The Soil and Terrain database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SOTERLAC), version 2.0, at scale 1:5 million, replaces version 1.02. The update includes changes in the GIS file and in the attributes database. The topographic base of the SOTERLAC map was adapted to a version congruent to the Digital Chart of the World. The SOTERLAC attribute database has changed in respect to the number of ... pedon attributes that can be stored. Contrary to the preceding, compact version, version 2.0 can accommodate all pedon attributes considered in a 1:1 million scale SOTER database. SOTERLAC forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts
The Soil and Terrain database for Argentina primary data (version 1.0), at scale 1:1 million (SOTER_Argentina), was compiled of enhanced soil information within the framework of the FAO's program Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA). Primary soil and terrain data for Argentina were obtained from the SOTERLAC database (ver. 2) at scale 1:5 million. This update includes considerable changes in the GIS file, based on the SRTM-DEM derived surface information and on INTA's digital soil map (Instituto de Suelos), and only few changes of the attributes database. SOTER forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts.
This harmonized set of soil parameter estimates for Latin America and the Caribbean was derived from a revised version of the 1:5M Soil and Terrain Database for the region (SOTERLAC, ver. 2.0) and the ISRIC-WISE soil profile database. The land surface of Latin America and the Caribbean has been characterized using 1585 unique SOTER units, corresponding with 5855 polygons. The major soils have been described using 1660 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 step-wise 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 possible confidence in the derived data. Results are presented as summary files and can be linked to the 1:5M scale SOTERLAC map in a GIS, through the unique SOTER-unit code. The secondary data set is considered appropriate for studies at the continental scale (greater than 1:5M). Correlation of soil analytical data should be done more rigorously when more detailed scientific work is considered.
