Soil and Terrain Database for Central Africa (SOTERCAF)

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.

The Soil and Terrain database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SOTERLAC), version 2.0, at scale 1:5 million, replaces version 1.02. The update includes changes in the GIS file and in the attributes database. The topographic base of the SOTERLAC map was adapted to a version congruent to the Digital Chart of the World. The SOTERLAC attribute database has changed in respect to the number of ... pedon attributes that can be stored. Contrary to the preceding, compact version, version 2.0 can accommodate all pedon attributes considered in a 1:1 million scale SOTER database. SOTERLAC forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts

This harmonized set of soil parameter estimates for Central Africa, comprising Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, was derived from the Soil and Terrain Database for Central Africa (SOTERCAF ver. 1.0) and the ISRIC-WISE soil profile database, using standardized taxonomy-based pedotransfer (taxotransfer) procedures. The land surface of Central Africa, comprising some 2.4 million km2, has been characterized using 244 unique SOTER units, corresponding with 504 polygons. Each SOTER unit may consist of up to 6 soil components; each of these has been characterized by a representative profile. The main soil units mapped for the region have been characterized using 167 real profiles, selected by soil experts as being regionally representative for these units. The associated soil analytical data have been derived from soil survey reports. Gaps in the measured soil data have been filled using a scheme of using a step-wise procedure that uses taxotransfer rules. These rules were developed using some 5672 soil profiles, held in the ISRIC-WISE database, having similar FAO soil unit names as those reported in the primary SOTERCAF database. Parameter estimates are presented by soil unit for fixed depth intervals of 0.2 m to 1 m depth for: organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratio, pH(H2O), CECsoil, CECclay, base saturation, effective CEC, aluminium saturation, CaCO3 content, gypsum content, exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), electrical conductivity of saturated paste (ECe), bulk density, content of sand, silt and clay, content of coarse fragments (less than 2 mm), and available water capacity (-33 kPa to -1.5 MPa). These attributes have been identified as being useful for agro-ecological zoning, land evaluation, crop growth simulation, modelling of soil carbon stocks and change, and analyses of global environmental change. The current parameter estimates should be seen as best estimates based on the current selection of soil profiles and data clustering procedure. Taxotransfer rules have been flagged to provide an indication of the possible confidence in the derived data.

The Soil and Terrain database for Malawi (version 1.0), at scale 1:1 million, was compiled based on the soil map of Malawi at scale 1:250,000 (compiled by the Land Resources Evaluation Project) that was complemented with soil boundary information from the provisional soil map at scale 1:1 million. The 90m SRTM-DEM was used to define the various landform types of the SOTER units and also to adjust their boundaries. The SOTER map units were attributed with soil information obtained from the Africa Soil Profiles Database. The SOTER compilation followed the methodology described in the SOTER Procedures Manual Version 2. SOTER forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts. DOI for dataset (submitted): 10.17027/isric.wdcsoils.20160002

The Soil and Terrain database for South Africa primary data (version 1.0), at scale 1:1 million (SOTER_South_Africa), was compiled of enhanced soil information within the framework of the FAO's program Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA). Primary soil and terrain data for South Africa were obtained from the SOTERSAF database (ver. 1) at scale 1:2 million. This version of SOTER_South_Africa includes some changes in the GIS file, based on the SRTM-DEM derived data and a changes of the attributes database. SOTER forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts.

The Soil and Terrain database for Nepal primary data (version 1.0), at scale 1:1 million (SOTER_Nepal). SOTER_Nepal is generalized from the original Soils and Terrain database of Nepal at scale 1:50,000 compiled by FAO and Nepal's Survey Dept. The SOTER_Nepal database provides generalized information on landform and soil properties at a scale 1:1 million. It consists of 17 SOTER units, ... characterized by 56 representative and four synthetic profiles for which there are no measured soil data. The SOTER database includes also attribute data of 99 profiles initially selected as references to soil components that have already a representative profile. SOTER forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC and FAO to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts