Land and Water Digital Media Series
Soil and Terrain Database, Land Degradation Status and Soil
Vulnerability Assessment for Central and Eastern Europe
at 1:2.5 million scale
FAO, Land and Water Digital Media Series n°10,
2000
ISBN 92-5-104491-0
Price: US$40.
This CD-ROM presents the spatial and attribute databases and the technical reports produced
during the execution of the Mapping of Soil and Terrain Vulnerability in Central and Eastern
Europe (SOVEUR) project (GCP/RER/107/NET) between February 1997 and April 2000.
The project activities were implemented under a contractual service agreement with the
International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) which included letters of
agreement with national institutes in the participating countries. The project was technically
backstopped by the Land and Plant Nutrient Management Service (AGLL).
The spatial and attribute databases compiled on this CD-ROM contain:
(i) a harmonized soil and terrain database for 13 countries in eastern Europe at 1:2.5 million
scale, compiled following the SOTER principles, including georeferenced soil profile data;
(ii) a database and associated maps on the status of soil degradation in the region
including an evaluation of the extent, type, severity, causes and trends;
(iii) a database and associated maps on the vulnerability to pollution, in particular by 11
metals: Cd, Mn, Ni, Co, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Hg, Fe and Al.
All the coverages are in Geographic Projection (Latitude/Longitude), while the maps given
as Images are in Lambert projection (Central Meridian 25 0 0, 1st Standard parallel 60 0 0,
2nd Standard Parallel 40 0 0; units metres).
All the coverages presented are either in PC Arc/Info or in Arc/Info Export format with
"none" compression.
The technical reports included cover the various technical documentation and guidelines
prepared for the compilation of the various spatial databases. They also contain proceedings
of two workshops held by the SOVEUR project.
A "Shareware" directory contains subdirectories with executable files that permit downloading
of shareware versions of ACROBAT 4.0 ® and the ACDSee ® graphics viewer. These
programs are needed to consult the enclosed technical reports (PDF files) and the image
(JPG) files that show selected map outputs of the SOVEUR project.
Minimum hardware requirements
A Pentium PC with Windows 95/98 or NT, at least 32 Mb RAM and a 15" or larger colour
monitor. For some maps it would be advisable to have a large screen with a resolution of
1 024 x 768 pixels and a colour palette of 65 536 colours.
Required Software
All the maps are provided in Arc/Info GIS (Geographic Information System) software in
export (*.E00) format. Therefore, Arc/Info or other GIS software that can read either of
these formats would be required to access and use the maps in a GIS. Some of the
above maps and their layouts/plots are provided also in ArcView Project (*.apr) format.
These maps can be displayed or queried using ArcView software. All the textual
documents are in PDF files for which shareware is provided on the CD-ROM.
Installation
The ArcView*.apr (ArcView project files) can be run directly from the CD-ROM or
installed on the hard disk. Instructions on how to proceed are contained in the
readme.doc and/or readme.pdf files.
To purchase the CD please send your order to:
Please address questions regarding technical aspects of the programs and any suggestions for improvement to:
Director, Land and Water Development Division
E-mail: publications-sales@fao.org
