http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership This presentation was made during the GSP/E-SOTER Global Soil Information workshop that took place at the FAO HQ, Rome , Italy from 20-23 March 2012. This presentation was made on the third day by Stephen Hallett and Daniel Simms, and it presents Data specifications and information structures for soils data. ©FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. Data specifications
and information
structures for soils data
GSP Meeting Rome
22 March 2012
Stephen Hallett and
Daniel Simms
National Soil Resources Institute
Cranfield University
Landis.org.uk

2. Rationalisation and harmonisation of soil legacy data
(Jack Hannam)
Digital soil assessment for class and property information
(Thomas Mayr)
Soil information systems meeting stakeholder requirements
Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Landis.org.uk

3. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Why data specifications are important
1. Permit inter-comparison and collation of datasets
2. Eases Interoperability between scales & data domains
3. Component-based development => ‘plug and play’
4. Loose-coupling of applications / Mashups
5. Service-oriented architectures (SOA)
6. Evolution of supporting tools, processors and
exchange mechanisms to work with standardised data
Standards add a ‘discipline’ to our data

4. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
We live in interesting times for evolution of soil data!
• Mature national soil and thematic information projects
• Concluding EU-projects e-SOTER, GS-Soil & iSoil
• Initiatives: Harmonised World Soil Database (HWSD),
GlobalSoilMap.net & the Global Soil Partnership
• Work of ISO/TC 190/SC 1/WG3 [ISO/CD 28258]
• Work of IUSS WG Soils, ESBN WG and ESDAC
• Work of ‘Data Specification INSPIRE Soil’ TWG
and other schemas – GeoSciML, Borehole ML etc…

5. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Data Specification INSPIRE Soil
• Of particular importance for env. data exchange
• driven by INSPIRE compliance and GEOSS
• About to produce final specification v3.0
• Currently v2.9 under testing and review
• Core model and two reference extensions
• Close liaison with other TWGs
• Promotes WRB and FAO notations
• Incorporates Soil type, texture, AWC, SOC …
Concluding 2 years of work!!
http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.cfm/pageid/201/consultation/45851

6. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Soils Data - For Who and For What??
this drives the database
• Soil mapping, enabling the identification of areas of
land for optimal management purposes.
• Soil inventories, providing soil condition assessment
of soil conditions, and soil monitoring, providing
assessments showing soil conditions varying in time.
• Soil thematic mapping providing for policy-relevant
maps for soil protection and environmental reporting.
INSPIRE Data Specification on soil

7. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
How will Soils Information be applied?
• Land-related issues through EU to globally:
Food/Water security Soil functions and services
Contamination Stocks and levels monitoring
Soil threats Land use capabilities
Land suitability Biodiversity mapping
Climate impacts CAP reform/ALC/EFA
Geohazards MDG & BMGF goals
• Agricultural to Environmental to Industrial
• Context: INSPIRE, TCS, FD Soil, & GEOSS
Farm
scale
Regional
Global

8. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Key information structures
• Vector Spatial data (geometry, CRS, datum)
• Raster and Gridded data (RS, model outputs, novel
sensors, indicative confidence
• Attribute data (types, complexes)
• Semantic relationships (relational)
• Topological relationships (relative position)
• Rules (methods, SQL/stored procedures)
• Metadata (from discovery to entity level)
OOPS!
Simple vs complex objects
UML

9. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Accessing Soils Information
• Standalone Applications, giving way to…
• Web Services component-based SOA
• REST, WSDL, SOAP, UDDI
• Allowing ‘Mashups’
• Internet data XML Schemas: GML + grammar
• Move from PC to new platforms;
• Integration of other technologies GSM; GPS

10. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
SMIS Components
• Databases, GIS, 4GL tools, Statistical tools
• No ‘one’ panacea tool!
• Internet infrastructure
• Free and Open-Source GIS - ‘FOSSGIS’
• Semantic Transformations
• Pedo- and Taxon-transfer functions
• Schematic Transformations
• XSLT, parsers, convertors

11. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Trends
• Move from exactitudes to probabilistic properties
• As with other domains, eg. climate change
• Statistical representation, confidence estimates
• Information access tools for BIG data
• 2D -> 3D (voxels?), data mining & inference tools
• Digital Soil Assessment - a powerful, established tool
• Continuous not discrete data outputs
• Legacy data incorporation, stored function inputs
• Pedologists remain essential to process!!
Data to Information to Knowledge

12. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
England and Wales
LandIS – Land Information System, UK
300+ county, regional and national publications & maps
250k Auger bore cards; 8,000 Soil Profile pits
Legacy soil record cards; 15k field sheets E&W
NSI recording cards for monitoring purposes

13. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data JOSCIS – Jordanian Soil and Climatic
Information System
Arose from Jordanian determination to decrease
dependence on imported food and to manage water
resources sustainably.
Hunting Technical Services Ltd.

14. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data Libyan Soil Information System – LibyaSIS
Assessment of land evaluation methodologies to
select /adapt suitable methods to suit optimal
Libyan agricultural policy
Soil Erodibility ‘K’, NE. Libya

15. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Maltese Soil Information System – MALSIS
Record of gridded site physical soil properties and
linked laboratory chemical property data. 330 pts
Plus:
Soil chemico-physical properties: particle
size distribution, pH, EC (1:2), OM
Soil fertility: N, P, K, Ca, Mg, SO4
2-
Soil salinity: EC, Cl, NO3
-, SAR

16. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Irish Soil
Information System
– ISIS
INSPIRE-driven Digital
Soil Assessment,
backed by field auger
bores, with soil
representative profiles
recording physical soil
properties and linked
laboratory chemical
property data. 1000’s
of points
Auger data
Profile data
Lab data
DSM data
Map data
Metadata

17. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Incorporating
Pedotransfer Rules
Application:
Arable Suitability
Soil Spatial
Database
Soil Profile
Database
Pedotransfer
Rules Database

18. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
Soil Functions mapping
Wintercerealproduction
NorthernSpruceSuitability
GrassSuitability
PesticideLeaching

19. Data specifications
and information
structures for
soils data
• Challenge is to draw together the many excellent
initiatives for soil data codification and exchange
GSP is an excellent context in which to do so
• Adoption of established techniques of Digital Soil
Assessment and integration of output data in a
new generation of applications tools
• Application of practical, user-driven methods to
transform Soil Data to Information to Knowledge
SMIS Knowledge
Digital Soil
Assessment
Legacy Soil
Information
Pedologist
Thewayforward

20. Thank you