1992 National Resources Inventory

How to Obtain NRI Data

What is the NRI?

The 1992 National Resources Inventory is a "snapshot" of resource conditions in the United States as of the 1992 growing season. It is one of a series of inventories conducted at 5-year intervals by the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service (SCS).

The NRI is the most comprehensive database ever assembled on natural resources on the nonfederal lands of the United States--74 percent of the nation's land area. The database includes data from three inventory years--1982, 1987, and 1992. Its focus is on soil, water, and related resources on our nation's farms and nonfederal forests and grazing lands.

Statistical Reliability

SCS Field personnel and resource inventory specialists collected data for the NRI at more than 800,000 sample sites nationwide. NRI data are statistically reliable for national, regional, state, and substate analysis. The NRI was scientifically designed and conducted and is based on recognized statistical sampling methods.

Uses of the Data

The data are used in national, state, and local planning, university research, and private sector analysis. They help shape major environmental and land-use decisions. They help form the basis for farm, conservation, and natural resouce legislation at the state and national levels. USDA uses NRI data in its Soil and Water Resouces Conservation Act analyses to assess current and future impacts of agricultural conservation programs and to help direct its national conservation program.

Database Characteristics

Data collected in the 1992 NRI provide a basis for analysis of 5- and 10-year trends in resource conditions. Many data items in the 1992 NRI are consistent with previous inventories. In addition, the NRI is linked to SCS's extensive Soil Interpretations Records database to provide additional soils information. Data from other sources can be integrated with the NRI through spatial linkages in a Geographic Information System.

Data elements consistent within the NRI database among the last three (1982, 1987, and 1992) NRIs:

Farmstead, urban, and built-up areas;
Farmstead and field windbreaks;*
Streams less than 1/8 mile wide and water bodies less than 40 acres;
Type of land ownership;
Soils information--soil classification, soil properties, and soil interpretations such as prime farmland;
Land cover/use--cropland, pasture land, rangeland, forest land, barren land, rural land, urban and built-up areas;
Cropping history;
Irrigation--type and source of water;
Erosion data--wind and water;
Wetlands--classification of wetlands and deep-water habitats in the U. S.(1982 and 1992 only);
Conservation practices and treatment needed;
Potential conversion to cropland;
Rangeland condition, apparent trend of condition.*

New data elements added for the 1992 NRI:

Streams greater than 1/8 mile wide and water bodies by kind and size greater than 40 acres;
Conservation Reserve Program land under contract;
Type of earth cover--crop, tree, shrub, grass-herbaceous, barren, artificial, water;
Forest type group;
Primary and secondary use of land and water;
Wildlife habitat diversity;
Irrigation water delivery system;
Food Security Act (FSA) wetland classification;
For rangeland areas--range site name and number; woody canopy; noxious weeds; concentrated flow, gully, and streambank erosion; conservation treatment needed;*
Type of conservation tillage.*

* Data element will not be available with the initial releases.

For a more detailed understanding of the data element characteristics, ask for a copy of the "Instructions for Collecting 1992 NRI Sample Data."

Database Availability

The NRI database will be available to the public on four CD-ROMs (ISO 9660 format) at $100 per disk. Each disk contains data for a collection of states that form a contiguous region, organized as follows:

CD #1, West--Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
CD #2, South--Alabama, Arkansas, Caribbean Area, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.
CD #3, Midwest--Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
CD #4, Northeast--Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia.

Results for Alaska are not included in this release; they will be provided later.

Each disk includes separate files containing the Soils Interpretations Records and spatial datasets for mapping NRI data (see "Spatial Datasets," below).

All files are flat ASCII files. The full database for the entire country, including the soils data, is about 1.3 gigabytes. Data can be downloaded on a state-by-state basis if disk storage space is limited. Database documentation will be provided.

Data Analysis Software

SCS has developed NRI Data Analysis Software that helps users query and generate reports and maps. It is easy to use, graphical, and Windows-oriented. Users make selections from menus to create reports and maps. Prior knowledge of the database management system, the computer operating system, or the geographic information system is not needed to create reports or maps. The Data Analysis Software has a utility for importing all or portions of the NRI into the database management system. Reports resulting from the NRI query can be output to a printer, plotter, or computer file. The Data Analysis Software is available on 8mm tape. Software documentation will be provided.

Hardware and software requirements for running the Data Analysis Software with the NRI database:

SPARC compliant graphics workstation with 32 megabytes RAM;
Solaris 1.x operating system;
8mm tape drive;
2.5 gigabytes of storage space, which includes sufficient space to load the complete database;
INFORMIX database management system, Version 5.01 or later;
X11R4 X Window graphical user interface.

Spatial Datasets

Spatial datasets of boundaries of Major Land Resource Areas, 8-, 6-, 4-, and 2-digit hydrologic units, and counties are provided for each state, with and without Federal lands, allowing users to create maps of the NRI data. These spatial datasets contain the same spatial identifiers used in the NRI database. They are provided in two formats. U. S. Geological Survey DLG-3 formatted files are included on the four data CDs for the appropriate states. GRASS-GIS vector formatted files are included on the Data Analysis Software. Documentation on spatial databases will be provided.

Where to Go for Help

To obtain the NRI database and spatial datasets, contact:

     SCS National Cartography and GIS Center 
     Fort Worth Federal Center 
     Bldg. 23, Room 60 
     P. O. Box 6567 
     Fort Worth, Texas 76115-0567 
     817-334-5559, extension 3135

For more information about data collection methods and results for specific states or regions, contact your USDA Soil Conservation Service state office or the Resources Inventory Specialist at one of SCS's four national technical centers: Lincoln, NE--402-437-5315; Portland, OR--503-326-2826; Chester, PA--610-490- 6048; Fort Worth, TX--817-334-5282, extension 3522.

To obtain the Data Analysis Software or for additional information on the NRI program, contact:

     USDA-Soil Conservation Service 
     Resources Inventory and Geographic Information Systems
     Division 
     P. O. Box 2890 
     Washington, DC 20013 
     202-720-4530