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

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

3. 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

4. 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;

5. The „Procedures manual” of SOTER can be downloaded form

6. There is no fieldwork carried out !!!!

7. 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

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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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.

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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 ….

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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: )
Jordan (1: )
Uruguay (1: )
Kenya (1: )

20. Deriving soil parameters

21. Suitability studies

22. Assessing land degradation processes

23. Sensitivity studies

24. Vulnerability studies

25. Thank You for your attention!