Under the European Union Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, the European Commission Directorate- General for the Environment (DG Environment) and the European Environmental Agency (EEA) have identified decline in soil organic matter and soil losses by erosion as priorities for the collection of policyrelevant soil data at European scale. To support EU policies related to soil conditions the data collected on corresponding indicators requires establishing agreed datasets for the EU Member States on these themes. In the context of its European Soil Data Centre(ESDAC) activities and in response to EEA soil data requirements, the JRC is responsible for collection and management of European soil data in collaboration with EIONET members.
In 2010, the European Soil Data Centre(ESDAC) invited the Primary Contact Points (PCPs) of EIONET to contribute to a data collection campaign of EIONET-SOIL in order to develop the European datasets for soil erosion and Soil Organic Carbon(SOC). There was no legal obligation for the EIONET member countries to participate and PCPs and NRCs for soil contributed on a voluntary basis. Twenty(20) countries expressed their interest to participate in the project, of which eight(8) countries were interested to deliver data in the future.
In cooperation with the EIONET countries, the ESDAC adopted a "light" data collection protocol that allowed collecting SOC and soil erosion data on the basis of a grid of 1km x 1km cells that were assigned to each country. For each cell, countries had to provide their best estimate of SOC content and soil erosion pertaining to that cell. The national grid follow the specifications suggested by the technical co-coordinators for the implementation of INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community.
Regarding SOC, the cell values had to express the OC density (t ha-1) in the soil for the depth range of 0-30cm (including the organic H horizons) and the gravimetric SOC content (in %) in the cell for the same depth range. The EIONET data providers were also requested to include explicit meta-data that would allow the correct interpretation of the cell values. The information requested in the meta-data include the period of the ground survey(s), the method used for a spatial interpolation of point data and the land use types covered .
On the basis of the EIONET-SOIL data collection exercise, the communication with the PCPs and NRCs of participating countries, and the analysis of the submitted data, the following statements can be made:
Regarding the SOC stocks [OC density (t ha-1) in the soil for the depth range of 0-30cm], Six (6) Countries provided data with coverage more than 50%. This group included Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
The Soil Organic Carbon(%) Map (0-30 cm). Download the map as JPEG or as PDF.
Table 1: The Soil Organic Carbon SOC content(%)
Country | Country Coverage with SOC Value (%) | Average SOC Content (0-30cm) (%) | Max SOC Content (0-30cm) (%) | Standard Deviation (%) | Survey period, method and land use covered |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | 64.8 | 2.7 | 53.3 | 3.3 | Period: 1970's Method: Kriging Land: agricultural |
Belgium | 100 | 1.9 | 4.6 | 0.8 | Land: all |
Denmark | 100 | 2.0 | 58.0 | 1.5 | Period: 2000's Method: 45,000 points interpolated Kriging in 250m x 250m cell. Land: all land areas |
Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige & Veneto) | 10.0 | 3.1 | 22.5 | 2.3 | Period: 1991-2006 Method: 2 regions in northern Italy with SOC content data. Land: non-urban areas. |
Netherlands | 77.3 | 3.5 | 19.3 | 2.6 | Period: 1989-2000 Method: Selection of sites Land: agricultural |
Poland | 70.1 | 2.6 | 49.7 | 4.0 | Period: Mid 1990's Method: Extrapolation to polygon from point data. Land: agricultural |
Slovakia | 54.0 | 1.3 | 50.0 | 1.1 | Period: 1961- 1970 Method: Spatial interpolation Land: agricultural |
The comparison between the EIONET-SOIL and OCTOP dataset for the 7 countries with spatial data on SOC content has identified differences based on the method used to generate spatial data of SOC. The possible 3 reasons for having such different results between OCTOP and EIONET-SOIL datasets can be the following: Difference due to a)Peat, b) conditions of OCTOP Pedo-Transfer Rule(PTR) and c)mapping procedures.
Table 2: The Soil Organic Carbon(SOC) stock(Tg)
Country | Country Coverage with SOC stock Values | Average OC 0–30 cm(t C ha-1) | SOC stock (Tg) |
---|---|---|---|
Bulgaria | 100.0 | 28.0 | 315.2 |
Denmark | 100.0 | 86.4 | 370.6 |
Italy | 57.6 | 56.3 | 993.9 |
Netherlands | 77.3 | 100.1 | 298.8 |
Poland | 70.1 | 79.6 | 1,752.7 |
Slovakia | 54.0 | 45.3 | 122.3 |
For more information and full documentation about the EIONET soil organic carbon data collection (you can request a reprint from the Author):
Panagos, P., Hiederer, R., Van Liedekerke, M., Bampa, F. (2013) Estimating soil organic carbon in Europe based on data collected through an European network, Ecological Indicators 24, pp. 439-450.
The results of the EIONET data collection 2010 were discussed in the EIONET meeting, Ispra (Italy), 10-12 December 2012.