Partners : UNEP, ISRIC, IIASA, European Soil Bureau, National Soil Institutes

Main Objectives:
1. To provide sound Soil and Terrain Resources Information on a global scale(1:5 Million). Users: Global and Continental models to simulate food production potentials, climatic change, river flow simulation, livestock distribution, research priorities, land constraint and (very) general land management advice

2. To provide an educational tool to the Soil Science Community.

3. To provide harmonized norms for soil mapping, soil classification, soil analysis and interpretation of soil resources information.

Interim Products

World Soil Resources (1:25 Million scale)  Download Map !

Report
World Soil Resources Report # 66 available from publications-sales@fao.org

SOTER Manual prepared by ISRIC/UNEP/FAO and IUSS 
World Soil Resources Report # 74, downloadable as .pdf document in English (747 KB) and French (803 KB) and available as printed copy from publications-sales@fao.org

SOTER Applications
Soil Properties Database for Humanitarian Demining: A Proposed Initiative. A paper presented to the Council of the International Union of Soil Science at the 17th World Congress of Soil Science, 14-21 August 2002, Bangkok, Thailand. Download document (77 KB)!

Other applications

Publication: Guidelines for the Qualitative Assessment of Land Resources and Degradation
Download document (1645 KB) !!

SOTER Progress
Download document !

Soil and Terrain Database for Northeastern Africa 
(scale 1:1 Million)

Soil and Terrain Database for South America and Caribbean 
(scale: 1:5 Million)

Soil and Physiographic Database for north and central Eurasia
(scale: 1:5 Million)

SOTER Central and Eastern Europe (scale 1:2.5 Million). 

SOTER Southern Africa (scale 1:2.5 Million)

SOTER Nepal

SOTER Western Europe (scale 1:5 Million). Expected release: 2007

Links

ISRIC - International Soil Reference and Information Centre