Soil temperature maps depict the average temperature of the surface layer for a specified depth range (e.g., 0–10 cm), using a color gradient to visually represent variations, as indicated by the accompanying color bar. These maps aggregate soil conditions over larger areas, meaning they do not reflect the specific conditions of a particular location, forest, or field. However, they are useful for making regional comparisons and identifying temperature gradients.
The soil temperature itself is illustrated with a brown line, surrounded by shaded representations of the same color to indicate the possible minimum and maximum temperatures within that range.