geomorphometry.org

K. Kringer¹, M. Tusch¹, C. Geitner^1,2, M. Rutzinger³, C. Wiegand², G. Meißl^{1
1 Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, A-6020 Innsbruck
Telephone: ++43 (0)512 507 5402
Fax: ++43 (0)512 507 2895
Email: korbinian.kringer@student.uibk.ac.at, markus.tusch@uibk.ac.at, gertraud.meissl@uibk.ac.at
2 Mountain Research: Man and Environment, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Technikerstraße 21a, A-6020 Innsbruck
Telephone: ++43 (0)512 507 4949
Fax: ++43 (0)512 507 4960
Email: clemens.geitner@oeaw.ac.at, christoph.wiegand@oeaw.ac.at
3 International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), PO Box 6, NL-7500 AA Enschede
Telephone: ++43 (0)512 507 4949
Fax: ++31 (0)53 4874477
Email: rutzinger@itc.nl}

The delineation of supposedly homogeneous soil units for the production of highquality soil maps usually involves intensive field work and requires comprehensive expert knowledge.

There is a need for automated, timesaving and more objective methods of digital soil mapping, which are based on available data on soil forming factors and demand only little additional field work (see McBratney et al. 2003, Lagacherie et al. 2006). This study investigates the applicability of airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data to delineate entities relevant for digital soil mapping using an objectbased image analysis (OBIA) approach. Possible improvements of accuracy compared to the use of coarser relief data shall be exemplified.