Soil surveys in Peninsular Malaysia started in the middle of the 1950’s. The primary purpose of soil survey is to map the distribution and the extent of soil types or land units that are present in a particular area. Over the last fifty years of soil surveying, soil mapping procedure, methodology and soil classification have undergone many changes in line with significant progress made in the field of pedology and soil classification both in the local and international scenes. These progresses were in line with an increase in soil information and a better understanding of the soil, and in accordance with the development needs of the nation. Soil classification, for instance has evolved from a mere placement of soils according to parent materials (Paramananthan, 1978) to a hierarchical classification which is in conformity with internationally accepted systems (Lim et al., 1996).

Soils in Malaysia are classified according to the USDA Soil Taxonomy. By using the hierarchical structure in this system, the soil is classified to the lowest level and given a soil series name. The soil series is the basic mapping unit used in soil mapping in Peninsular Malaysia. Non-soil units are classified as miscellaneous units. The FAO-UNESCO Legend is also used to classify soil maps in Peninsular Malaysia. This information is provided for readers who are more familiar with this system.

In Malaysia, the three major types of soil survey :(i) Schematic Reconnaissance Survey (ii) Semi-detailed Survey and (iii) Detailed Survey. The major difference between these three types of soil surveys is the intensity of mapping as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Types of Soil Survey in Malaysia

A Schematic Reconnaissance Soil Survey is the first kind of survey had been carried out usually for a region or state, to identify potential land for agricultural development. It was started in the early 1950’s and provided planners with useful information on the location, extent, distribution and availability of land, which could be used for agricultural development. These surveys were completed in 1967 and the Reconnaissance Soil Map of Peninsular Malaysia at a scale of 1:500,000 was published a year later in 1968. (This map was further converted into raster data and published map in 2001).

Once the potential agricultural land had been identified, semi-detailed soil surveys were carried out on such land to obtain more soil information for project planning and implementation. Semi-detailed soil information is required for the planning, identification and implementation of agricultural projects which involve the choice, extent and location of the agricultural crops/enterprises.

Once the potential agricultural land had been identified, semi-detailed soil surveys were carried out on such land to obtain more soil information for project planning and implementation. Semi-detailed soil information is required for the planning, identification and implementation of agricultural projects which involve the choice, extent and location of the agricultural crops/enterprises.