About Soils Near Me NSW

The Soils Near Me app classifies the land and soils of NSW using the Land and Soil Capability (LSC) scheme.

Land capability is the inherent physical capacity of the land and soil to sustain a range of land uses and management practices in the long term, without degradation to soil, land, air and water resources.

The LSC scheme uses the biophysical features of land and soil to provide ratings for a range of land and soil hazards, each of which receives a rating from 1 (best) to 8 (worst). The value for the most limiting of these hazards gives the overall LSC class for that land. The individual hazards assessed under the LSC are:

• Mass movement hazard
• Salinity hazard
• Shallow soils and rockiness hazard
• Soil acidification hazard
• Soil structure decline hazard
• Waterlogging hazard
• Water erosion hazard
• Wind erosion hazard

The LSC classes are:

Land capable of a wide variety of land uses

1. Extremely high capability land: Land has no limitations. No special land management practices required. Land capable of all rural land uses and land management practices.
2. Very high capability land: Land has slight limitations. These can be managed by readily available, easily implemented management practices. Land is capable of most land uses and land management practices, including intensive cropping with cultivation.
3. High capability land: Land has moderate limitations and is capable of sustaining high-impact land uses, such as cropping with cultivation, using more intensive, readily available and widely accepted management practices. However, careful management of limitations is required for cropping and intensive grazing to avoid land and environmental degradation.

Land capable of a variety of land uses (cropping with restricted cultivation, pasture cropping, grazing, some horticulture, forestry, nature conservation)

4. Moderate capability land: Land has moderate to high limitations for high-impact land uses. Will restrict land management options for regular high-impact land uses such as cropping, high-intensity grazing and horticulture. These limitations can only be managed by specialised management practices with a high level of knowledge, expertise, inputs, investment and technology.
5. Moderate–low capability land: Land has high limitations for high-impact land uses. Will largely restrict land use to grazing, some horticulture (orchards), forestry and nature conservation. The limitations need to be carefully managed to prevent long-term degradation.

Land capable for a limited set of land uses (grazing, forestry and nature conservation, some horticulture

6. Low capability land: Land has very high limitations for high-impact land uses. Land use restricted to low-impact land uses such as grazing, forestry and nature conservation. Careful management of limitations is required to prevent severe land and environmental degradation.

Land generally incapable of agricultural land use (selective forestry and nature conservation

7. Very low capability land: Land has severe limitations that restrict most land uses and generally cannot be overcome. On-site and off-site impacts of land management practices can be extremely severe if limitations not managed. There should be minimal disturbance of native vegetation.
8. Extremely low capability land: Limitations are so severe that the land is incapable of sustaining any land use apart from nature conservation. There should be no disturbance of native vegetation.

For more information about the LSC scheme, refer to the PDF at www.environment.nsw.gov. More maps and information about land and soil capability in NSW are available on eSPADE at espade.environment.nsw.gov.au

The Soils Near Me app shows the probability (occurrence and risk) of acid sulfate soil hazard along the coast of NSW.

Acid sulfate soils are natural sediments that contain iron sulfides. They are common along the NSW coast. When disturbed or exposed to air these soils can release acid, damaging built structures and harming or killing animals and plants.

The map classifies coastal land below 10 m elevation (AHD) into various risk classes depending on the probability of the acid sulfate soil hazard and the depth at which acid sulfate materials are likely to be encountered. The risk classes are:

For more information about acid sulfate soils, go to environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/land-and-soil/soil-degradation/acid-sulfate-soils. More maps and information about acid sulfate soils in NSW are available on eSPADE at espade.environment.nsw.gov.au

Data shown in the Soils Near Me app is drawn from datasets published on SEED, the Central Resource for Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data in NSW.

Soil Type shows the dominant soil type as described by the baseline soil mapping in the various areas of NSW, which varies in scale and accuracy. You can find further information about this dataset on SEED at datasets.seed.nsw.gov.au/dataset/australian-soil-classification-asc-soil-type-map-of-nsweaa10

Land and Soil Capability shows the dominant LSC class as derived from the baseline soil mapping in the various areas of NSW, which varies in scale and accuracy. You can find further information about this dataset on SEED at datasets.seed.nsw.gov.au/dataset/land-and-soil-capability-mapping-for-nsw4bc12

Acid Sulfate Risk shows the dominant risk class as described in the Acid Sulfate Soil Risk Mapping of NSW, which you can find at datasets.seed.nsw.gov.au/dataset/acid-sulfate-soils-risk0196c

Version Information

The Soils Near Me NSW app is a project of the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment brings together specialists in urban and regional planning, natural resources, industry, environment, Aboriginal and social housing, and regional New South Wales. The DPE website is www.dpie.nsw.gov.au

Published by

Environment, Energy and Science
Department of Planning and Environment
Locked Bag 5022, Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: +61 2 9995 5000 (switchboard)
Phone: 1300 361 967 (Environment, Energy and Science enquiries)
TTY users: phone 133 677, then ask for 1300 361 967
Speak and listen users: phone 1300 555 727, then ask for 1300 361 967
Email: info@environment.nsw.gov.au
Website: www.dpie.nsw.gov.au

Report pollution and environmental incidents
Environment Line: 131 555 (NSW only) or info@environment.nsw.gov.au

© 2022 State of NSW and Department of Planning and Environment

With the exception of photographs, the State of NSW and Department of Planning and Environment are pleased to allow this material to be reproduced in whole or in part for educational and non-commercial use, provided the meaning is unchanged and its source, publisher and authorship are acknowledged. Specific permission is required for the reproduction of photographs.

The Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has compiled this report in good faith, exercising all due care and attention. No representation is made about the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information in this publication for any particular purpose. DPE shall not be liable for any damage which may occur to any person or organisation taking action or not on the basis of this publication. Readers should seek appropriate advice when applying the information to their specific needs.

All content in this publication is owned by DPE and is protected by Crown Copyright, unless credited otherwise. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), subject to the exemptions contained in the licence. The legal code for the licence is available at Creative Commons.

DPE asserts the right to be attributed as author of the original material in the following manner: © State of New South Wales and Department of Planning and Environment 2021.

The Department's privacy practices are regulated by the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) (PPIP ACT) and the Department's Privacy Management Plan (PMP).

Collection of your Personal Information

The Department does not collect any personal information to deliver our App. You may, when prompted by your device, share your location with the App. This information is not stored. If you choose not to share your location with the App you will still have access to all features, except being able to locate your position in the map.

Anyone engaged to collect, store or use personal information for the Department will be required to comply with the PPIP Act and the Department’s Privacy Management Plan.

Please note that the Department does not have any responsibility for the privacy policies or practices of third party sites linked to this website.