Africa Soil Profiles Database, version 1.0

The Africa Soil Profiles Database, Version 1.1, is compiled by ISRIC - World Soil Information (World Data Center for Soils) as a project activity for the Globally integrated- Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project (www.africasoils.net/data/legacyprofile). It replaces version 1.0. The Africa Soil Profiles Database is a compilation of georeferenced and standardised legacy soil profile data for Sub-Saharan Africa. Version 1.1 (March 2013) identifies 16,711 unique soil profiles inventoried from a wide variety of data sources and includes profile site and layer attribute data. Soil analytical data are available for 13,835 profiles of which 12,683 are georeferenced, including the attributes as specified by GlobalSoilMap.net. Soil attribute values are standardized according to SOTER conventions and are validated according to routine rules. Odd values are flagged. The degree of validation, and associated reliability of the data, varies because reference soil profile data, that are previously and thoroughly validated, are compiled together with non-reference soil profile data of lesser inherent representativeness.

The Africa Soil Profiles Database, Version 1.2, is compiled by ISRIC - World Soil Information (World Data Center for Soils) as a project activity for the Globally integrated- Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project. It replaces version 1.1. The Africa Soil Profiles Database is a compilation of georeferenced and standardised legacy soil profile data for Sub-Saharan Africa. Version 1.2 (November 2014) identifies 18,532 unique soil profiles inventoried from a wide variety of data sources and includes profile site and layer attribute data. Soil analytical data are available for 15,564 profiles of which 14,197 are georeferenced, including the attributes as specified by the Global Soil Map project. Soil attribute values are standardized according to SOTER conventions and are validated according to routine rules. Odd values are flagged. The degree of validation, and associated reliability of the data, varies because reference soil profile data, that are previously and thoroughly validated, are compiled together with non-reference soil profile data of lesser inherent representativeness.

Version 3.1 of the ISRIC-WISE database (WISE3) was compiled from a wide range of soil profile data collected by many soil professionals worldwide. All profiles have been harmonized with respect to the original Legend (1974) and Revised Legend (1988) of FAO-Unesco. Thereby, the primary soil data ─ and any secondary data derived from them ─ can be linked using GIS to the spatial units of the digitized Soil Map of the World as well as more recent digital Soil and Terrain (SOTER) databases through the soil legend code. WISE3 holds selected attribute data for some 10,250 soil profiles, with some 47,800 horizons, from 149 countries. Individual profiles have been sampled, described, and analyzed according to methods and standards in use in the originating countries. There is no uniform set of properties for which all profiles have analytical data, generally because only selected measurements were planned during the original surveys. Methods used for laboratory determinations of specific soil properties vary between laboratories and over time; sometimes, results for the same property cannot be compared directly. WISE3 will inevitably include gaps, being a compilation of legacy soil data derived from traditional soil survey, which can be of a taxonomic, geographic, and soil analytical nature. As a result, the amount of data available for modelling is sometimes much less than expected. Adroit use of the data, however, will permit a wide range of agricultural and environmental applications at a global and continental scale (1:500 000 and broader). Preferred citation: Batjes NH 2009. Harmonized soil profile data for applications at global and continental scales: updates to the WISE database. Soil Use and Management 5:124–127, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2009.00202.x

The Soil and Terrain database for Southern Africa (SOTERSAF version 1.0), at scale 1:2 million, include the spatial and soil attribute data for 8 Southern African countries. The SOTERSAF database was compiled using the existing soil information and following the SOTER methodology of the 1:1 million scale with respect to pedon attribute data storage. The data (SOTERSAF) were compiled in the framework of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources in SOTER.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts.

Textural class (USDA) of the soil fine earth fraction, aggregated over rootable depth and the top 30 cm, mapped at 1km resolution

Soil pH x 10 in H2O at 6 standard depths (to convert to pH values divide by 10) predicted using two sets of Africa soil profiles data. Measurement units: NA. For details see published paper here below (Hengl T., G.B.M. Heuvelink, B. Kempen, J.G.B. Leenaars, M.G. Walsh, K.D. Shepherd, A. Sila, R.A. MacMillan, J. Mendes de Jesus, L.T. Desta, J.E. Tondoh, 2015. Mapping Soil Properties of Africa at 250 m Resolution: Random Forests Significantly Improve Current Predictions. PLoS ONE 10(6)