional Bulletins and National Soil Map Legend.
UNSURVEYED		Unsurveyed if the area is urban, and the map unit has been derived external sources and expert judgement
SHAPE	2	Feature ID code which links with the spatial description of the data within a geodatabase

The following two tables come FREE with the lease of NATMAP vector.

NATMAP legend data (*FREE with NATMAP vector)

Property	Example from data	Description
MAP_UNIT	0311a	National Soil Map Unit, Regional Bulletins and National Soil Map Legend.
MAP_UNIT_NAME	REVIDGE	Soil association name, named after the dominant soil series of which the association comprises
SIMPLE_DESCRIPTION	shallow peat over sandstone	A simplified description of the soil association
SITE_GEOLOGY	Palaeozoic gritstone and sandstone	The geological parent material on which soil associations commonly occur
DOMINANT_SOIL	Very shallow very acid peaty upland soils over rock.	Text description of dominant soil type in soil association
ASSOCIATED_SOIL	Some thick peat.	Soil characteristics of associated soil
SITE_CHARACTERISTICS	Steep craggy ground with extensive bare rock and scree.	Text description of site characteristics of a soil association
CROP_LANDUSE	Stock rearing on wet moorland habitats of poor grazing value in the uplands. recreation	Text description of cropping and land use practices associated with a soil association
RED	245	RGB value for colour display (RED)
GREEN	238	RGB value for colour display (GREEN)
BLUE	126	RGB value for colour display (BLUE)

NATMAP associations data (*FREE with NATMAP vector)

Property	Example from data	Description
MAP_UNIT	1024c	National Soil Map Unit, Regional Bulletins and National Soil Map Legend.
DOMINANCE	4	Position of dominance of this soil series within this soil association (Map Unit)
SERIES	2273	Soil series code
SERIES_NAME	WITTERING	Soil series name
SERIES_PC	10	Percentage of this soil series in the soil association (Map Unit)