The Soil and Terrain database for Southern Africa (SOTERSAF version 1.0), at scale 1:2 million, include the spatial and soil attribute data for 8 Southern African countries. The SOTERSAF database was compiled using the existing soil information and following the SOTER methodology of the 1:1 million scale with respect to pedon attribute data storage. The data (SOTERSAF) were compiled in the framework of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources in SOTER.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts.
This data was collected to develop baselines for three Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) indicators: land use and land cover change (LUC) for the period 2001-2017, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks for 2017 and bush density for 2017 as a baseline for bush encroachment in Omusati region, Namibia.
These datasets were prepared within the scope of the Holisoils (Holistic management practices, modelling & monitoring for European Forest Soils) project (EU Horizon 2020 Grant agreement ID: 101000289). The soil property maps were generated at a resolution of 100m, and created with LUCAS and other continental level data using digital soil mapping. Users should assess the local ''predictive'' accuracy of the maps prior to using them for making recommendations at local (or field) level. The datasets contain the following soil properties (for top soil (0-30 cm) depth): Soil organic carbon content, pH in water, Total nitrogen, Bulk density (oven dry), Coarse fragments (volumetric), Soil inorganic carbon content, Sand, Silt, Clay, as well as Soil organic carbon stocks, Soil inorganic carbon stocks and Soil nitrogen stocks. Measurement units and web links for the above properties can be found be below. The maps are provided as Web Map Service (WMS) layers which load dynamically in a GIS software. For instructions see: https://www.isric.org/instruction-wms .
Cation exchange capacity (CEC measured in 1 M NH4OAc buffered at pH 7) in cmolc/kg (fine earth) at 6 standard depth intervals predicted using the Africa Soil Profiles Database (AfSP) v1.2. For details see published paper here below (Hengl T., G.B.M. Heuvelink, B. Kempen, J.G.B. Leenaars, M.G. Walsh, K.D. Shepherd, A. Sila, R.A. MacMillan, J. Mendes de Jesus, L.T. Desta, J.E. Tondoh, 2015. Mapping Soil Properties of Africa at 250 m Resolution: Random Forests Significantly Improve Current Predictions. PLoS ONE 10(6)
Plant available water holding capacity (v%) of the soil fine earth fraction, with field capacity defined at h=200 cm or pF 2.3, aggregated over rootable depth and the top 30 cm, mapped at 1km resolution
This harmonized set of soil parameter estimates for Central and Eastern Europe has been derived from a revised version of the 1:2.5M Soil and Terrain (SOTER) Database for Central and Eastern Europe (SOVEUR ver. 1.1) and the ISRIC-WISE soil profile database. The land surface of Central and Eastern Europe, West of the Ural Mountains, has been characterized using 8361 unique maps or SOTER units. The corresponding GIS files include some 9500 mapped polygons, including miscellaneous units. The major soils have been described using 662 profiles, selected by national soil experts as being representative for these units. The associated soil analytical data have been derived from soil survey reports. These sources seldom hold all the physical and chemical attributes ideally required by SOTER. Gaps in the measured soil profile data have been filled using a procedure that uses taxotransfer rules, based on about 9600 soil profiles held in the WISE database, complemented with expert-rules. Parameter estimates are presented by soil unit for fixed depth intervals of 0.2 m to 1 m depth for: organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH(H2O), CECsoil, CECclay, base saturation, effective CEC, aluminium saturation, CaCO3 content, gypsum content, exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), electrical conductivity of saturated paste (ECe), bulk density, content of sand, silt and clay, content of coarse fragments (less than 2 mm), and available water capacity (-33 to -1500 kPa). These attributes have been identified as being useful for agro-ecological zoning, land evaluation, crop growth simulation, modelling of soil carbon stocks and change, and analyses of global environmental change. The current parameter estimates should be seen as best estimates based on the current selection of soil profiles and data clustering procedure; taxotransfer rules have been flagged to provide an indication of the confidence in the derived data. Results are presented as summary files and can be linked to the 1:2.5M scale SOVEUR map in a GIS, through the unique SOTER-unit code. The secondary data are considered appropriate for studies at the continental scale (greater than 1:2.5 million); correlation of soil analytical data should be done more rigorously when more detailed scientific work is considered.
Gravimetric content of coarse fragments* in the whole soil (g/100g). WoSIS_latest is a 'dynamic dataset' that contains the most recent complement of quality-assessed and standardised soil data served from WoSIS (ISRIC World Soil Information Service). The source data were shared by a wide range of data providers (see: https://www.isric.org/explore/wosis/wosis-contributing-institutions-and-experts). Being dynamic, the contents of 'wosis_latest' will change once new point data are acquired, cleansed and standardised, additional soil properties are considered, and/or when possible amendments are required. Static snapshots of 'wosis_latest' are released at irregular intervals for consistent citation purposes and to discuss methodological changes; the last snapshot is available at https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4735-2024. For general information about WoSIS please see the FAQ-page at https://www.isric.org/explore/wosis/faq-wosis.
Bulk density of the whole soil including coarse fragments, air dried (kg/dm³). WoSIS_latest is a 'dynamic dataset' that contains the most recent complement of quality-assessed and standardised soil data served from WoSIS (ISRIC World Soil Information Service). The source data were shared by a wide range of data providers (see: https://www.isric.org/explore/wosis/wosis-contributing-institutions-and-experts). Being dynamic, the contents of 'wosis_latest' will change once new point data are acquired, cleansed and standardised, additional soil properties are considered, and/or when possible amendments are required. Static snapshots of 'wosis_latest' are released at irregular intervals for consistent citation purposes and to discuss methodological changes; the last snapshot is available at https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4735-2024. For general information about WoSIS please see the FAQ-page at https://www.isric.org/explore/wosis/faq-wosis.
Volumetric Water Content at 33kPa in 10-3 cm3cm-3 (0.1 v% or 1 mm/m) at 6 standard depths. Predictions were derived using a digital soil mapping approach based on Quantile Random Forest, drawing on a global compilation of soil profile data and environmental layers. This map is the result of resampling the mean SoilGrids 250 m predictions (Turek et al. 2021) for each 1000 m cell.
Soil organic carbon content (fine earth fraction) in dg/kg at 6 standard depths. Predictions were derived using a digital soil mapping approach based on Quantile Random Forest, drawing on a global compilation of soil profile data and environmental layers. This map is the result of resampling the mean SoilGrids 250 m predictions (Poggio et al. 2021) for each 5000 m cell.
