Documents

Digital Soil Mapping as a support to production of functional maps Digital Soil Mapping as a support to production of functional maps. EUR 22123 EN, 68 pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxemburg. Dobos, E., Carré, F., Hengl, T., Reuter, H.I., Tóth, G. (2006) Download report: (Size: 5.5 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Soil Erosion in the Alpine Area: Risk Assessment and Climate Change. Bosco C, Rusco E, Montanarella L, Panagos P. Soil Erosion in the Alpine Area: Risk Assessment and Climate Change. Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali 85; 2009. p. 117-123 Objective of the research is to define the magnitude of the Actual Soil Erosion Risk in the alpine area and linked it with a perspective of medium long terms in relation to climate change. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was applied to the whole alpine space. It allowed to produce, with a spatial resolution of 100 m, the map of actual soil erosion and two further maps defining soil erosion rates in IPCC A2 and B2 scenarios. This analysis was carried out by means of the dataset the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) of Trieste made us available. It provides daily rainfall values for the years 1960 - 1990 and for the IPCC A2 and B2 scenario 2070 - 2100. From a comparison between actual erosion and soil losses in A2 and B2 scenarios it comes out that our model does not show relevant raises in erosion rates. Download the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Implementazione a livello regionale della proposta di Direttiva quadro sui suoli in Europa This report provides an example of the implementation of the proposal of the Soil Framework Directive at regional scale. The authors analysed the complex process as defined in the proposal for the Soil Framework Directive (COM (2006) 232) from the European Commission to the Council and European Parliament. Furthermore the implementation scheme of the proposed Directive has been followed from the definition of the soil erosion risk assessment to the reporting activity to the European Commission. In addition, an overview of the actual policy framework for the soil protection measures is given. The authors underline some crucial steps in the implementation of the Directive with particular attention to the common criteria and the need for soil monitoring data for the reporting activity to European Commission. Author(s): Ezio Rusco, Luca Montanarella, Mauro Tiberi, Leonardo Rossini, Paolo Ricci, Giovanni Ciabocco, Alessandra Budini, Cristina Bernacconi, EUR 22953 IT – Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2007 – 61 pp. Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593. Download report: (Size: 6.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 11/10/2010

Bioindicatori per valutare la qualità dei suoli di alcuni parchi della città di Roma Il presente studio è stato effettuato alfine di stimare parte della qualità ambientale in alcuni parchi della città di Roma. Per tale indagine sono stati utilizzati muschi, suoli superficiali raccolti nei parchi di Villa Borghese, Villa Ada e Villa Doria Pamphili. Queste aree sono state scelte perché adiacenti a strade ad alto traffico veicolare. Complessivamente sono state approntate 11 stazioni di prelievo. R. M. Cenci, D. Dabergami, E. Beccaloni, G. Ziemacki, A. Benedetti, L. Pompili, A. S. Mellina, M. Bianchi EUR 23567 IT, Catalogue number LB-NA-23567-IT-C, ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN: 978-92-79-10648-4 Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 2008. Download report: (Size: 1 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Research needs in support of the European thematic strategy for soil protection (Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 23, No. 10–11, 2004) Winfried E.H. Blum, Jurgen Busing, Luca Montanarella. © 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd. The conclusion that soil research should be integrated into comprehensive research areas (e.g., including water and sediments) in order to manage natural resources in Europe. Look for the research paper: Elsevier Publisher

Report on landslide mapping concepts and methods for landslide risk management in Europe. Landslide inventories and susceptibility and hazard maps are key tools for land use planning and management, civil protection plans, civil engineering works, and risk reduction programmes. Their importance helps understanding why approximately one sixth of all contributions to the Second World Landslide Forum were related to recent advances in these topics. This volume presents the state of the art on landslide inventory and susceptibility and hazard zoning. It contains experiences, methods and techniques applied in different physiographic, geological and climate settings of the world and for different types of landslides, from site-specific investigations to global scale analysis Access the paper Last Update: 14/10/2014

Mapping Services in the European Soil Portal Panagos, P., 2006. Mapping Services in the European Soil Portal Geo: International , Sept 2006 Volume 5 · Issue 8: 42-45 Online information systems are providing the valuable link between Europeans and the ground. Learn more about the soil. Look for the article: GeoConnexion: Defence and Geo-Intelligence

Distribution of Organic Carbon in Soil Profile Data. Soil organic carbon (SOC) content has been estimated at pan-European scale for the soil layer from 0 to a depth of 30 cm. The methodology used to generate the data layer relied on a combination of a pedo-transfer rule (PTR) and pedo-transfer functions (PTF). The PTR has been developed based on PTR No. 21 of the PTR database of the Soil Geographic Database of Eurasia (SGDBE). The original conditions of the rule system have been revised and amended to accommodate organic soils and peat. The revised PTR for topsoil SOC content comprises 120 ordered conditions of combinations of 5 soil and environmental parameters with an output to one of 6 classes of SOC content. Author(s): R. Hiederer, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009 – 126 pp. EUR 23980 EN, ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-13352-7, DOI 10.2788/33102 Download report: (Size: 3 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 18/09/2009

Carbon Sink Enhancement in Soils of Europe: Data, Modeling, Verification The results on ‘Data and Database Strategy’ of the Integrated Sink Enhancement Assessment (INSEA) project of the 6th Framework Programme are presented. The collection of papers include a wide range of studies carried out in the EU: observation of available data sources on soils; the organic carbon content in the top soil and its validation; field verification of the changes in the soil organic carbon; application of the field-scale model EPIC. Author(s): Eds. Vladimir Stolbovoy, Luca Montanarella and Panos Panagos, 2007. Carbon Sink Enhancement in Soils of Europe: Data, Modeling, Verification. EUR 23037 EN, European Commission, Ispra, Italy, 183pp. ISBN 978-92-79-07691-6 Download report: (Size: 6.4 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Soil Quality and Sustainability Evaluation - An integrated approach to support soil-related policies of the European Union. This report presents an integrated approach of soil quality and sustainability evaluation. Interactions of the soil and land use systems are summarized from the perspective of the implication of soil related policies in the European Union. EUR 22721 EN. 40 pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. (2007), ISBN 978-92-79-05250-7 Tóth, G., Stolbovoy, V. and Montanarella, L. Download report: (Size: 1 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Estimating organic carbon in the soils of Europe for policy support. Jones, R. J. A.; Hiederer, R.; Rusco, E.; Montanarella, L. (2005). Estimating organic carbon in the soils of Europe for policy support. European Journal of Soil Science 56, 655-671 . Access the research paper: European Journal of Soil Science

Il Suolo della Provincia di Pavia (Volume II) Valutazione della concentrazione di composti organici ed inorganici persistenti attraverso lo sviluppo di una rete di monitoraggio del suolo. This document is the second Volume of the Report "Il Suolo della Provincia di Pavia Volume I" (No 33). EUR22132 (Volume II) IT, 86pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg (2007). Roberto M. Cenci and Fabrizio Sena. Download report: (Size: 7.7 MB) Preview FrontPage :

ENVASSO: ENVironmental ASsessment of Soil for mOnitoring. The project's main objective was to define and document a soil monitoring system for implementation in support of a Soil Framework Directive, aimed at protecting soil in the EU. The final reports from the ENVASSO project can be downloaded through the following links: Volume I identifies 290 potential indicators relating to 188 key issues for nine threats to soil identified in the Commission's Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection. Volume IIa identifies the existing soil inventory and monitoring systems in the EU Member States and evaluates the extent to which existing soil monitoring networks adequately represent European soil typological units, land use/cover, specific soil criteria - such as soil organic carbon, bulk density, heavy metal contents - and existing spatial assessments of threats to soil such as soil erosion, compaction and desertification. Volume IIb is a Survey of National Soil Monitoring Networks, containing comprehensive fact sheets listing for each national network, its purpose, the sampling strategy adopted, the analytical methods used and the number of monitoring sites. Volume III reviews user-needs for soil information and briefly describes existing soil information systems in a selection of Member States. Volume IVa summarises the results of testing 22 indicator procedures in 28 Pilot Areas in the Member Sates. (Oct 2009) Volume IVb contains 28 Pilot Area study reports that adhere to a standard reporting template to aid comparison and evaluation. They represent a wide range of soil-landscapes from the north to the south of Europe........ Volume V describes the procedures and protocols needed for harmonised soil monitoring in Europe which have been modified following the extensive testing of 22 indicators in 28 Pilot Areas of EU Member States reported in Volume IV. Volume VI summarises the results presented in the preceding volumes (I-V) and concludes with a proposed approach to monitoring soil conditions in Europe. Last Update: 30/10/2009

Soil Profile Analytical Database for Europe (SPADE): Reconstruction and Validation of the Measured Data (SPADE/M). Hiederer, R., R.J.A. Jones and J. Daroussin (2006). Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(1). p. 71-85. The Soil Profile Analytical Database of Europe of Measured profiles (SPADE/M) was created to provide a common structure for storing harmonized information on typical soil profile properties of European soils. Keywords: soil properties, soil profile data, database design. Access the paper

Derivation methods of soil screening values in Europe. A review and evaluation of national procedures towards harmonisation Soil Screening Values (SVs) are quality standards that are used to regulate contaminated sites. Derivation methods of SVs have scientific and political bases; they differ from country to country, and SVs numerical values vary consequently. In relation to the common environmental policies in Europe, this variability has raised concern among both regulators and risk assessors. Carlon, C. (Ed.) (2007). Derivation methods of soil screening values in Europe. A review and evaluation of national procedures towards harmonization. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, EUR 22805-EN, 306 pp. ISBN: 978-92-79-05238-5, ISSN: 1018-5593 Download report: (Size: 2.2 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Characterisation of productivity limitation of salt-affected lands in different climatic regions of Europe using remote sensing derived productivity indicators E. Ivits, M. Cherlet, T. Tóth, K. E. Lewinska, G. Tóth. Characterisation of productivity limitation of salt-affected lands in different climatic regions of Europe using remote sensing derived productivity indicators (2011), LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT , pp. 1-15. Soil salinity is a global issue and one of the major causes of land degradation. The large scale monitoring of salt affected areas is therefore very important to shed light of rehabilitation measures and to avoid further land degradation. We address the productivity limitation of salt affected soils across the European continent by the usage of soil maps and high temporal resolution time series of satellite images derived from the SPOT VEGETATION sensor. Using the yearly dynamism of the vegetation signal derived from the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) we decomposed the spectral curve into its Base Fraction and Seasonal Dynamism fractions next to an index approximating Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). We observe GPP, Base Fraction and Seasonal Dynamism productivity differences of saline, sodic and not salt affected soils under croplands and grasslands in four major climatic zones of the European continent. ANOVA models and post-hoc tests of mean productivity values indicate significant productivity differences between the observed salt affected and salt free areas, between management levels of soils as well as between the saline and sodic character of the land. The analysis gives insight into the limiting effect of climate in relation to the productivity of soil affected soils. Access the paper: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ldr.1140/abstract/ Last Update: 05/09/2012

LUCAS Topsoil Survey: methodology, data and results In 2009, the European Commission extended the periodic Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) to sample and analyse the main properties of topsoil in 23 Member States of the European Union (EU). This topsoil survey represents the first attempt to build a consistent spatial database of the soil cover across The EU based on standard sampling and analytical procedures, with the analysis of all soil samples being carried out in a single laboratory. Approximately 20,000 points were selected out of the main LUCAS grid for the collection of soil samples. A standardised sampling procedure was used to collect around 0.5 kg of topsoil. The samples were dispatched to a central laboratory for physical and chemical analyses. Subsequently, Malta and Cyprus provided soil samples even though the main LUCAS survey was not carried on their territories. Cyprus has adapted the sampling methodology of LUCAS-Topsoil for (the southern part of the island) while Malta adjusted its national sampling grid to correspond to the LUCAS standards. Bulgaria and Romania have been sampled in 2012. However, the analysis is ongoing and the results are not included in this report.The final database contains 19,967 geo-referenced samples. This report provides a detailed insight to the design and methodology of the data collection and laboratory analysis. All samples have been analysed for the percentage of coarse fragments, particle size distribution (% clay, silt and sand content), pH (in CaCl2 and H2O), organic carbon (g/kg), carbonate content (g/kg), phosphorous content (mg/kg), total nitrogen content (g/kg), extractable potassium content (mg/kg), cation exchange capacity (cmol(+)/kg) and multispectral properties. Author(s) Gergely Tóth, Arwyn Jones and Luca Montanarella (eds.). – Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union – 2013 – 141pp. – EUR26102EN Scientific and Technical Research series, ISSN 1831-9424, doi:10.2788/97922 Download report: (Size: 8 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 4/09/2013

Carbon concentrations and stocks in forest soils of Europe. Baritz R., Seufert G., Montanarella L., Van Ranst E. Carbon concentrations and stocks in forest soils of Europe (2010) Forest Ecology and Management, 260 (3), pp. 262-277. This study presents the results of a series of evaluations of a continent-wide soil database (EU/UN-ECE Level I) with the aim to estimate baseline soil carbon concentrations and stocks. The methodology included the biogeographic stratification of soil carbon measurements throughout Europe using climatic zones derived from the Soil Regions Map of Europe. The presented stock estimates range from 1.3 to 70.8. t. C/ha for the O-layer, and from 11.3 to 126.3. t. C/ha for the mineral soil 0-20. cm (Germany: 0-30. cm) (5 and 95 percentiles). Histosols were excluded because of methodological differences and data gaps. When looking at the median values of the strata investigated, relationships were found. For example, carbon stocks in the O-layer of sandy soils are distinctly higher than those of fine-textured soils. However, the variability is so high that some of these relationships disappear. For example in western and central Europe, the level of carbon stocks in the mineral soil between shallow soils (Leptosols) and more deeply developed soils (Podzols and Cambisols) do not differ very much. It was also found that just the investigation of topsoils is not sufficient to understand the regional pattern of organic matter in forest soils - unless the subsoil becomes included as well. It is hypothesized that for Europe, the impact of site factors such as climate, texture and relief are difficult to extract from such a database if the data are only stratified according to macro-climatic areas. Access the paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.03.025 Last Update: 05/07/2011

Extreme Temperatures and Precipitation in Europe: Analysis of a High-Resolution Climate Change Scenario Future climate change is generally believed to lead to an increase in climate variability and in the frequency and intensity of extreme events. In this report we analyse the changes in variability and extremes in temperature and precipitation in Europe by the end of this century, based on high-resolution (12 km) simulations of the regional climate model HIRHAM Danker, R. And R. Hiederer (2008) Extreme Temperatures and Precipitation in Europe: Analysis of a High-Resolution Climate Change Scenario. EUR 23291 EN. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities Luxembourg. 66 pp. ISSN 1018-5593 Download report: (Size: 8.3 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Il Suolo della Provincia di Pavia The soils in Pavia Province (Italy) EUR 22132 IT, 128pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. R.M Cenci, G. Lodigiani, L. Musmeci, N. Filippi, F. Bouraoui, Gunther Umlauf and F. Sena Download report: (Size: 52 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Euro soils: Identification, collection, Treatment and Characterization. Methodological Aspects of Reference Soil Sampling. Field Work on euro-soils profile anaysis and sampling procedures. Pedological Characterization composition analysis. Determination of organochlorine compounds. Evaluation of Laboratory Ringtest . Kuhnt and Muntau. (1994). Euro soils: Identification, collection, Treatment and Characterization. EUR 19460 EN, 152pp. Keywords: Euro soils, Collection, Soil Sampling Download report: (Size: 1.6 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 11/02/2010

A logistic regression method for mapping the As hazard risk in shallow, reducing groundwaters in Cambodia. L. Rodríguez Lado, D. A. Polya and A. Hegan. Mineralogical Magazine; February 2008; v. 72; no. 1; p. 437-440; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.437 We combined statistical analyses and GIS capabilities within the statistical environment R to create a semi-automated method for the assessment of As hazard risk in shallow groundwater in Cambodia. Arsenic concentration data for groundwaters of between 16 and 100 m depth were obtained from 1437 geo-referenced wells. We created a binary logistic regression model with these As measurements as the dependent variable and a number of raster maps (DEM-parameters, remote sensing images and geomorphology) as explanatory variables, and considering an As threshold of 10 ppb. This allowed us to make an As hazard map for groundwaters between 16–100 m depth: this can be used to help to identify populations vulnerable to exposure. Keywords: groundwater modelling, logistic regression, risk assessment, DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.437 Access the paper or contact the Author

Soils of the European Union This report is based on the information contained in the European Soil Database, the result of more than ten years of fruitful effort and collaboration between the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, and Europe’s leading soil science institutions. The current report overviews soils of the European Union classified in a new standard which is the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB; FAO 1998). This system originates from the approach of the FAO to correlate soil resources globally. The advantage of using the system of the FAO is that the soil resources of the European Union are integrated into the world-wide context. Gergely Tóth, Luca Montanarella, Vladimir Stolbovoy, Ferenc Máté, Katalin Bódis, Arwyn Jones, Panos Panagos and Marc Van Liedekerke (eds.). EUR 23439 EN, ISBN 978-92-79-09530-6, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2788/87029 . Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 2008. Download report: (Size: 4MB) Preview FrontPage :

Soil erosion risk in Italy: a revised USLE approach. M. Grimm, R.J.A. Jones, E. Rusco & L. Montanarella. (2003). EUR 20677 EN, 23pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Download document: (Size: 5 MB) Preview FrontPage:

Digital Soil Map of the World. Published in SCIENCE, Pedro A. Sanchez, Sonya Ahamed, Florence Carré, Alfred E. Hartemink, Jonathan Hempel, Jeroen Huising, Philippe Lagacherie, Alex B. McBratney, Neil J. McKenzie, Maria de Lourdes Mendonça-Santos, Budiman Minasny, Luca Montanarella, Peter Okoth, Cheryl A. Palm, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Keith D. Shepherd, Tor-Gunnar Vågen, Bernard Vanlauwe, Markus G. Walsh, Leigh A. Winowiecki, Gan-Lin Zhang. Science 7 August 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5941, pp. 680 - 681, DOI: 10.1126/science.1175084 Soils are increasingly recognized as major contributors to ecosystem services such as food production and climate regulation (1, 2), and demand for up-to-date and relevant soil information is soaring. But communicating such information among diverse audiences remains challenging because of inconsistent use of technical jargon, and outdated, imprecise methods. Also, spatial resolutions of soil maps for most parts of the world are too low to help with practical land management. While other earth sciences (e.g., climatology, geology) have become more quantitative and have taken advantage of the digital revolution, conventional soil mapping delineates space mostly according to qualitative criteria and renders maps using a series of polygons, which limits resolution. These maps do not adequately express the complexity of soils across a landscape in an easily understandable way. Access the paper or Download it Last Update: 26/04/2010

European Land Information Systems for Agro-environmental Monitoring. Development of the European land database at the 1: 1M Scale. Soil Maps and soil information. The main objectives of the 1:1M structure respond to the EU requirements, identify national requirements, harmonize international initiatives, promote soil information systems and develop research on new methodologies for a better representation of soil variability. D. King, R.J.A. Jones and A.J. Thomasson (eds). EUR 16232 EN, 284pp. (1995). Office for the Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Download report: (Size: 7 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 10/10/2011

SCAPE: The way ahead SCAPE project (Soil Conservation and Protection for Europe) has given scientists the opportunity to discuss soil conservation and protection strategies in an informal way with people who are either responsible for finding solutions, or being affected by them. Several hundreds of people have contributed to this book, either collectively or individually. They include the scientists, soil conservation and protection practitioners and stakeholders who participated in the SCAPE platforms, as well as many EU officers who are responsible for future research and environment policy. They also include people who met at the Vital Soil Conference at the Hague in November 2004 and as well the group of International experts in soil and environmental law who met at the September 2005 Conference in Iceland. Anton Imeson, Arnold Arnoldussen, Diego de la Rosa, Luca Montanaralla, Luuk Dorren, Michiel Curfs, Olafur Arnalds, Sanneke van Asselen et (2005) SCAPE: The way ahead. 139pp. Keywords: Soil Conservation, Soil Protection, Soil Data, European Sustainable Land Management Download report: (Size: 10.8 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 22/03/2010

Data Management for Monitoring Forest Soils in Europe for the Biosoil Project. Lacarce E, Le Bas C, Cousin J, Pesty B, Toutain B, Durrant T, Montanarella L. Data Management for Monitoring Forest Soils in Europe for the Biosoil Project. Soil Use and Management, Volume 25 Issue 1, Pages 57 - 65, 2009, DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2009.00194.x Growing environmental awareness and advances in modelling have generated interest in soil monitoring networks. Data management tools have to be developed in order to store data, check for errors and retrieve data for sharing and for analysis. As a result, we have designed a web application and a database for the Biosoil project that focuses on European forest soils. Integral to the system are authentication of users and access rights to the modules and data. It also logs all activities of each user. During data submission, the system automatically manages data transfer from the flat file (ASCII file) to the database after compliance checks. Then error tracking is followed by automated expert checks. These checks identify potential mistakes that can be corrected or commented on by data providers. Since the quality of the results obtained from analysing the data can only be as good as the data, proper management practices should be considered at all stages of the monitoring activity, if the value of the information is to be properly exploited. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

The need for harmonizing methodologies for assessing soil threats in Europe van Beek C.L., Toth T., Hagyo A., Toth G., Recatala Boix L., Ano Vidal C., Malet J.P., (...), Oenema O. The need for harmonizing methodologies for assessing soil threats in Europe (2010) Soil Use and Management, 26 (3), pp. 299-309. Central to the EU thematic strategy for soil protection is that areas affected by soil degradation through erosion, soil organic matter (SOM) decline, compaction, salinization and landslides should be identified in a clear and consistent way. However, the current methodologies to achieve this often differ and this can result in different perceptions of risks amongst EU Member States. The aims of this paper are to: (i) assess the current status of assessment methodologies in Europe (EU27) associated with erosion, SOM decline, compaction, salinization and landslides and (ii) discuss the issues associated with harmonization of these methodologies throughout the EU27. The need for harmonization is assessed using the relative share of common elements between different methodologies. The results demonstrate that the need for harmonization in methodology is greatest for erosion and compaction and least for SOM decline and landslides. However, many of the methodologies which were investigated are still incomplete and there are significant differences in terms of: (i) understanding the threats, (ii) methods of data collection, (iii) processing and interpretation and (iv) risk perception. Access the paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2010.00280.x Last Update: 05/07/2011

Validation of soil erosion risk assessements in Italy. A.J.J. Van Rompaey, P. Bazzoffi, R.J.A. Jones, L. Montanarella & G. Govers. (2003). EUR 20676 EN. 25pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Download document: (Size: 1.4 MB) Preview FrontPage:

Satellite remote sensing for soil mapping in Africa: An overview Dewitte O., Jones A., Elbelrhiti H., Horion S., Montanarella L. Satellite remote sensing for soil mapping in Africa: An overview (2012) Progress in Physical Geography, 36 (4) , pp. 514-538. The protection and the sustainable management of soil resources in Africa are of paramount importance, particularly in the context of the uncertain impact of climate change and the increase pressure of the human activities. This situation requires a demand for up-to-date and relevant soil information at regional and continental scales. To provide timely and reliable information on soils at these scales, low-resolution spaceborne remote sensing offers an ideal support. Through a review of multispectral, thermal infrared, passive and active microwave imaging we show that sensors help in the delineation of soils themselves, as well as in the assessment of some of their key properties and threats such as water and wind erosion, landsliding and salinisation. However remote sensing imagery for mapping soil can be problematic if applied alone and often requires the use of ancillary data and field observations. Remote sensing is shown as being complementary to digital soil mapping. Access the paper: http://ppg.sagepub.com/content/36/4/514.abstract Last Update: 02/09/2013

Global governance of soil resources as a necessary condition for sustainable development Montanarella L., Vargas R. Global governance of soil resources as a necessary condition for sustainable development (2012) Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 4 (5) , pp. 559-564. In the current era of multiple crises, from food price, through climate change to economic failure, policy makers around the world are exploring opportunities to make a shift to a green economy. The international community is seeking new ways of developing the concept of sustainable development up to and beyond the Earth Summit in 2012, mainly with regards to practical ways for the coherent implementation of the three pillars of sustainability, moving away from trade-offs to synergies between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. Within that context, special attention to global soil resources should be paid, given that global soil resources constitutes the basis for the provision of ecosystem services and at the same time are limited and currently under pressure by various threats including competing land uses, like energy production, housing and infrastructure, nature protection, mining and industrial activities. Future food security for a growing population can only be assured if sufficient area of fertile soils and water will be available for food production. Available legal frameworks for soil protection at national and regional level seem not to be able to regulate the current use of soil resources in order to assure long- term sustainability. Access the paper: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343512000735 Last Update: 02/09/2013

Final report on the project ‘Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo)’ This report synthesises the findings of the SoCo project and translates them into conclusions and recommendations. Following the introduction (Chapter 1), Chapter 2 reviews soil degradation processes, soil conservation practices and policy measures at European level. Soil degradation risk was assessed through parametric and empirical models, whereas the review of soil conservation farming practices is based on the available literature. The literature review of policy measures is supplemented by a survey of policy implementation at national or regional level. Chapter 3 takes the analysis to the local scale by means of ten case studies distributed over three macro-regions. Aggregated environmental benefits of adopting particular soil conservation practices are explored with model calculations in Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the effectiveness and efficiency of instruments for soil protection, maintenance and improvement in Europe, exploring opportunities and critical issues linked to the adoption of conservation practices. The report closes with policy-relevant conclusions as a basis for policy recommendations. Authors: SoCo Project Team, Editors: Geertrui Louwagie, Stephan Hubertus Gay, Alison Burrell.Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. EUR 23820 EN, ISBN 978-92-79-12400-6, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2791/10052 Download report: (Size: 8 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 24/09/2009

Combining spatial data in landslide reactivation susceptibility mapping: A likelihood ratio-based approach in W Belgium Dewitte O., Chung C.-J., Cornet Y., Daoudi M., Demoulin A. Combining spatial data in landslide reactivation susceptibility mapping: A likelihood ratio-based approach in W Belgium (2010) Geomorphology, 122 (1-2), pp. 153-166. A key issue in landslide susceptibility mapping concerns the relevance of the spatial data combination used in the prediction. Various combinations of high-resolution predictor variables and possibilities of selecting them from a larger dataset are analysed. The scarp reactivation of several landslides in a hilly region of W Belgium is investigated at the pixel scale. The susceptibility modelling uses the reactivated scarp segments as the dependent variable and 13 factors at a 2. m-resolution related to topography, hydrology, land use and lithology as potential independent variables. The modelling uses a likelihood ratio approach based on the comparison, for each independent variable, between two empirical distribution functions (EDFs), respectively for the reactivated and non-reactivated areas. It uses these EDFs as favourability values to build membership values and combine them with a fuzzy Gamma operator. Five different data combinations are tested and compared by analysing the prediction-rate curves obtained by cross-validation. The geomorphological value of the resulting susceptibility maps is also discussed. This research shows relevant results for predicting the susceptibility to scarp reactivation. Access the paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.06.010 Last Update: 05/07/2011

An Innovative Approach for Updating Soil Information based on Digital Soil Mapping Techniques In this study, we propose a novel innovative approach to address the issues on evaluating the traditional soil maps and updating the existing soil information based on the principles of digital soil mapping. EUR22545, 44pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg (2007). Senthil-Kumar Selvaradjou, Luca Montanarella, Florence Carre, Arwyn Jones, Panos Panagos, Kaliaperumal Ragunath, Ramalingam Kumaraperumal, and Subramanian Natarajan. Download report: (Size: 1.7 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Estimation and potential improvement of the quality of legacy soil samples for digital soil mapping Carré, F., McBratney, A.B., Minasny, B., 2006. Published by Geoderma, 141, 1-14. The paper presents some methodologies for assessing the quality of legacy soil samples using Hypercube Sampling strategy. Each sampling unit is then estimated as being over or under-sampled. Legacy soil data form an important resource for digital soil mapping and are essential for calibration of models for predicting soil properties from environmental variables. Such data arise from traditional soil survey. Access the paper or contact the Author F. Carre for more information

Evaluation of the sensitivity of European soils to the deposition of acid compounds: different approaches provide different results L. Rodríguez-Lado, L. Montanarella & F. Macías., 2007. Published by Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, Springer Netherlands., Volume 185, Numbers 1-4 / October, 2007, pp 293-303 Analysis of the sensitivity of soils to acidification caused by the deposition of atmospheric pollutants has been one of the major scientific issues in Europe during the past few decades. In the present study, critical loads of acid deposition were calculated using the most accurate datasets available at present for European soils, by the “Simple Mass Balance” method. Access the paper

Are grasslands important habitats for soil microarthropod conservation? Cristina Menta, Alan Leoni, Ciro Gardi and Federica Delia Conti. Are grasslands important habitats for soil microarthropod conservation? (2011), Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011, Volume 20, Number 5, Pages 1073-1087. Biodiversity has been a focal aim of environmental protection since the Rio conference, but only with the beginning of the new millennium did soil biodiversity become an important aspect of international policy. Edaphic fauna play a key role in many soil functions, such as organic matter decomposition, humus formation and nutrient element cycling; moreover, affect the porosity, aeration, infiltration and distribution of organic matter in soil horizons, modifying soil structure and improving its fertility. The ecosystem services provided by soil animals are becoming progressively lost due to agricultural practice intensification, which causes a reduction in both abundance and taxonomic diversity of soil communities. In the present study, a permanent grassland habitat was studied in order to evaluate its potential as a soil biodiversity reservoir in agroecosystems. Grassland samples were compared with samples from a semi-natural woodland area and an arable land site. Microarthropod abundances, Acari/Collembola ratio (A/C), Shannon diversity index (H0) and evenness index (E) were calculated. QBS-ar index was used in order to evaluate soil biological quality. Microarthropod communities of the three land use typologies differed in both the observed groups and their abundance. Steady soil taxa characterized both woodland and grassland soils, whereas their abundances were significantly higher in woodland soil. Access the paper: http://www.springerlink.com/content/k2g233x3p66u6g33/ Last Update: 05/09/2012

Modelling arsenic hazard in Cambodia: A geostatistical approach using ancillary data. Luis Rodríguez Lado, David Polya, Lenny Winkel, Michael Berg and Aimee Hegan. Applied Geochemistry, Volume 23, Issue 11, November 2008, Pages 3010-3018. The As concentration in shallow groundwater in Cambodia was estimated using 1329 georeferenced water samples collected during the period 1999–2004 from wells between 16–100 m depth. Arsenic concentrations were estimated using block regression-kriging on the log transformed As measurements. Auxiliary raster maps (DEM-parameters, remote sensing images and geology) were converted to 16 principal components that were used to explain the distribution of As over the study area. The regression-kriging model was validated using an external set of 276 samples, and the results were compared to those obtained by ordinary block kriging. DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2008.06.028 Access the paper or contact the Author

Geomorphometry: Concepts, Software, Applications. Developments in Soil Science. Hengl, T., Reuter, H.I. (eds) 2008. Geomorphometry: Concepts, Software, Applications. Developments in Soil Science, vol. 33, Elsevier, 772 pp. Geomorphometry is the science of quantitative land-surface analysis. It draws upon mathematical, statistical, and image-processing techniques to quantify the shape of earth's topography at various spatial scales. The focus of geomorphometry is the calculation of surface-form measures (land-surface parameters) and features (objects), which may be used to improve the mapping and modelling of landforms to assist in the evaluation of soils, vegetation, land use, natural hazards, and other information. This book provides a practical guide to preparing Digital Elevation Models (DEM) for analysis and extracting land-surface parameters and objects from DEMs through a variety of software. More information about the Book

Soil Biodiversity What is biodiversity? Biodiversity has different meanings depending on the situation being discussed and the target audience. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines biodiversity as being. The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat. This is definition is clearly sufficient for non-specialists. However, when looking more specifically at biodiversity, it becomes evident that thought needs to be given to other groups such as fungi, bacteria and archea. As soil is such as diverse system when considered biologically (as well as physically or chemically) it is necessary to include all taxonomic groups. Therefore, throughout this booklet, when referring to soil biodiversity it will be in reference to the variety of all living organisms found within the soil system. Ciro Gardi and Simon Jeffery EUR23759EN, ISBN 978-92-79-11289-8, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2788/7831 , Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009. Download report: (Size: 4 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Site Specific Land Management; General Concepts and Applications To meet the growing need of people for increasing farm income and to minimize the negative environmental impact of today’s farm practices, a new farming concept has been evolved where inputs are fine tuned and optimized according to the local field variability such that yield increment is achieved with a minimum harm to the local environment. This farming concept is different than the traditional farming system and can be highlighted as a precision agriculture system or more specifically termed as site specific land management (SSLM) which takes the advantage of recent technological developments and their uses in agriculture. It operates by matching resource application and agronomic practices with soil attributes and crop requirements as they vary across a field leading to the overall economic and environmental benefits. This report explains in brief a general concept and principle of this eco-friendly farming approach with some common procedures to be followed while planning of SSLM in any area. It also provides an example of applying this farming concept in a small area in Belgium and recommends some land and crop management practices. Author(s): Adhikari K, Carre F, Toth G, Montanarella L. OPOCE , 2009 – 60 pp. – EUR 23978– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-13350-3, DOI 10.2788/32619 Keywords: land management , Farm practices, farming technology, SSLM Download report: (Size: 1.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 21/05/2010

Soil loss rates due to piping erosion E. Verachtert, W. Maetens, M. Van Den Eeckhaut, J. Poesen, J. Deckers. Soil loss rates due to piping erosions (2011), EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS Vol 36, No 13, pp 1715-1725 Compared with surface soil erosion by water, subsurface erosion (piping) is generally less studied and harder to quantify. However, wherever piping occurs, it is often a significant or even the main sediment source. In this study, the significance of soil loss due to piping is demonstrated through an estimation of soil volume lost from pipes and pipe collapses (n=560) in 137 parcels under pasture on loess-derived soils in a temperate humid climate (Belgium). Assuming a period of 5 to 10years for pipe collapse to occur, mean soil loss rates of 2.3 and 4.6t ha-1 yr-1 are obtained, which are at least one order of magnitude higher than surface erosion rates (0.01-0.29t ha-1 yr-1) by sheet and rill erosion under a similar land use. The results obtained for the study area in the Flemish Ardennes correspond well to other measurements in temperate environments; they are, however, considerably smaller than soil loss rates due to subsurface erosion in semi-arid environments. Although local slope gradient and drainage area largely control the location of collapsed pipes in the study area, these topographic parameters do not explain differences in eroded volumes by piping. Hence, incorporation of subsurface erosion in erosion models is not straightforward. Access the paper: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/esp.2186/abstract Last Update: 05/09/2012

Wind Erosion in Europe. Funk,R. Reuter,H.I. (2006) Wind Erosion in Europe. In Soil Erosion in Europe edited by J.Boardman und J. Poesen, Publisher J.Wiley Provides a unique and comprehensive assessment of soil erosion throughout Europe, an important aspect to control and manage if landscapes are to be sustained for the future. Soil Erosion in Europe primarily focuses on current issues, area specific soil erosion rates, on and off-site impacts, government responses, soil conservation measures, and soil erosion risk maps. More information about the Book

An Open European Soil Portal (OGC User December 2005) Lance McKee with Marc Van Liedekerke and Panos Panagos of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, I-21020 Ispra (VA) - Italy . © 2005 Published by OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) - OGC User December 2005. The European Soil Portal, implementing the OpenGIS Web Map Server (WMS) Specification, came online recently to serve a wide variety of professional, business and academic users. Preview Paper:

Global Soil Organic Carbon Estimates and the Harmonized World Soil Database Global estimates of soil organic carbon stocks have been produced in the past to support the calculation of potential emissions of CO2 from the soil under scenarios of change land use/cover and climatic conditions (IPCC, 2006), but very few global estimates are presented as spatial data. For global spatial layers on soil parameters, the most recent and complete dataset is available as the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD). The amended HWSD was compared to data from 4 other global data sets on SOC stocks. The comparative evaluation has demonstrated that bulk density is the most important factor for estimating SOC stocks and mainly responsible for the differences between estimates. Most affected from the variability in bulk density are SOC stocks in areas with soils which are high in organic carbon. Author(s): R. Hiederer, M. Köchy 2012 – 79 pp. – EUR 25225 EN – EUR Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1831-9424 (online), ISSN 1018-5593 (print), ISBN 978-92-79-23108-7, doi:10.2788/13267 Download report: (Size: 1.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 20/03/2012

Soil Contamination with PCDD/Fs as a Function of different types of land use in a semi-rural region in Northern Italy Vives I, Umlauf G, Christoph EH, Mariani G, Ghiani M, Skejo H, Cenci R, Bidoglio G Organohalogen Compounds Vol 68 (2006) Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are, among others, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) listed in the Stockholm Convention. They are released into the environment from many sources, such as municipal and industrial waste incineration, automobile exhaust, and as unwanted byproducts, in various chlorinated chemical formulations Look for the article: Organohalogen Compounds Vol 68 (2006), Pages 1034 - 1038

3rd European Summer School on Soil Survey MICHÉLI, E., PANAGOS, P., JONES, A. and MONTANARELLA (2006), EUR 22193EN, 219pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Presentationsand Videos of the 3rd European Summer School on Soil Survey [Szent István University and European Soil Bureau, Institute of Envrionement and Sustainability and (July 2005)] Download report: (Size: 19 MB) Preview FrontPage : Available also the CD 3rd European Summer School on Soil Survey

Prediction of Soil Organic Carbon at the European Scale by Visible and Near InfraRed Reflectance Spectroscopy Soil organic carbon is a key soil property related to soil fertility, aggregate stability and the exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere. Existing soil maps and inventories can rarely be used to monitor the state and evolution in soil organic carbon content due to their poor spatial resolution, lack of consistency and high updating costs. Visible and Near Infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy is an alternative method to provide cheap and high-density soil data. However, there are still some uncertainties on its capacity to produce reliable predictions for areas characterized by large soil diversity. Using a large-scale EU soil survey of about 20,000 samples and covering 23 countries, we assessed the performance of reflectance spectroscopy for the prediction of soil organic carbon content. The best calibrations achieved a root mean square error ranging from 4.1 to 15 g C kg-1 for mineral soils and a root mean square error of 50 g C kg-1 for organic soil materials. Model errors are shown to be related to the levels of soil organic carbon and sand content in the samples. Although errors are ~5 times larger than the reproducibility error of the laboratory method, reflectance spectroscopy provides unbiased estimates of the soil organic carbon content that could be used for assessing the mean soil organic carbon content of large geographical entities or countries. This study is a first step towards providing uniform continental-scale spectroscopic estimations of soil organic carbon, meeting an increasing demand for information on the state of the soil that can be used in biogeochemical models and the monitoring of soil degradation. Access the paper Last Update: 14/10/2014

Integration of the Soil Database of Turkey into European Soil Database 1:1.000.000 In order to extend the Soil Geographical Database (SGDBE) to the countries of Mediterranean Basin, the preparation of soil geographical database of Turkey at 1:1 million scales was initiated at the end of 2008. In the current report, the reader will be informed about the preparation of soil geographical database of Turkey compatible with European database and how the Turkish soil data have been integrated the European Soil Database. The implementation of this work has been achieved since we have built a common understanding and nomenclature of soils in Europe and Mediterranean region. A number of attributes have been transformed from local/regional/national soil datasets while some other attributes have been obtained from auxiliary datasets using remote sensing and GIS Techniques. Authors: Ece Aksoy, Panos Panagos, Luca Montanarella, Arwyn Jones (2010). Integration of the Soil Database of Turkey into European Soil Database 1:1.000.000. EUR 24295 EN. ISSN 1018-5593. ISBN 978-92-79-15306-8. DOI 10.2788/77892. 45 pp. Keywords: European Soil Database 1:1.000.000, Turkish Soil Data, GIS Techniques, Remote Sensing Download report: (Size: 5.6 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 30/03/2010