Pilot Project Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), Namibia: Establishment of a baseline for land degradation in the region of Otjozondjupa

This data was collected to develop baselines for three Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) indicators: land use and land cover change (LUC) for the period 2001-2017, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks for 2017 and bush density for 2017 as a baseline for bush encroachment in Omusati region, Namibia.

A homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles is presented. These profiles have been extracted from the database developed at ISRIC for a project on "World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials" (WISE), as a contribution to the activities of the Global Soils Data Task Group of IGBP-DIS. The subset consists of a selection of 665 profiles originating from digital data files released by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, Lincoln), 250 profiles obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome), and 210 profiles from the reference collection of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC, Wageningen). All profiles are georeferenced and classified in the FAO-Unesco Legend whereby they can be linked to the edited and digital version of the FAO-Unesco Soil Map of the World. This data set is being released in the public domain for use by global modellers and other interested scientists. It is envisaged that the data set will be expanded by ISRIC when new, uniform soil profile data become available. Note: a) A more recent version (some 10,000 profiles) of WISE profiles is available at: http://data.isric.org/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/a351682c-330a-4995-a5a1-57ad160e621c (2009) b) For a larger compilation see the WoSIS database: http://isric.org/explore/wosis (2017)

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 Tunisia primary data (version 1.0), at scale 1:1 million (SOTER_Tunisia), was compiled of enhanced soil information within the framework of the FAO's program of Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA). A SOTER database was compiled based on the digital soil map of Tunisia. The primary soil and terrain data for Tunisia has been selected from available survey reports and publications. A SRTM-DEM was used to adjust some unit boundaries in the GIS file. 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 ICRAF-ISRIC Soil VNIR Spectral Library contains visible near infrared spectra of 4,438 soils selected from the Soil Information System (ISIS) of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC). The samples consist of all physically archived samples at ISRIC in 2004 for which soil attribute data was available. The spectra were measured at the World Agroforestry Center's (ICRAF) Soil and Plant Spectral Diagnostic Laboratory. The samples are from 58 countries spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Associated attribute data, such as geographical coordinates, horizon (depth), and physical and chemical properties, are provided in a single relational database. The purpose of the library is to provide a resource for research and applications for sensing soil quality both in the laboratory and from space.

The International Soil Carbon Network (ISCN) is a science-based network that facilitates data sharing, assembles databases, identifies gaps in data coverage, and enables spatially explicit assessments of soil carbon in context of landscape, climate, land use, and biotic variables.