Depth of soil A horizon is one of 18 attributes of soils chosen to underpin the land suitability assessment of the Victoria River Water Resource Assessment (ViWRA) through the digital soil mapping process (DSM). Depth of soil A horizon indicates the depth of the surface layers of soil (A horizons). This modelled raster data is presented as a positive number in meters eg a value of 0.12 shows the A horizon is 12 cm deep and is derived from measured site data and environmental covariates. Depth of soil A horizon is a parameter used in land suitability assessments of soil physical factors for; plant growth (seedling establishment), machinery operations and potential degradation risks associated with sodic soils. This raster data provides improved soil information used to underpin and identify opportunities and promote detailed investigation for a range of sustainable regional development options and was created within the ‘Land Suitability’ activity of the CSIRO ViWRA. A companion dataset and statistics reflecting reliability of this data are also provided and can be found described in the lineage section of this metadata record. Processing information is supplied in ranger R scripts and attributes were modelled using a Random Forest approach. The DSM process is described in the CSIRO ViWRA published report ‘Soils and land suitability for the Victoria catchment, Northern Territory’. A technical report from the CSIRO Victoria River Water Resource Assessment to the Government of Australia. The Victoria River Water Resource Assessment provides a comprehensive overview and integrated evaluation of the feasibility of aquaculture and agriculture development in the Victoria catchment NT as well as the ecological, social and cultural (indigenous water values, rights and aspirations) impacts of development.
