Soil data
National soil information systems
The Armenian Soil Information System (ArmSIS)
ArmSIS has been formally launched during World Soil Day 2020, December 5. The development of ArmSIS represents a steppingstone in the assessment of soil resources to guide effective and knowledge-based policymaking to combat land degradation.
At the request of the Ministry of Economy of Armenia, ArmSIS was established through a collaboration between FAO, the Global Soil Partnership, the Armenian National Agrarian University, the Centre of the Agricultural Services (SNCO) and the Institute of Geological Sciences.
ArmSIS is financially supported by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The new and fully functional Armenian Soil Information System was populated by digitizing legacy soil data and compiling fresh soil data that originated from Armenia’s soil agrochemical sampling campaigns, which occur every 5 years. Soil property maps were created and/or updated through state-of-the-art Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) techniques. The process was supported through a DSM training provided by the GSP.ArmSIS was designed and developed in the framework of GloSIS, using the open-source GeoNetwork catalogue application.
ArmSIS represents not only a great achievement for Armenia but also serves as an example for other countries that want to leverage the full potential of soil information. Its launch constitutes a step closer towards the realization of GloSIS, the first-ever nationally federated and globally harmonized Global Soil Information System.
Latin America and Caribbean Soil Information System (SISLAC)
The sustained production of soil information is essential for monitoring progress on the Agenda 2030 and national development plans.
In 2012, FAO created a soil information system in Latin America, the SISLAC, which initially relied on a series of data provided by the countries and culminated, in the first stage, with the generation of soil maps at a scale of 1:1,000,000. Since June 2017, the regional soil project has been carrying out a series of training courses on digital soil mapping and a new SISLAC design is being carried out to strengthen the soil information capacities of participating countries.
The soil and environmental statistics team is available to assist the countries of the region on this subject, articulating a regional network of expertise, resources and mutual support. The updated system will be hosted by free software on the FAO platform in Rome.
In this way, and according to FAO's soil data policy, (http://www.fao.org/3/a-bs975e.pdf) countries will be able to give credit to the institutions that generate the data and maintain control over all the data that are integrated into the system.
Macedonian Soils Information System (MaSIS)
Decades of archived soil research have now been transformed into an accurate, up-to-date, and fully functioning information system – based on state-of-the-art digital soil mapping techniques. The new Macedonian Soil Information System or “MASIS” – formally launched in 2015 and was developed with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Soil Partnership.
MASIS is expected to be fundamental for guiding decision-making at national and local levels, from policy to action-oriented fields such as land use planning, land suitability assessment, soil fertility policies, soil degradation, climate change adaptation, ecosystem services, and implementing the new global Sustainable Development Goals.
MASIS will also make it possible to monitor soil condition and determine how human interventions, such as land use changes and climate change, affect it.
Lesotho Soil Information System (LeSIS)
LeSIS provides soil maps and related information systems and constitutes the basis for assessing soil quality over time. LESIS further advocates for organized and systematic survey and monitoring of soils in Lesotho with accurate and up-to-date soil information using state of the art methods and tools of digital soil mapping.
Cambodian Soil Information System (CamSIS)
The TCP Project (TCP/CMB/3602) has supported design and the development of information technology infrastructure necessary for CamSIS, built national capacity in digital soil mapping, database management, data harmonization, land suitability, and trained national experts on well-developed modern methods for digital soil mapping, soil database design, land suitability evaluation and information delivery via the web to multiple stakeholders.
Sudan Soil Information System (SuSIS)
SuSIS was launched in 2016 with the focus of providing dynamic soil resource information to a wide range of needs. For a long time, Sudan soil resource information has been in the form of hard copy maps, reports, and databases that are scattered in different places. Although the country has rich soil information, the use of such information remains doubtful owing to the lack of a central repository for dissemination and management. SUSIS is a system for collection, storage, manipulation and dissemination of soil and land resource information in a way that is intended to benefit accurate and sustainable exploitation of soil and land resources in Sudan.
Soil Information System of Afghanistan (SISAf)
Soil Information System of Afghanistan (SISAf) provides soil maps and related information systems through advocating of organized and systematic survey and monitoring of soils in Afghanistan with accurate and up-to-date soil information using state of the art methods and professional tools of digital soil mapping. SISAf constitutes the bases for assessing soil quality and suitability over time and maintain an online soil information repository for Afghanistan.
SISAF assists stakeholders including government institutions, researchers, academia and the farming community to:
- Provide and update soil data and maps of Afghanistan
- Provide essential and valuable information to scientists, researchers and policy makers.
- Support Afghanistan institutions and personnel in the soil departments to produce and maintain updated soil information
- Identify and quantify various threats and pressures on soil to agriculture, environment and climate-change related issues.
- Support Afghanistan institutions and personnel in the soil departments to produce and maintain updated soil information
- Show the location and type of soil and their suitability for various agricultural use, existing and potential nutrient/fertilizer
