The ISRIC – World Soil Information Soil Data Hub is a central location for searching and downloading soil data from around the world.

ISRIC, is a regular member of the International Science Council (ISC) World Data System. We support Open Data whenever possible, respecting inherited rights (licences).

We make our own soil information products available to data users under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY-NC or CC BY for datasets, and CC BY 4.0 for derived predictions and visualisations). Details are provided in the ISRIC Data and Software Policy.

Can’t find what you are looking for? Please take a look at our collection of soil geographical databases to explore soil data available outside ISRIC-World Soil Information via https://www.isric.org/explore/soil-geographic-databases.

Disclaimer: By using the ISRIC data and web services, the user accepts the ISRIC data and software policy in full. In order to acknowledge the scientists and/or organisations that have provided data or products, ISRIC requests that data users include a bibliographic citation to all materials supplied through ISRIC in output products, websites, and publications.

Version 3.1 of the ISRIC-WISE database (WISE3) was compiled from a wide range of soil profile data collected by many soil professionals worldwide. All profiles have been harmonized with respect to the original Legend (1974) and Revised Legend (1988) of FAO-Unesco. Thereby, the primary soil data ─ and any secondary data derived from them ─ can be linked using GIS to the spatial units of the digitized Soil Map of the World as well as more recent digital Soil and Terrain (SOTER) databases through the soil legend code.

WISE3 holds selected attribute data for some 10,250 soil profiles, with some 47,800 horizons, from 149 countries. Individual profiles have been sampled, described, and analyzed according to methods and standards in use in the originating countries. There is no uniform set of properties for which all profiles have analytical data, generally because only selected measurements were planned during the original surveys. Methods used for laboratory determinations of specific soil properties vary between laboratories and over time; sometimes, results for the same property cannot be compared directly. WISE3 will inevitably include gaps, being a compilation of legacy soil data derived from traditional soil survey, which can be of a taxonomic, geographic, and soil analytical nature. As a result, the amount of data available for modelling is sometimes much less than expected. Adroit use of the data, however, will permit a wide range of agricultural and environmental applications at a global and continental scale (1:500 000 and broader).

Preferred citation: Batjes NH 2009. Harmonized soil profile data for applications at global and continental scales: updates to the WISE database. Soil Use and Management 5:124–127, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2009.00202.x

The World Data Centre for Soils (WDC-Soils), hosted by ISRIC World Soil Information since 1989, is a regular member (i.e., node that deals directly with data curation and data analysis services) of the ICSU World Data System. The WDC-Soils collates, maintains and analyzes soil-related collections and also provides information services as custodian of global soil information. Holdings from the WDC-Soils repository can be accessed, in accordance with the access categories agreed with the data providers [http://www.isric.org/about/data-policy], using a range of web facilities and services that provide access to the data, documentation and project-related webpages. All datasets can be accessed freely through our Soil Data Hub (GeoNetwork catalogue, GN3).

The Harmonized World Soil Database version 2.0 (HWSD v2.0) is a unique global soil inventory providing information on the morphological, chemical and physical properties of soils at approximately 1 km resolution. Its main objective is to serve as a basis for prospective studies on agro-ecological zoning, food security and climate change.

The Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) was established in 2008 by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and FAO, and in partnership with International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC), the European Soil Bureau Network (ESBN) and the Institute for Soil Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The data entry and harmonization within a Geographic Information System (GIS) was carried out at IIASA, with verification of the database undertaken by all partners. HWSD was then updated in 2013 (HWSD v1.2) and in 2023 (HWSD v2.0).

This updated version (HWSD v2.0) is built on the previous versions of HWSD with several improvements on (i) the data source that now includes several national soil databases, (ii) an enhanced number of soil attributes available for seven soil depth layers, instead of two in HWSD v1.2, and (iii) a common soil reference for all soil units (FAO1990 and the World Reference Base for Soil Resources). This contributes to a further harmonization of the database.

The GIS raster image file is linked to the soil attribute database. The HWSD v2.0 soil attribute database provides information on the soil unit composition for each of the near 30 000 soil association mapping units. The HWSD v2.0 Viewer, provided with the database, creates this link automatically and provides direct access to the soil attribute data and the soil association information.

Note: A tutorial for accessing HWSD ver. 2.0 using R (prepared by David Rossiter, June 2023) has been added as an 'associated resource' (NOTE: Needs the SQLite version of HWSD v2 as provided below).

Soil organic carbon stock in t/ha for 0-30 cm depth interval. Predictions were derived using a digital soil mapping approach based on Quantile Random Forest, drawing on a global compilation of soil profile data and environmental layers. To visualize these layers please use www.soilgrids.org.

The International Soil Reference and Information Centre-World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials (ISRIC-WISE) international soil profile data set consists of a homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles for use by global modelers. These profiles provided the basis for the Global Pedon Database (GPDB) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - Data and Information System (DIS). The data set consists of a selection of 665 profiles originating from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, Lincoln), 250 profiles obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome), and 210 profiles from the reference collection of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC, Wageningen). All profiles are georeferenced and classified according to the 1974 Legend of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map (FAC-UNESCO, 1974) of the World, as well as the 1988 Revised Legend of FAO-UNESCO (FAO, 1990). The data set includes information on soil classification, site data, soil horizon data, source of data, and methods used for determining analytical data. The data files are in a comma-delimited format. Data Citation: The data set should be cited as follows: Batjes, N. H. (ed). 2000. Global Soil Profile Data (ISRIC-WISE). Available on-line from the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

The Africa Soil Profiles Database, Version 1.2, is compiled by ISRIC - World Soil Information (World Data Center for Soils) as a project activity for the Globally integrated- Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project (www.africasoils.net/data/legacyprofile). It replaces version 1.1.

The Africa Soil Profiles Database is a compilation of georeferenced and standardised legacy soil profile data for Sub-Saharan Africa. Version 1.2 (November 2014) identifies 18,532 unique soil profiles inventoried from a wide variety of data sources and includes profile site and layer attribute data. Soil analytical data are available for 15,564 profiles of which 14,197 are georeferenced, including the attributes as specified by GlobalSoilMap.net. Soil attribute values are standardized according to SOTER conventions and are validated according to routine rules. Odd values are flagged. The degree of validation, and associated reliability of the data, varies because reference soil profile data, that are previously and thoroughly validated, are compiled together with non-reference soil profile data of lesser inherent representativeness.

Version 3.1 of the ISRIC-WISE database holds selected site and horizon data for some 10 250 soil profiles from 149 countries. Profile data were extracted from a wide range of sources and harmonized with respect to the original (1974) and revised (1988) Legend of the FAO-Unesco Soil Map of the World. Profiles have been described, sampled, and analysed according to methods and standards in use in the originating countries; analytical results for the same property cannot always be compared directly; as a result the amount of measured data available for modelling is sometimes much less than expected. WISE was specifically developed for land-related applications at continental and global scales.

The International Soil Reference and Information Centre-World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials (ISRIC-WISE) international soil profile data set consists of a homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles for use by global modelers. These profiles provided the basis for the Global Pedon Database (GPDB) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - Data and Information System (DIS). The data set consists of a selection of 665 profiles originating from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, Lincoln), 250 profiles obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome), and 210 profiles from the reference collection of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC, Wageningen). All profiles are georeferenced and classified according to the 1974 Legend of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map (FAC-UNESCO, 1974) of the World, as well as the 1988 Revised Legend of FAO-UNESCO (FAO, 1990). The data set includes information on soil classification, site data, soil horizon data, source of data, and methods used for determining analytical data. The data files are in a comma-delimited format. Data Citation: The data set should be cited as follows: Batjes, N. H. (ed). 2000. Global Soil Profile Data (ISRIC-WISE). Available on-line from the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

Soil information, from the global to the local scale, has often been the one missing biophysical information layer, the absence of which has added to the uncertainties of predicting potentials and constraints for food and fiber production. The lack of reliable and harmonized soil data has considerably hampered land degradation assessments, environmental impact studies and adapted sustainable land management interventions.

Recognizing the urgent need for improved soil information worldwide, particularly in the context of the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol for soil carbon measurements and the immediate requirement for the FAO/IIASA Global Agro-ecological Assessment study (GAEZ v3.0), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) took the initiativeof combining the recently collected vast volumes of regional and national updates of soil information with the information already contained within the 1:5,000,000 scale FAOUNESCO Digital Soil Map of the World, into a new comprehensive Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD).

This database was achieved in partnership with: • ISRIC-World Soil Information together with FAO, which were responsible for the development of regional soil and terrain databases and the WISE soil profile database; • the European Soil Bureau Network, which had recently completed a major update of soil information for Europe and northern Eurasia, and • the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences which provided the recent 1:1,000,000 scale Soil Map of China.

Volumetric Water Content at 10kPa suction in 10-3 cm3cm-3 (0.1 v% or 1 mm/m) at 6 standard depths. Predictions were derived using a digital soil mapping approach based on Quantile Random Forest, drawing on a global compilation of soil profile data and environmental layers.

The International Soil Reference and Information Centre-World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials (ISRIC-WISE) international soil profile data set consists of a homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles for use by global modelers. These profiles provided the basis for the Global Pedon Database (GPDB) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - Data and Information System (DIS). The data set consists of a selection of 665 profiles originating from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, Lincoln), 250 profiles obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome), and 210 profiles from the reference collection of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC, Wageningen). All profiles are georeferenced and classified according to the 1974 Legend of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map (FAC-UNESCO, 1974) of the World, as well as the 1988 Revised Legend of FAO-UNESCO (FAO, 1990). The data set includes information on soil classification, site data, soil horizon data, source of data, and methods used for determining analytical data. The data files are in a comma-delimited format. Data Citation: The data set should be cited as follows: Batjes, N. H. (ed). 2000. Global Soil Profile Data (ISRIC-WISE). Available on-line from the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

The ICRAF-ISRIC Soil VNIR Spectral Library contains visible near infrared spectra of 785 soil profiles (4,438 samples) soils selected from the Soil Information System of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC). The samples consist of all physically archived samples at ISRIC in 2004 for which soil attribute data was available. The spectra were measured at the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) Soil and Plant Spectral Diagnostic Laboratory. The samples are from 58 countries spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Associated attribute data, such as geographical coordinates, horizon (depth), and physical and chemical properties, are provided as separate tables. Using different methods for linking related files as explained in the pdf document accompanying this dataset (0ICRAF-ISRICSoilVNIRSpectralLibrary.pdf), the visNIR spectra can be linked with all tables holding both physical and chemical properties.

Although soil and agronomy data collection in Ethiopia has begun over 60 years ago, the data are hardly accessible as they are scattered across different organizations, mostly held in the hands of individuals (Ashenafi et al.,2020; Tamene et al.,2022), which makes them vulnerable to permanent loss. Cognizant of the problem, the Coalition of the Willing (CoW) for data sharing and access was created in 2018 with joint support and coordination of the Alliance Bioversity-CIAT and GIZ (https://www.ethioagridata.com/index.html). Mobilizing its members, the CoW has embarked on data rescue operations including data ecosystem mapping, collation, and curation of the legacy data, which was put into the central data repository for its members and the wider data user’s community according to the guideline developed based on the FAIR data principles and approved by the CoW. So far, CoW managed to collate and rescue about 20,000 legacy soil profile data and over 38,000 crop responses to fertilizer data (Tamene et al.,2022). The legacy soil profile dataset (consisting of Profiles Site = 1,842 observations with 37 variables; Profiles Layer Field = 6,365 observations with 64 variables; Profiles Layer Lab= 4,575 observations with 76 variables) is extracted, transformed, and uploaded into a harmonized template, adapted from Batjes 2022; Leenaars et al, 2014) from the below source: Africa Soil Profile Database (Leenaars et al, 2014): The existing accessible compiled legacy soil profile database of Ethiopia prepared by the Africa soil profile database consisted of 1,842 legacy soil profile observations (Batjas et al., 2020; Leenaars et al., 2014).

Reference: Ashenafi, A., Tamene, L., and Erkossa, T. 2020. Identifying, Cataloguing, and Mapping Soil and Agronomic Data in Ethiopia. CIAT Publication No. 506. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 42 p. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/110868 Ashenafi, A., Erkossa, T., Gudeta, K., Abera, W., Mesfin, E., Mekete, T., Haile, M., Haile, W., Abegaz, A., Tafesse, D. and Belay, G., 2022. Reference Soil Groups Map of Ethiopia Based on Legacy Data and Machine Learning Technique: EthioSoilGrids 1.0. EGUsphere, pp.1-40. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-301 Tamene L; Erkossa T; Tafesse T; Abera W; Schultz S. 2021. A coalition of the Willing - Powering data-driven solutions for Ethiopian Agriculture. CIAT Publication No. 518. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 34 p. https://www.ethioagridata.com/Resources/Powering%20Data-Driven%20Solutions%20for%20Ethiopian%20Agriculture.pdf. The Coalition of the Willing (CoW) website: https://www.ethioagridata.com/index.html. Batjes, N.H., 2022. Basic principles for compiling a profile dataset for consideration in WoSIS. CoP report, ISRIC–World Soil Information, Wageningen. Contents Summary, 4(1), p.3. Carvalho Ribeiro, E.D. and Batjes, N.H., 2020. World Soil Information Service (WoSIS)-Towards the standardization and harmonization of world soil data: Procedures Manual 2020. Elias, E.: Soils of the Ethiopian Highlands: Geomorphology and Properties, CASCAPE Project, 648 ALTERRA, Wageningen UR, the Netherlands, library.wur.nl/WebQuery/isric/2259099, 649 2016. Leenaars, J. G. B., van Oostrum, A.J.M., and Ruiperez ,G.M.: Africa Soil Profiles Database, Version 1.2. A compilation of georeferenced and standardised legacy soil profile data for Sub Saharan Africa (with dataset), ISRIC Report 2014/01, Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project and ISRIC – World Soil Information, Wageningen, library.wur.nl/WebQuery/isric/2259472, 2014. Leenaars, J. G. B., Eyasu, E., Wösten, H., Ruiperez González, M., Kempen, B.,Ashenafi, A., and Brouwer, F.: Major soil-landscape resources of the cascape intervention woredas, Ethiopia: Soil information in support to scaling up of evidence-based best practices in agricultural production (with dataset), CASCAPE working paper series No. OT_CP_2016_1, Cascape. https://edepot.wur.nl/428596, 2016. Leenaars, J. G. B., Elias, E., Wösten, J. H. M., Ruiperez-González, M., and Kempen, B.: Mapping the major soil-landscape resources of the Ethiopian Highlands using random forest, Geoderma, 361, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114067, 2020a. 740 . Leenaars, J. G. B., Ruiperez, M., González, M., Kempen, B., and Mantel, S.: Semi-detailed soil resource survey and mapping of REALISE woredas in Ethiopia, Project report to the BENEFIT-REALISE programme, December, ISRIC-World Soil Information, Wageningen, 2020b. TERMS: Access to the data is limited to the CoW members until the national soil and agronomy data-sharing directive of MoA is registered by the Ministry of Justice and released for implementation. DISCLAIMER: The dataset populated in the harmonized template consisting of 76 variables is extracted, transformed, and uploaded from the source document by the CoW. Hence, if any irregularities are observed, the data users have referred to the source document uploaded along with the dataset. Use of the dataset and any consequences arising from using it is the user’s sole responsibility.

The Soil and Terrain database for Latin America and the Caribbean (SOTERLAC), version 2.0, at scale 1:5 million, replaces version 1.02. The update includes changes in the GIS file and in the attributes database. The topographic base of the SOTERLAC map was adapted to a version congruent to the Digital Chart of the World. The SOTERLAC attribute database has changed in respect to the number of ... pedon attributes that can be stored. Contrary to the preceding, compact version, version 2.0 can accommodate all pedon attributes considered in a 1:1 million scale SOTER database. SOTERLAC forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts

The Soil and Terrain database for Kenya (KENSOTER), version 2.0, at scale 1:1 million, replaces version 1.0 . The update include changes in the GIS file and in the attribute database. The topographic base of KENSOTER was adapted to a version congruent to the Digital Chart of the World. The KENSOTER attribute database has changed with respect to the number of pedons stored and pedon attributes. The KENSOTER version 2.0 database contains a number of measured soil moisture contents at various tensions.

Soil pH x 10 in H2O at 6 standard depths (to convert to pH values divide by 10) predicted using two sets of Africa soil profiles data. Measurement units: NA. For details see published paper here below (Hengl T., G.B.M. Heuvelink, B. Kempen, J.G.B. Leenaars, M.G. Walsh, K.D. Shepherd, A. Sila, R.A. MacMillan, J. Mendes de Jesus, L.T. Desta, J.E. Tondoh, 2015. Mapping Soil Properties of Africa at 250 m Resolution: Random Forests Significantly Improve Current Predictions. PLoS ONE 10(6)

The World Soil Information Service (WoSIS) provides quality-assessed and standardized soil profile data to support digital soil mapping and environmental applications at broad scale levels. Since the release of the ‘WoSIS snapshot 2019’ many new soil data were shared with us, registered in the ISRIC data repository, and subsequently standardized in accordance with the licenses specified by the data providers. The source data were contributed by a wide range of data providers, therefore special attention was paid to the standardization of soil property definitions, soil analytical procedures and soil property values (and units of measurement).

We presently consider the following soil chemical properties (organic carbon, total carbon, total carbonate equivalent, total Nitrogen, Phosphorus (extractable-P, total-P, and P-retention), soil pH, cation exchange capacity, and electrical conductivity) and physical properties (soil texture (sand, silt, and clay), bulk density, coarse fragments, and water retention), grouped according to analytical procedures (aggregates) that are operationally comparable.

For each profile we provide the original soil classification (FAO, WRB, USDA, and version) and horizon designations as far as these have been specified in the source databases.

Three measures for 'fitness-for-intended-use' are provided: positional uncertainty (for site locations), time of sampling/description, and a first approximation for the uncertainty associated with the operationally defined analytical methods. These measures should be considered during digital soil mapping and subsequent earth system modelling that use the present set of soil data.

The current dataset comprises 228k profiles from 217k geo-referenced sites that originate from 174 countries. The profiles represent over 900k soil layers (or horizons) and over 6 million records. The actual number of measurements for each property varies (greatly) between profiles and with depth, this generally depending on the objectives of the initial soil sampling programmes.

The data are provided in TSV (tab separated values) format and as GeoPackage. The zip-file (446 Mb) contains the following files: - Readme_woSIS_202312.pdf - wosis_202312.gpkg (GeoPackage file)
- wosis_202312_observations.tsv - wosis_202312_sites.tsv - wosis_2023112_profiles - wosis_202312_layers - wosis_202312_xxxx.tsv (e.g. wosis_202311_bdfiod.tsv, one for each observation)

For additional information see: https://www.isric.org/explore/wosis/faq-wosis.

Citation: Batjes N.H., Calisto, L. and de Sousa L.M., 2023. Providing quality-assessed and standardised soil data to support global mapping and modelling (WoSIS snapshot 2023). Earth System Science Data (Discussions; https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-14).

The data set consists of a southern African subset of the "Global Soil Profile Data (ISRIC-WISE)" data set. Data files are provided in comma-delimited ASCII format. The International Soil Reference and Information Centre - World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials (ISRIC-WISE) international soil profile data set consists of a homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles for use by global modelers. These profiles provided the basis for the Global Pedon Database (GPDB) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme - Data and Information System (IGBP-DIS). The data set consists of a selection of 665 profiles originating from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A.), 250 profiles obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome, Italy), and 210 profiles from the reference collection of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC, Wageningen, The Netherlands). All profiles are georeferenced and classified according to the 1974 Legend of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World (FAO-UNESCO 1974), as well as the 1988 Revised Legend of FAO-UNESCO (FAO 1990). The data set includes information on soil classification, site data, soil horizon data, source of data, and methods used for determining analytical data.