Land Information Systems
Developments for planning
the sustainable use of land
resources
by
H.J. Heineke, W. Eckelmann, A.J. Thomasson,
R.J.A. Jones, L. Montanarella, B. Buckley
(eds.)
I
F
O
N
EUROPEAN
SOIL
BUREAU
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
1998
EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU  RESEARCH REPORT NO. 4
Land Information Systems
Developments for planning the
sustainable use of land resources
by
H.J. Heineke, W. Eckelmann, A.J. Thomasson,
R.J.A. Jones, L. Montanarella, B. Buckley (eds.)
EUROPEAN
SOIL
BUREAU
1998
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUR 17729 EN
1998
LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the European Commission nor
any person acting on behalf of the Commission
is responsible for the use which might be made of
the data contained in these proceedings if these are
used without its express knowledge and consent.
The European Soil Bureau, Joint Research Centre
I-21020 ISPRA – ITALY
1998
EUR 17729 EN
In: Land Information Systems: Developments for planning the sustainable use of land resources. H.J. Heineke, W.
Eckelmann, A.J. Thomasson, R.J.A. Jones, L. Montanarella and B. Buckley (eds). European Soil Bureau Research
Report No.4, EUR 17729 EN, (1998), 546pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities,
Luxembourg.
V
Published by
The European Soil Bureau, Joint Research Centre
I-21020 ISPRA – ITALY
COVER MAPS: EXTRACTS FROM THE EUROPEAN SOIL DATABASE
V
Foreword
With an increasingly affluent population demanding more from our environment to support everyday life, it is becoming
more and more urgent to plan and introduce sustainable practices of land use. The expanded European Union now
constitutes the third most populous political grouping in the world and, in economic terms, is comparable with the
United States of America and Japan. This level of development has only been achieved through the high intensity of
agricultural and industrial activity, which, in global terms, is taking place in a relatively small area. Many of the
resulting environmental problems, traditionally confined to Europe, are now beginning to appear in less populated areas
of the world, as similar activities there intensify. In this respect we can look upon Europe as a laboratory for seeking
solutions to the problems of production, pollution, and protection of land resources.
This background together with the explosive developments in Information Technology during the past decade stimulated
the newly-constituted European Soil Bureau – ESB – based at the Joint Research Centre, Ispra (I), to propose this
international workshop on land information systems and the part these play in planning the sustainable use of land. It
was held from 20-22nd November 1996, at the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe – BGR – (Federal
Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources), Hannover, Lower Saxony (D).
The meeting was organised by a team drawn from the BGR, the Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Bodenforschung –
NLfB (Geological Survey of Lower Saxony), and the Soil Survey and Land Research Centre – SSLRC – Cranfield
University, Silsoe (UK). The ESB provided EU funds to support the running of the meeting.
The Proceedings are divided into 8 sections covering: The European Perspective on the compilation, management,
distribution and application of soil- and land-related databases; Summary and Recommendations; The National
Perspective in Europe, with contributions from all over the continent; Techniques and Technologies on the application
of new methodologies; Environmental Applications using information systems for solving practical problems in the
management of land; Land Evaluation on traditional uses of soil and land data for land suitability; Poster presentations;
and a Database Dictionary for the Soil Geographical Database of Europe.
This volume – Research Report No.4 – constitutes the fourth in a series produced by the European Soil Bureau and its
predecessor, the Soils Information Focal Point. It makes a significant contribution to the development of a Soil and Land
Information System for Europe, which is urgently required for the protection of the continent’s environment and for the
sustainable development of its land resources.
R.J.A. Jones
V
EDITORS’ NOTE
We would like to thank all the contributors for their ready responses to our queries and their tolerance of our
idiosyncrasies. Their friendly co-operation has made an otherwise onerous task a pleasure.
We would also like to thank all those people in NLfB and BGR who contributed to making the meeting in Hannover so
productive and fruitful.
Hans J. Heineke – Wolf Eckelmann – Arthur Thomasson – Bob Jones
Luca Montanarella – Barbara Buckley
2credit2_u4
V
Table of Contents
Section 1: The European Perspective
1_0
3-68
The European Soil Bureau
J. Meyer-Roux, L. Montanarella
1_1
3-10
A proposed European soil information policy
D. King, J. Meyer-Roux, A.J. Thomasson, P. Vossen
1_2
11-18
European Soil Database: information access and data distribution procedures
R.J.A. Jones, B. Buckley, M.G. Jarvis
1_3
19-32
The European Soil Information System
C. le Bas, D. King, M. Jamagne, J. Daroussin
1_4
33-42
Towards a European Soil Profile Analytical Database
H.B. Madsen, R.J.A. Jones
1_5
43-50
Elaboration of a European forest soil database for monitoring atmospheric pollution
E. Van Ranst, L. Vanmechelen, R. Groenemans
1_6
51-68
2_0
69-74
Welcome speech from Dr. Fischer, Minister of Economics, Technology and Transport
of Lower Saxony
2_0
70-71
Summary of Progress and Recommendations
R.J.A Jones, A.J. Thomasson
2_0
72-74
Section 3: The National Perspective
3_0
75-234
Development of the soil information system BORIS in Austria
N. Arzl, A. Dvorak, A. Riss, Ingrid Schreier, Sigrid Schwarz
3_1
77-90
From Soil Survey to quantitative land evaluation in Belgium
L. Hubrechts, K. Vander Poorten, M. Vanclooster
3_2
91-100
Capture, updating and evaluation of field and analytical data for Bulgarian soils
I. Kolchakov, B. Georgiev, D. Stoichev
3_3
101-106
Development of the Soil Information System for the Czech Republic
J. Kozak, J. Nìmeèek, O. Vacek
3_4
107-114
Second-generation soil maps of Denmark – a case study from Western Zealand
Ege Lau Frandsen, H. Breuning-Madsen
3_5
115-124
Development of soil information systems in the Federal Republic of Germany - status report
H.J. Heineke, W. Eckelmann
3_6
125-132
Section 2: Progress and Recommendations
xii
The FISBo BGR Soil Information System: State of the Art
G. Adler, W. Eckelmann, R. Hartwich, V. Hennings, F. Krone, W. Stolz, J. Utermann
3_7
133-140
Land information systems in Greece: past, present and future
T. Lelentjis, J. Alatas, L. Toulios, S. Floras, G. Kapetanak
3_8
141-150
A database for sustainable agriculture and environmental protection in Hungary
G. Várallyay, J. Szabó, L. Pásztor, E. Michéli
3_9
151-164
LOSIS – Lombardy soil information system for sustainable land management
L. Andreoli, S. Brenna, M. Brigatti, D. Fasolini, R. Rasio, A.Rudini, U. Zecca
3_10
165-170
The Lithuanian Soil Database for sustainable Land Use: developments and planning
Vanda V. Buivydaite
3_11
171-176
Using a soil information system to combat soil erosion from agricultural lands in Norway
Åge A. Nyborg, O. Klakegg
3_12
177-180
Creating an FAO-compatible soil map of Poland
S. Bialousz
3_13
181-186
Romanian Soil & Land Information System – an overview
3_14
C. Råu¡å, V. Vlad, I. Munteanu, S. Cârstea, M. Dumitru, R. Låcåtusu, C. Simota, Ruxandra Vintilå,
D.M. Motelicå
187-196
ROMSOTER-200: a Digital Soils and Terrain Database for Romania
3_15
I. Munteanu, C. Grigoras, Sorina Dumitru, C. Simota, Elena Dobrin, Victoria Mocanu, C. Iordachescu
197-214
The Soil Information System of Slovakia and its utilization in land evaluation
J. Hraško, J. Kobza, V. Linkeš
3_16
215-218
Land information systems for sustainable development in the UK
M.E. Proctor, P.A. Siddons, R.J.A. Jones, P.H. Bellamy, C.A. Keay
3_17
219-234
Section 4: Techniques and Technologies
4_0
235-334
An integrated agrometeorological forecasting system for Bulgaria
G. Georgiev
4_1
237-242
Three-dimensional Soil Prediction: Fuzzy Rules and a GIS
M. Ameskamp, J. Lamp
4_2
243-250
Architecture of the NIBIS Soil Information System of Lower Saxony, Germany
H.-U. Bartsch
4_3
251-258
Multivariate distance methods for geomorphographic relief classification
K. Friedrich
4_4
259-266
Baden-Württemberg pedological information system – principal aspects of system conception
C. Fritz, F. Waldmann
4_5
267-272
Preparation of MMK documentary Form A for practical applications
K.-J. Hartmann, G. Günther, D. Bothmer
4_6
273-278
xii
Definition and Use of Functional Soil Horizons as Keys in Spatial Land Information Systems
J. Lamp, M. Ameskamp
4_7
279-292
Integrating GIS and process models for land resource planning
A.K. Bregt, J. Bulens
4_8
293-304
Linking digital soil maps and databases to simulation models: functional soil map aggregation in The
Netherlands
4_9
P.A. Finke, W.J.M. de Groot, M.J.D. Hack-ten Broeke, Y. van Randen, F. de Vries, J.H. Oude Voshaar
305-320
Neural computing approach to soil monitoring systems in Poland
T. Stuczyñski, J. Pauly, H. Terelak
4_10
321-328
The Romanian PROFISOL Database
A. Canarache, V. Vlad, I. Munteanu, N. Florea, Anisoara Rasnoveanu, Daniela Popa
4_11
329-334
Section 5: Environmental Applications
5_0
335-418
Vulnerability of main Bulgarian soils to acidification
D.A. Stoichev, I.H. Kolchakov
5_1
337-342
The potential risk of water and wind erosion on the soils of Czech Republic
M. Janecek
5_2
342-352
SOPIC: A soil information tool for research and environmental planning
K. Friedrich, P. Stock, Th. Vorderbrügge
5_3
353-360
Pedo-regional representativeness of site-specific data from small-scale soil maps
J. Utermann, G. Adler, O. Düwel, R. Hartwich, R. Hindel
5_4
361-372
A Land Information System for the application of sewage sludge in Greece
S.P. Theocharopoulos, A. Trikatsoula, D.A. Davidson, F. Tsouloucha, E. Vavoulidou
5_5
373-380
Esplan – software for engineering assessment of soils in Italy
D. Magaldi, G.L. Ricciardulli
5_6
381-392
Appraising levels of soil contamination and pollution with heavy metals
R. Lacatusu
5_7
393-402
Spatial Information Systems for Environmental Impact Assessment in the UK
M.J.D. Dufour, S.H. Hallett, R.J.A. Jones, J.W. Gibbons
5_8
403-418
Section 6: Land Evaluation
6_0
419-458
Root zone capacity maps for Denmark based on the EU soil profile analytical database
N.H. Jensen, Th. Balstrøm, H. Breuning-Madsen
6_1
421-434
A soil information system as a tool for conservation and sustainable land use
A. Hagemeister, P. Meier, TH. Vorderbrügge
6_2
435-454
Using soil data to predict potential native woodland distribution in Scotland
W. Towers, D. C. Macmillan, S. Macleay
6_3
455-458
xii
Section 7: Posters
7_0
459-496
A systematic calibration and validation procedure for a soil-crop model
S. Ducheyne, M. Vanclooster, J. Feyen
7_1
461-468
A database of measured soil hydraulic properties for Europe (HYPRES)
A. Lilly, J.H.M. Wösten
7_2
469-470
Information on agricultural soils in Finland
J. Sippola
7_3
471-472
MMK characterisation and classification of site conditions in the new federal states of Germany
D. Deumlich, J. Thiere, Monika Frielinghaus, L. Voelker
7_4
473-478
Geoscientific maps of Baden-Württemberg developed by GIS applications
C. Fritz, R. Schweizer, J. Schuff, G. Sokol
7_5
479-480
A spatial information database for integrating soil, land use and relief
E.D. Spies, S. Broschinski, K. Friedrich, Th. Vorderbrügge
7_6
481-488
Pedotransfer functions for Portuguese soils
M. da Conceição Gonçalves
7_7
489-492
Characterizing vulnerability to acidification using the buffering capacity of soils
I. Gavriluta, Z. Borlan
7_8
493-496
Section 8: Appendices
8_0
497-552
Attribute coding: Database Dictionary of the Soils Geographical Database of Europe at scale
1:1,000,000 - (Version: 3.21, 30/10/1996)
8_1
List of participants
8_2
xii
499-538
539-546
EUROPEAN SOIL BUREAU  RESEARCH REPORT NO. 4
xii