Report on the activities of the
Digital Soil Mapping Working
Group
Endre Dobos
Driving forces
„Emerging soil protection policy need timely
and reliable soil information”
„Soil information is ageing and still not
completely available”
Joint work plan of JRC/ESBN/EEA
… Digital soil functional mapping
„Define a route map to implement steps to
digital soil functional mapping”
The WG was founded at the ESBN Plenary meeting held in
Ispra, November, 2004
…to serve as an advisory board for inventorying and
monitoring soil properties and functions needed to support
the planned legislative proposal for the protection of soil
(Soil Framework Directive).
Specific goals of the WG
• To advise ESBN/JRC on Digital soil mapping activities
• To identify potential data sources, database formats for
the state of the art soil information systems of Europe
• To advise on database harmonization and database
building for traditional and digital soil survey needs
• To communicate the results and techniques of DSM
towards soil science community and data users
• To define the needs for digital soil functional mapping, its
terminology and framework to be setup.
The most recent mandates
• Update, refine the 1:1 M scale soil map.
• Digital soil information
• Soil Function information
The work has been organized
into two work meetings.
• The first meeting was held in April 7-8,
2005 in Miskolc, Hungary
– to launch the working group activities,
– to specify the concrete tasks, actions
– to define the terminology of soil functional
mapping
– to define a work plan needed to fulfill the
mandate of the WG.
The road map defined on this meeting:
• To create a state of the art report on digital soil
mapping: its tools, data needs, quality measures and
data validation techniques.
– The first draft of this report was to be ready for the second
meeting in Prague for review by the group. The final version was
to be presented to EEA and JRC by mid November.
• To develop a technical work plan with concrete
specifications of the data/model availability and needs,
estimated output data accuracy, and financial and
organizational needs to run the test and run the models.
– following the conclusions and specifications of the state of the art
DSM report and the Soil Information Working Group (SIWG)
report. This task depends on the inputs from the SIWG and to be
completed in 2006.
The second meeting was held in October
13-14, 2005, Prague.
The major goals of the meeting were:
– to finalize the State of the art DSM book chapters,
(the chapters are accessible from the website of the
Soils and waste Unit)
– to conclude the major tasks identified by the
subgroups/chapter authors and review,
– to comment and complement the SIWG report with a
proposal of DSM procedure able to support the
needs/requirements/specifications identified by the
report for the five soil threats.
– to harmonize the terminology of the major terms with
the EEA
Definitions of DSMs
Digital Soil Map
Representation of georeferenced soil database - stored in
digital form - displaying the spatial distribution of soil
types and/or soil properties (can be also a map coming
from the digitization of existing soil map/soil properties
map).
Digital Soil Mapping
A procedure using mathematical and/or statistical
techniques to produce georeferenced soil database (digital
soil maps) with the assistance of computer tools, using soil
data and auxiliary information.
Definitions of soil properties/classes
Primary soil properties/soil classes
Measured and observed data available
from original soil survey
Secondary soil properties
Data derived from primary properties
using a property inference system
Definitions of Inferences
Spatial inference
Using a soil-landscape model (set of procedure) to
derive soil properties and soil classes using soil
information and auxiliary data, known as soil-landscape
(“scorpan”) models.
Properties inference
The procedure to derive secondary soil properties
(using pedotransfer functions)
Definitions of
functions & threats
Soil functions
Ecologic and socio-economic roles of soil (as defined in
the COM179(2002)).
Soil threats
Disturbing processes from human activity leading to soil
degradation (as defined in the COM179(2002)).
Definition of DSFM
Digital (Soil-related) Functional Mapping (according to
EEA?)
Digital map displaying results coming out from scenario
testing or risk assessment (information easy to use for
practical purposes). (what-if questions..?)
Some examples of Digital Soil Functional Maps
a) A map of soil threat
- soil erosion risk
b) A map for amelioration
- lime requirement map
c) All Digital Maps representing functions of soil
…
Digital (soil-related) Functional
Mapping
• Functional maps
– A soil database (a complex document) usable in its
current form to any further application, due to its
complex description of how it was derived, what
accuracy does it have (metadata), how to interpret,
what it can be used for.
– Easy to use for practical purposes, multifunctional
• The structure of information needed to fully describe a map
for users outside of the data developers is to be developped
Link with SIWG
Digital soil mapping: The basis for digital soil functional
mapping
(Report outline)
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Introduction
Background information, rational, goals, of the DSMWG
Key concepts (glossary and the framework)
Targeted clients, potential data users, policy relevance
State of the art of DSM
Soil data and auxiliary information
DSM models
Accuracy
Visualization
Mapping soil functions and threats: some case studies
Definition of soil functions and threats
Land suitability
Modelling environmental issues
Assessing soil pollution by heavy metals
Modelling soil erosion
Pedotransfer rules in environmental monitoring
SOM
Conclusion
We need data, we need specification
Research needs
The road towards soil functional mapping
Soil function WG
Road map to the future
• Chapters to be finalized by the end of October,
2005
• Final report to be provided to JRC and EEA by
mid November, 2005
• Inputs on soil function mapping and soil threat
mapping needs, their specifications regarding to
the optimal scale and content are needed from
the Soil Information Working Group and from the
suggested Soil Threat WG. (Early 2006)
Road map to the future
• To develop a technical work plan with concrete
specifications of the data/model availability and
needs, estimated output data accuracy, and
financial and organizational needs to run the test
and run the models.
– (following the conclusions and specifications of the state of the art DSM
report and the Soil Information Working Group (SIWG) report). This task
depends on the inputs from the SIWG and to be completed in 2006.
• To test the data description protocol for
functional data usage and handling (digital
functional mapping) (2006- )
Road map to the future
• Identification of the research issues needed to
achieve the data development tasks identified by
the SIWG and the Soil Threat WG. Suggested
outline for a research call! (2006)
• Two working group meetings to be held in 2006
to achieve the goals specified above
• A Blue Print of the European Digital Spatial Soil
Inference System to be outlined (2006)
Recommendations
• A wish list of optimal soil data for soil function and threat
mapping is needed to be specified by the specialist of
these fields. These inputs are crucial for our work.
– We recommend maintaining the support of the Soil Information
Working Group with a mandate to define the optimal data needs
for surveying, delineating risk areas connected to the five
spatially linked soil threats.
– We recommend setting up a new working group on soil functions
with the mandate to define and specify the input data needs to
describe and analyze soil functions for environmental modeling,
scenario testing on the European scale.
• These two working group in cooperation with the DSM
WG can define the future road map to follow in soil data
development to support the needs of the European
Commission.
Recommendations
1. Research is needed to test and compare the
existing data and models for further use.
ESBN, JRC and EEA is asked to lobby for a
research call on soil database development on
a EU scale
2. The WG would assist with the definition of the
research needs, framework and specifications
of a future research project for DSM and data
development supporting soil protection and
related environmental issues.
3. Gather new primary data