SOTER Soils and Terrain Digital Database Endre Dobos University of Miskolc Dept. of Physical Geography and Environmental Sciences

FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World (1:5.000.000) The history… FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World (1:5.000.000) Compiled between 1971-1981 1986: ISSS (IUSS) initiated a project to create a 1:1 million scale soil and terrain database

SOTER is a methodology for storing and handling soils and terrain data What is SOTER? Rational: Need for better, consistent and comprehensive soil information Its goals are: to establish a World Soil and Terrain database to provide the necessary data needed for mapping and monitoring global changes, and for regional agricultural and environmental policy makers SOTER is a methodology for storing and handling soils and terrain data

The potential uses of small scale soil databases rational use and management of natural resources - optimization, rationalization and regionalization of land use, cropping pattern; - evaluation, modeling, monitoring and forecast of environmental hazards for their prevention or control; - provision of data for retrospective or predicting models and early warning systems; - prevention, elimination or moderation of soil degradation processes (water and wind erosion, acidification, salinization-alkalization, soil structure destruction, compaction, biological degradation, unfavorable changes in moisture and nutrient regimes); - inventory of environmental "hot spots" (environmentally sensitive, valuable, protected ecosystems and their land-sites, highly polluted areas with susceptible soils); - evaluation, mapping and monitoring of critical loads for various ecosystems;

The „Procedures manual” of SOTER can be downloaded form http://www.isric.nl/Docs/Soterep.PDF

There is no fieldwork carried out !!!!

The HunSOTER database Brown Forest Soils Stony Soils Blown sand Humous Sandy Soils Rendzina and Erubase Soils Ramann-type Brown Forest Soils Sandy Forest Soil Chernozem-Brown Forest Soils Chernozem Soils Chernozem-Meadow Soils Salt-effected Soils Meadow and Peaty Soils Alluvial Soils

The SOTER mapping approach The SOTER has a three level hierarchical structure

SOTER Unit level this level represents the geometric basis of the database differentiating criterias are the physiography and the lithology The term physiography is used in this context as the description of the landforms of the Earth's surface and based on the dominant gradient of the slopes and their relief intensity in combination with the dissection of the area and the hypsometric grouping.

Non-spatial attributes of the terrain unit Major landform Regional slope Hypsometry Dissection General lithology Permanent water surface SOTER unit ID Year of data collection Map ID Min. elevation Max. elevation Slope gradient Relief intensity

Terrain component level This level has no entry into the geometric database - it stays in the attribute table only. Terrain components are the areas within each terrain unit with a particular (pattern of ) surface form, slope, mesorelief in areas covered by unconsolidated material, texture of parent material.

Non-spatial attributes of the terrain component Terrain component data Terrain component data ID. Dominant slope Lenght of slope Form of slope Local surface form Average height Surface lithology Texture group of the non-consolidated parent material Depth to bedrock Surface drainage Depth to groundwater Frequency of flooding Duration of flooding Start of flooding Terrain Component SOTER Unit ID Terrain componenet number Proportion of SOTER Unit Terrain component data ID

Soil component level This is the level, where the soils of the terrain components are to be described. SOTER polygons delineate soil associations. Each of the soils within the association represent a soil component. Each soil component has to have at least one representative soil profile database attached to it, which can provide the variables describing the physical and chemical properties, and the horizon designations for the given soil.

Non-spatial attributes of the soil component level Profile Identification and locational data… Drainage Infiltration rate Surface organic matter Classifcations Soil component SOTER Unit ID. Terrain compponent number Soil component number Proportion of SOTER Unit Profile ID. Number of reference profiles Position in terrain component Surface rockiness Surface stoniness Types of erosion/deposition Area affected Degree of erosion Sensitivity to capping Rootabel depth Relation with other soil components Horizon ID. Diagnostic horizon and property Depth Distinctness of transition Structure Particle size classes Hydraulic conductivity, infiltration rate pH Soluble Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, SO4, HCO3, CO3 Clay mineralogy ….

Other environmental data incorporated into SOTER Land cover data Land use SOTER Unit ID. Date of observation Land use code Proportion of SOTER unit Vegetation Vegetation code Hierarchical structure of classes. Vegetation Land use Order Group System . Agriculture, A Annual field cropping, AA Perennial field cropping, AP Non-irrigated, AP1 Irrigated, AP2 Tree and schrub cropping, AT

Other environmental data incorporated into SOTER Climate Monthly averages of rainfall, temperature, radiation, sunshine, humidity, wind, evaporation, evapotransporation, occurrence of adverse weather events Point data, not directly linked to the SOTER unit Climate station Climate data Data sources Climate station ID. Climate station ID Source ID Climate station name Kind of data Source name Latitude Source ID. Longitude First year Altitude Last year Years of record January … December Annual

Existing geographic coverage Continental scale: Latin America and the Caribbean (1: 5 million) Central and Eastern Europe (1:2.5 million) National scale: Hungary (1: 500.000) Jordan (1: 500.000) Uruguay (1: 1.000.000) Kenya (1: 1.000.000)

Deriving soil parameters

Suitability studies

Assessing land degradation processes

Sensitivity studies

Vulnerability studies

Thank You for your attention!