Major Soil Initiatives

The first systematic soil survey of Samoa was “The soils and agriculture of Western Samoa” by Hamilton & Grange (1938). The survey was focused mainly on the Crown Estates (then known as New Zealand Trust Estates) and some plantations owned by Europeans on the northern lowlands and foothills of Upolu.
“Soils and land use of Western Samoa” by NZ Soil Bureau Survey (Wright, 1963) was a complete soil survey for both of Upolu and Savaii, with national soil maps at 1:100,000 scale and a comprehensive technical report with soil descriptions, some laboratory analysis and fertility indicators for selected soils. Soil maps of Upolu (8 sheets) at 1:40,000 scale were also compiled.
Soil taxonomy and fertility in the South Pacific (1986) – a training course in soil classification using USDA Soil Taxonomy, held in Samoa with 12 soil profiles on Upolu being fully described and with complete laboratory analyses.
Land Resource Planning Project (1989) – updated soil survey, laboratory analysis for full characterization of key soil series, land use capability assessment, established GIS capability and digitized soil maps, land use capability, and land tenure at 1:50,000 scale.
Samoan Soil Resource Interpretative Manual (Leslie, 2010) based on previous surveys, a collation of information about soils and their management.