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Prof. Pandi Zdruli

International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM)

Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy

Soil Data Availability in support of Agriculture Development and Environmental Protection

Agricultural Data Interest Group (IGAD)Paris (France), 21st to 22nd September 2015

INRA building, 147 Rue de l'Université

Soil Research Data

CIHEAM

Was established in 1962 under the auspices of OECD and the Council of Europe with original membership of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and ex-Yugoslavia.

At present CIHEAM brings together 13 member states Albania, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia in addition to France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey

Bari

Montpellier

Zaragoza

Chania

Paris

IAMB: areas of scientific excellence

Land and water resources

management

Mediterranean Organic Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture and rural development

Integrated Pest Management of Mediterranean fruit trees

RICERCA@ IAMB Main activities of CIHEAM• Training• Research• Cooperation• Knowledge Dissemination

WHAT IS SOIL? Soil is the upper part of the earth’s crust, formed by mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms. It is the interface between earth, air and water which hosts most of the biosphere.

Sparks, (2014, after Wilding and Lin)

The pedosphere represent a geo-membrane across which water and solutes, as well as energy, gases, solids, and organisms are actively exchanged with the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere to create a life-sustaining environment. Soil–water interactions create the fundamental interface between the biotic and abiotic environments and serve as a critical determinant of the state of the Earth system.

Critical zone

Soil is non-renewable in human life time

WHAT SOIL DOES?• Food and other biomass production

– Agriculture• Storage, filtering, and transformation

– Water protection• Habitat and gene pool

– Nature protection• Physical and cultural environment

for mankind

– Archeology and cultural heritage

• Source of raw materials

– Peat, Sand, Clay, etc….

EU Soil Thematic Strategy (COM(2006)231 final)

WHO NEEDS SOIL DATA ?

Source: FAO, 2015 (http://www.fao.org/resources/infographics/infographics-details/en/c/284478/)

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Healthy soils producehealthy and abundant food

Soils could sequester carbon 5 times more than the atmosphere

Only 1 % of soil microorganisms have

been identified

Streptomycin was identified in the soil biota

SLM improve productivity and

livelihoods of affected populations

Conclusion:Soils preserve and enhance ecosystem services and functionality

Zero-net land degradation

International Year of Soil 2015

Threats affecting European soilsEU Soil Thematic Strategy (COM(2006)231 final)The impact of human activities on soil

Blocking of soil functions important to the ecology of the landscape

Destruction of soil

Gradual destruction of soils

Recultivation of soil

Reduction in soil fertility

Manures and fertilisers

Sewage sludge

Gravel extraction

CompactionLand use change

Pesticides & herbicides

Destruction of soil

Changes in the structure of soils

Reduction in soil fertility

SealingDistructionof humus

Accumulation/Contamination

Contamination of soils and ground water with applied agrochemicals and atmospheric pollutants

Changes in soil composition

Adverse impacts on living organisms in the soil

Acidification

Release of toxic substances

AcidsDiffuse input of contaminants as

particulates

Persistent substances

Salinisation

The impact of human activities on soil

Blocking of soil functions important to the ecology of the landscape

Destruction of soil

Gradual destruction of soils

Recultivation of soil

Reduction in soil fertility

Manures and fertilisers

Sewage sludge

Gravel extraction

CompactionLand use change

Pesticides & herbicides

Destruction of soil

Changes in the structure of soils

Reduction in soil fertility

SealingDistructionof humus

Accumulation/Contamination

Contamination of soils and ground water with applied agrochemicals and atmospheric pollutants

Changes in soil composition

Adverse impacts on living organisms in the soil

Acidification

Release of toxic substances

AcidsDiffuse input of contaminants as

particulates

Persistent substances

Salinisation

Montanarella, 2010

HOW TO COLLECT SOIL DATA?

A full field profile description including laboratory analyses

could cost as much as3000 USD

Field profile description

HOW TO ORGANIZE AND DISPLAY SOIL DATA?Scale dependency of mapping Establish mapping unitsRegister field survey dataBuilt soil information systems

CLASSIFYING SOILSUSDA Soil Taxonomy WRB

Mediterranean Soils

Euro-Mediterranean soil map according to WRB (IUSS, 2006)

HistosolsAnthrosols and Technosols LeptosolsVertisols FluvisolsGleysolsSolonchaksSolonetzAndosolsKastanozems, Phaeozems and Umbrisols Gypsisols, Durisols and Calcisols LuvisolsArenosolsCambisolsRegosols

Source: Zdruli, 2014

SOIL DATA FOR ALL: EUROPEAN CASE

Not always the case

http://eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/data.html

SOIL DATA FOR ALL

Panagos P., Van Liedekerke M., Jones A., Montanarella L. European Soil Data Centre: Response to European policy support and public data requirements.  (2012) Land Use Policy, 29 (2), pp. 329-338, doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.07.003, 

Some data are freely available while other data are restricted due to copyright rules

One Stop Shop in Europe

SOIL DATA DEVELOPMENTS IN THE EU

The final database contains 19,967 geo-referenced samples distributed in 25 countries. The data are freely available and can be downloaded after prior registration from the data section.

LUCAS will establish a long term soil quality monitoring system in Europe

INSPIRE directive and soil data

The purpose is to link the INSPIRE infrastructure with soil data available at each MS and provide information on soil inventories (soil properties) associated with respective mapping units

Source: INSPIRE data specification on Soil–Guidelines” version 3.0rc3 as developed by the Thematic Working Group (TWG) TWG -Soil

The DIGISOIL concept of data storing and processing

The DIGISOIL project intends to integrate and improve in situ and proximal measurement technologies for the assessment of soil properties and soil degradation indicators, going from the sensing technologies to their integration and their application in (digital) soil mapping (DSM).

SOIL DATA INFORMATION IN THE USA

The National Soil Information System (NASIS) provides: pedon data, expert knowledge, and information for a variety of uses

NASIS is subdivided into:

The State Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO) and Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Data Base whose mapping scales generally range from 1:12,000 to 1:63,360 SSURGO is linked to a Map Unit Interpretations Record (MUIR) that includes over 25 physical and chemical soil properties

All data are freely available

http://www.isric.org/

ISRIC: A WORLD CENTRE FOR SOIL DATA

ISRIC: A WORLD CENTRE FOR SOIL DATA

SOIL DATA IN AFRICA

• 18,532 unique soil profile records of which 17,160 records are georeferenced

• Compiled from more than 500 data sources

• Soil analytical data are available for 15,564 profiles of which 14,197 are georeferenced

• There are complementarities with the soil attributes specified by GlobalSoilMap.net. http://africasoils.net/services/data/soil-databases/

Africa Soil Profiles Database, version 1.2

Leenaars J.G.B., A.J.M. van Oostrum and M. Ruiperez Gonzalez, 2014. Africa Soil Profiles Database, version 1.2. A compilation of geo-referenced and standardised legacy soil profile data for Sub-Saharan Africa (with dataset). ISRIC report 2014/01. Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project. ISRIC – World Soil Information, Wageningen, the Netherlands

24Photo: P. Zdruli, Capri, 2007

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CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR SOIL DATA COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION

1. Promote sustainable management of soil resources for soil protection, conservation and sustainable productivity

2. Encourage investment, technical cooperation, policy, education awareness and extension in soil

3. Promote targeted soil research and development focusing on identified gaps and priorities and synergies with related productive, environmental and social development actions

4. Enhance the quantity and quality of soil data and information: data collection (generation), analysis, validation, reporting, monitoring and integration with other disciplines

5. Harmonization of methods, measurements and indicators for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources

FINAL REMARKS• Soil data should be easily accessible, • Web based platforms must be friendly to use, • Old soil data must be replaced with new ones,

especially in Africa and developing countries, • Remote sensing technology offers great opportunities

for quick data collection, • Yet, field soil surveys are crucial for validationFinally interaction and integration between international

and national institutions on data distribution should be strengthened

Thank youpandi@iamb.it

Make life easier!