The Soil Map of Italy at 1:1,000,000 scale, was the result of the work of Edoardo AC Costantini, Giovanni L'Abate, Roberto Barbetti, Maria Fantappié, Romina Lorenzetti, and Simona Magini affiliated to Research Centre for agrobiology and soil science (CREA-ABP), in collaboration with several regional institutions, universities and other research centers of the CREA - Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria. The map, was printed by S.EL.CA. of Florence. The map is an informative and educational work of general scientific interest, which updates the previous one edited by prof. Fiorenzo Mancini and collaborators in 1966 both in terms of knowledge and of the adopted methods. It was produced processing of all data within a geographical and soil geodatabase, collected by the CREA-ABP and other institutions collaborating in over ten years of work and using the latest international methods. The soil map shows the distribution of major soils in the country and constitutes a milestone in the process launched in 1999 as part of the project the Soil Map of Italy at a scale of 1: 250,000, funded by MIPAAF and implemented in collaboration with the regional institutions. Both broad soil regions and soil provinces (reference scale 1:10,000,000 and 1:1,000,000) are reported.

Most small-scale soil maps report dominant typological units and allow only a partial appraisal of pedodiversity since territories with similar dominant soils can actually possess different pedodiversity. This is particularly true at the national scale, where a great wealth of soil information collected at more detailed scales is generalized.

A methodology was set up, which aimed at preserving pedodiversity in upscaling soil maps by using geomatic techniques and the World Reference Base for soil resources (WRB). The main source of information was the soil system geodatabase of Italy, storing information of soil typological units and soilscapes at the 1:500,000 reference scale. Qualitative aggregation of soil taxa followed upscaling rules aimed at (i) maintaining the information about pedogenetic processes and (ii) grouping soilscapes showing recurrent patterns of soil forming processes. The upscaling methodology can be summarized in seven steps as follows: (1) soil forming processes selection, retrieved from soil typological units stored in the national database; (2) upscaling soil systems and creation of broad soil regions at 1:10,000,000 reference scale; (3) semantic upscaling of typological units to form taxa showing different soil forming processes; (4) ranking and associating soil forming processes; (5) geography upscaling of soil systems geometry to form polygons at 1:1,000,000 reference scale, called subregions; (6) ranking subregions according to their extension; (7) naming subregions by ranking the taxa according to the number of soil typological units.

The soil subregion map reported 47 map unit and 148 taxa, belonging to 22 reference soil group of WRB and showing from one to four qualifiers. Each map unit had from 2 to 18 taxa, for a total of 317 occurrences. Thirty taxa had 3 or more occurrences, while the remaining took place in one or two subregions only.

The application offers both soil and climatic information, related to 1:500,000 scale geography. The soil information systems of Italy is made up of a hierarchy of geographical layers, which includes soil regions, aimed at correlating the soils of Italy with the other European countries, soil systems, for the correlation of soil at the national level, and soil sub-systems, for the regional level. The databases provides an inventory of Italian soilscapes at two reference scale, Soil region (1:5,000,000) and Soil systems (1:500,000). Relation between entities (soil-typological-unit, soil derived profile, benchmark soil profile) and geography (soil mapping units), was also stored. Geographical layers (administrative boundaries, regionand province main towns, soil regions, and rasters of climatic variables) and correlation entities was also stored. Soil regions are a regionally restricted part of the soil cover characterized by a typical climate and parent-material association. Soil systems illustrate main Italian soilscapes and are composed of homogeneous areas as for physiography, lithology, river drainage network, and land cover. Each cartographic unit was described as combination of: i) a major landform, established according to main morphological process, slope, hypsometry, kind and degree of drainage, ii) two lithological types, iii) three land cover attributes. Maximum seven land components were recognized in each land system. A land component was a specific combination of morphology, lithology and land cover that was not delineated. 1412 soil observations have been stored on the Ms Access database mostly complete with 4284 analyzed soil horizons for the most common analytical parameters (pH in water; Carbon (C) - organic; Carbonate (CO3--) - Total; Clay, Sand, and Silt fraction; Available water capacity - estimated volumetric) and 2039 photos. Several climatic variables, relevant for soil evaluation and management, have been collected and stored. Climatical maps have been produced by spatialization of longterm statistics related to meteorological stations. The map of precipitation (AnnualRainfall) was obtained by ordinary kriging of 1,613 stations completed of long termannual average values. Mean annual air temperature was obtained by ordinary kriging of 944 stations of long-term average annual air temperature. The humidity index was obtained with a simple calculation (Annual Rainfall/Mean Annual Air Temperature). Average temperature of the soil to 50 cm was calculated on the basis of the average air temperature of the long term and field capacity of the soil at the same depth, accordingto the equation: Tm = soil to 0.5 m tm air + (field capacity to 0.5 m - 20.7) / 7.9 (Constantini et al., 1999). The mean annual soil temperatures map was obtained byordinary kriging of 6,660 data of average soil temperature at 50 cm.

The internal EJP SOIL project SERENA contributed to the evaluation of soil multifunctionality aiming at providing assessment tools for land planning and soil policies at different scales. By co-working with relevant stakeholders, the project provided co-developed indicators and associated cookbooks to assess and map them, to report both on soil degradation, soil-based ecosystem services and their bundles, under actual conditions and for climate and land-use changes, at the regional, national, and European scales.

The Global Soil Organic Carbon map (GSOCmap) published by the Food and Agriculture Organization
constitutes a baseline estimation of soil organic carbon stock (CS, ton ha–1) from 0 to 30 cm, on a grid at 30 arc-seconds
resolution (approximately 1 x 1 km). It has been produced for the Italian territory by the Italian Soil Partnership (ISP): a
national hub of institutions dealing with soils, either academic/research institutions, and regional soil services (RSS). The
RSS are the main soil data owners in Italy and play a central role in the elaboration of policies for soil management. The
RSS adhering to the ISP are: Calabria, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche,
Piemonte, Puglia, Sicilia, Toscana, and Veneto. A national soil database is maintained by the Consiglio per la Ricerca e
l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (CREA). The RSS contributed with soil data, with mean density of 1 point per 50 square
kilometres, selecting data analysed for soil organic carbon content (SOC, dag kg-1), which were representative and well
distributed for the following environmental covariates: land use, geomorphology, and climate. The data were selected inbetween
1990 al 2013. This was necessary in order to exclude the effect of the new soil protection policies of the Rural
Development Programme 2014-2020. For the RSS not included in the ISP, the data were selected from the national soil
database. 6748 point data were finally selected. SOC values obtained with the Springer and Klee and flash combustion
elemental analyser methods were retained for elaborations, because the 2 methods, were found to give statistically
equivalent results. SOC values obtained with Walkey and Black method were, instead, corrected with an empirical factor
of 1.3. 2292 of the 6748 point data had also measured bulk density (BD, Mg m–3). Pedotransfer functions were calibrated
to estimate BD were measured BD were missing, with the following as auxiliary variables: land use, soil regions, texture,
and SOC. The carbon stock (CS, ton ha–1) was calculated by multiplying: 0.3 (m) * SOC (dag kg-1) * fine earth fraction (1 -
skeletal content expressed as daL m–3) * BD (Mg m–3). CS of the first 30 cm depth was calculated as depth-weighted
average. A spatial statistics method was used for the CS interpolation. The following auxiliary variables were used: soil
regions, soil subregions, Corine land cover 2006, lithology, soils affected by natural constrains (gleyic, histic, vertic,
coarse, shallow, arenic, sodic, and acid), sand content, silt content, 30-m aster-DEM, distance from coast, distance from
relieves, soil aridity index, annual mean precipitations, mean annual air temperature, soil inorganic carbon, and soil
depth. For the soil region of Po valley, the land units at 1:250,000 scale were also used. The interpolation method was a
general linear regression for the soil regions of Po valley, and a radial basis function for the remaining Italian territory.
The 6748 point data were divided, by spatial random sampling, into 10 subsets. Ten interpolations were produced, each
time leaving out 1/10 of the dataset. Average (fig. 1), standard deviation and confidence intervals of these 10
interpolations were calculated. Mean Absolute Errors (MAE) and Root Mean Squared Errors (RMSE) were respectively
25.5 and 36.4 Mg/ha.

A.85 Italy Map source: Country submission Point data Number of samples: 6748 Sampling period: 1990-2013 SOC analysis method: SOC values obtained with the Springer and Klee and ’flash combustion elemental analyser’ methods were retained for elaborations. Uncorrected values obtained by the Walkey and Black method were corrected with an empirical linear equation, based on previous studies and as recommended by the Italian official methods. BD analysis method: Undisturbed sampling, core method and pit method Mapping method Mapping method details: Neural Networks and GLM, according to soil region Validation statistics: Mean Error (ME) of the prediction is 1.688 Mg/ha, MAE 25.57 Mg/ha, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) is 36.24 Mg/ha. Contact Data Holder: Research centre for agriculture and environment Contact: CREA Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria edoardo.costantini@crea.gov.it

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Copenhagen Institute of Geography, the European Soil Bureau, the University of Manchester Institute of Landscape Ecology, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, and the Agricultural Research Institute Iceland have shared data and expertise in order to develop the Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database (Cryosol Working Group, 2001). This database was the source of data for the current product. The spatial coverage of the Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database is the polar and mid-latitude regions of the northern hemisphere: Alaska, Canada, Conterminous United States, Eurasia (except Italy), Greenland, Iceland, Kazakstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Italy, and Svalbard. The Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database represents the proportion (percentage) of polygon encompassed by the dominant soil or nonsoil. Soils include turbels, orthels, histels, histosols, mollisols, vertisols, aridisols, andisols, entisols, spodosols, inceptisols (and hapludolls), alfisols (cryalf and udalf), natric great groups, aqu-suborders, glaciers, and rocklands. Also included are data on the circumpolar distribution of gelisols (turbels, orthels, and histels), and the ice content (low, medium, or high) of circumpolar soil materials (from the International Permafrost Association, 1997). The resulting maps show the dominant soil of the spatial polygon unless the polygon is over 90 percent rock or ice. Data are in the U.S. soil classification system and includes the distribution of soil types (%) within a map unit (polygon). Data are available in ESRI shapefile format and ESRI interchange file format and include the same attribute values with the exception of Italy, which does not contain distribution values.

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of April 2024 and will be retired in December 2026. A new version of this item is available for your use. Esri recommends updating your maps and apps to use the new version.Soil is a key natural resource that provides the foundation of basic ecosystem services. Soil determines the types of farms and forests that can grow on a landscape. Soil filters water. Soil helps regulate the Earth's climate by storing large amounts of carbon. Activities that degrade soils reduce the value of the ecosystem services that soil provides. For example, since 1850 35% of human caused green house gas emissions are linked to land use change. The Soil Science Society of America is a good source of of additional information.Many hydrologic processes are affected by the properties of the soil. The amount and timing or run off from a storm is related to how fast soil absorbs water. and the physical structure of the soil affects the amount of water that can be stored in the ground.Dataset SummaryThis layer provides access to a 30 arc-second (roughly 1 km) cell-sized raster with attributes related to soil hydrology derived from the Harmonized World Soil Database v 1.2. The values in this layer are for the dominant soil in each mapping unit (sequence field = 1).Fields are available for each of these attributes related to hydrology:Drainage ClassAvailable Water Storage Capacity - mm/mImpermeable Layer Depth - only in the European Soil DatabaseSoil Water Regime - only in the European Soil DatabaseThe layer is symbolized with the Drainage Class field.The document Harmonized World Soil Database Version 1.2 provides more detail on the attributes related to soil hydrology contained in this layer.Other attributes contained in this layer include:Soil Mapping Unit Name - the name of the spatially dominant major soil groupSoil Mapping Unit Symbol - a two letter code for labeling the spatially dominant major soil group in thematic mapsData Source - the HWSD is an aggregation of datasets. The data sources are the European Soil Database (ESDB), the 1:1 million soil map of China (CHINA), the Soil and Terrain Database Program (SOTWIS), and the Digital Soil Map of the World (DSMW).Percentage of Mapping Unit covered by dominant componentMore information on the Harmonized World Soil Database is available here.Other layers created from the Harmonized World Soil Database are available on ArcGIS Online:World Soils Harmonized World Soil Database - Bulk DensityWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – ChemistryWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database - Exchange CapacityWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – GeneralWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – TextureThe authors of this data set request that projects using these data include the following citation:FAO/IIASA/ISRIC/ISSCAS/JRC, 2012. Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2). FAO, Rome, Italy and IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria.What can you do with this layer?This layer is suitable for both visualization and analysis. It can be used in ArcGIS Online in web maps and applications and can be used in ArcGIS Desktop.This layer has query, identify, and export image services available. This layer is restricted to a maximum area of 16,000 x 16,000 pixels - an area 4,000 kilometers on a side or an area approximately the size of Europe. The source data for this layer are available here.This layer is part of a larger collection of landscape layers that you can use to perform a wide variety of mapping and analysis tasks.The Living Atlas of the World provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.Geonet is a good resource for learning more about landscape layers and the Living Atlas of the World. To get started follow these links:Living Atlas Discussion GroupSoil Data Discussion GroupThe Esri Insider Blog provides an introduction to the Ecophysiographic Mapping project.

Soil is a key natural resource that provides the foundation of basic ecosystem services. Soil determines the types of farms and forests that can grow on a landscape. Soil filters water. Soil helps regulate the Earth's climate by storing large amounts of carbon. Activities that degrade soils reduce the value of the ecosystem services that soil provides. For example, since 1850 35% of human caused green house gas emissions are linked to land use change. The Soil Science Society of America is a good source of of additional information.The mineral composition of underlying rock, the amount and type of organic material from plants and climatic and other environmental factors affect the chemistry of the soil. Chemical composition and processes determine how and what type of soil forms at a given location and what type of agriculture the areas wil support.Dataset SummaryThis layer provides access to a 30 arc-second (roughly 1 km) cell-sized raster with attributes related to the chemistry of soil derived from the Harmonized World Soil Database v 1.2. The values in this layer are for the dominant soil in each mapping unit (sequence field = 1).Fields for topsoil (0-30 cm) and subsoil (30-100 cm) are available for each of these soil chemistry attributes:Organic Carbon - % weightCalcium Carbonate - % weightGypsum - % weightSalinity - Electrical Conductivity - dS/mpHAdditionally, 4 class description fields were added by Esri based on the document Harmonized World Soil Database Version 1.2 for use in web map pop-ups:pH Class DescriptionCalcium Carbonate Class DescriptionGypsum Class DescriptionSalinity - Electrical Conductivity - Class DescriptionThe layer is symbolized with the Topsoil pH field.The document Harmonized World Soil Database Version 1.2 provides more detail on the soil chemistry attributes contained in this layer.Other attributes contained in this layer include:Soil Mapping Unit Name - the name of the spatially dominant major soil groupSoil Mapping Unit Symbol - a two letter code for labeling the spatially dominant major soil group in thematic mapsData Source - the HWSD is an aggregation of datasets. The data sources are the European Soil Database (ESDB), the 1:1 million soil map of China (CHINA), the Soil and Terrain Database Program (SOTWIS), and the Digital Soil Map of the World (DSMW).Percentage of Mapping Unit covered by dominant componentMore information on the Harmonized World Soil Database is available here.Other layers created from the Harmonized World Soil Database are available on ArcGIS Online:World Soils Harmonized World Soil Database - Bulk DensityWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database - Exchange CapacityWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – GeneralWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – HydricWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – TextureThe authors of this data set request that projects using these data include the following citation:FAO/IIASA/ISRIC/ISSCAS/JRC, 2012. Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2). FAO, Rome, Italy and IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria.What can you do with this layer?This layer is suitable for both visualization and analysis. It can be used in ArcGIS Online in web maps and applications and can be used in ArcGIS Desktop.This layer has query, identify, and export image services available. This layer is restricted to a maximum area of 16,000 x 16,000 pixels - an area 4,000 kilometers on a side or an area approximately the size of Europe. The source data for this layer are available here. This layer is part of a larger collection of landscape layers that you can use to perform a wide variety of mapping and analysis tasks.The Living Atlas of the World provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.Geonet is a good resource for learning more about landscape layers and the Living Atlas of the World. To get started follow these links:Living Atlas Discussion GroupSoil Data Discussion GroupThe Esri Insider Blog provides an introduction to the Ecophysiographic Mapping project.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Copenhagen Institute of Geography, the European Soil Bureau, the University of Manchester Institute of Landscape Ecology, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, and the Agricultural Research Institute Iceland have shared data and expertise in order to develop the Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database (Cryosol Working Group, 2001). This database was the source of data for the current product. The spatial coverage of the Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database is the polar and mid-latitude regions of the northern hemisphere: Alaska, Canada, Conterminous United States, Eurasia (except Italy), Greenland, Iceland, Kazakstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Italy, and Svalbard. The Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database represents the proportion (percentage) of polygon encompassed by the dominant soil or nonsoil. Soils include turbels, orthels, histels, histosols, mollisols, vertisols, aridisols, andisols, entisols, spodosols, inceptisols (and hapludolls), alfisols (cryalf and udalf), natric great groups, aqu-suborders, glaciers, and rocklands. Also included are data on the circumpolar distribution of gelisols (turbels, orthels, and histels), and the ice content (low, medium, or high) of circumpolar soil materials (from the International Permafrost Association, 1997). The resulting maps show the dominant soil of the spatial polygon unless the polygon is over 90 percent rock or ice. Data are in the U.S. soil classification system and includes the distribution of soil types (%) within a map unit (polygon). Data are available in ESRI shapefile format and include the same attribute values with the exception of Italy, which does not contain distribution values.

Open AccessThe internal EJP SOIL project SERENA contributed to the evaluation of soil multifunctionality aiming at providing assessment tools for land planning and soil policies at different scales. By co-working with relevant stakeholders, the project provided co-developed indicators and associated cookbooks to assess and map them, to report both on soil degradation, soil-based ecosystem services and their bundles, under actual conditions and for climate and land-use changes, at the regional, national, and European scales. The topsoil (0-30 cm) properties maps are prepared to evaluate soil ecosystem services in SERENA/EJP-Soil and for applying SOC loss Cookbook and SOIL Loss Cookbook. In particular Soil Organic Carbon content map was directly considered as an application of SOC loss Cookbook (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13951265 Version 3). They are based on Tuscany Region soil database available at Geoscopio (https://www502.regione.toscana.it/geoscopio/pedologia.html) and on point soil data not freely available (Lamma Consortium). More information and requests to: info@lamma.toscana.it. In accordance with the methodology reported in the Soil Organic Carbon Mapping Cookbook (Yigini et al., 2018), the following soil properties were mapped for all Tuscany Region: soil organic carbon content (dag/kg), soil organic carbon stock (t/ha), textural fractions (sand, silt and clay, USDA limits, dag/kg), rock fragments (vol/vol), pH in water, bulk density (g/cm3). They were obtained through Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) approach, based on correlations with numerous environmental factors and using Random Forest algorithm. All the maps have a 100 m spatial resolution.

National database of Italian Soil Typological Units (STU) and corresponding Derived Soil Profiles (DSP) obtained on a 500 meters grid (1,109,672 points) by neural network. The most probable WRB Reference Soil Group (RSG), WRB Qualifiers, and USDA textural soil types were mapped on the 500 meters grid, by neural network. 18,707 Observed soil profiles and the respective 33,014 Soil Horizons were grouped into 4,472 STUs based on the combinations of Soil Region, WRB Reference Soil Group (RSG), WRB Qualifiers, and USDA textural soil types obtained on the 500 meters grid. Statistics were calculated (Mean Value, Standard Deviation Value, and Numerosity) for soil rooting depth and for the most common analytical parameters of the soil horizons (Coarse fragment content fraction; pH in water; Carbon (C) - organic; Carbonate (CO3--) - Total; Clay, Sand, and Silt fraction; Granulometry; Textural soil types). The 500 meters grid adopts EPSG 23032 (ED50 UTM-32). A reference scale of 1:250.000 may be attributed to the 500-meters grid map, on the base of the numerosity of DSP produced for the whole italian territory.

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of April 2024 and will be retired in December 2026. A new version of this item is available for your use. Esri recommends updating your maps and apps to use the new version. Soil is a key natural resource that provides the foundation of basic ecosystem services. Soil determines the types of farms and forests that can grow on a landscape. Soil filters water. Soil helps regulate the Earth's climate by storing large amounts of carbon. Activities that degrade soils reduce the value of the ecosystem services that soil provides. For example, since 1850 35% of human caused green house gas emissions are linked to land use change. The Soil Science Society of America is a good source of of additional information.Dataset SummaryThis layer provides access to a 30 arc-second (roughly 1 km) cell-sized raster with attributes describing the basic properties of soil derived from the Harmonized World Soil Database v 1.2. The values in this layer are for the dominant soil in each mapping unit (sequence field = 1).Attributes in this layer include:Soil Phase 1 and Soil Phase 2 - Phases identify characteristics of soils important for land use or management. Soils may have up to 2 phases with phase 1 being more important than phase 2.Other Properties - provides additional information important for agriculture.Additionally, 3 class description fields were added by Esri based on the document Harmonized World Soil Database Version 1.2 for use in web map pop-ups:Soil Phase 1 DescriptionSoil Phase 2 DescriptionOther Properties DescriptionThe layer is symbolized with the Soil Unit Name field.The document Harmonized World Soil Database Version 1.2 provides more detail on the soil properties attributes contained in this layer.Other attributes contained in this layer include:Soil Mapping Unit Name - the name of the spatially dominant major soil groupSoil Mapping Unit Symbol - a two letter code for labeling the spatially dominant major soil group in thematic mapsData Source - the HWSD is an aggregation of datasets. The data sources are the European Soil Database (ESDB), the 1:1 million soil map of China (CHINA), the Soil and Terrain Database Program (SOTWIS), and the Digital Soil Map of the World (DSMW).Percentage of Mapping Unit covered by dominant componentMore information on the Harmonized World Soil Database is available here.Other layers created from the Harmonized World Soil Database are available on ArcGIS Online:World Soils Harmonized World Soil Database - Bulk DensityWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – ChemistryWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database - Exchange CapacityWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – HydricWorld Soils Harmonized World Soil Database – TextureThe authors of this data set request that projects using these data include the following citation:FAO/IIASA/ISRIC/ISSCAS/JRC, 2012. Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2). FAO, Rome, Italy and IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria.What can you do with this layer?This layer is suitable for both visualization and analysis. It can be used in ArcGIS Online in web maps and applications and can be used in ArcGIS Desktop.This layer has query, identify, and export image services available. This layer is restricted to a maximum area of 16,000 x 16,000 pixels - an area 4,000 kilometers on a side or an area approximately the size of Europe. The source data for this layer are available here.This layer is part of a larger collection of landscape layers that you can use to perform a wide variety of mapping and analysis tasks.The Living Atlas of the World provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.Geonet is a good resource for learning more about landscape layers and the Living Atlas of the World. To get started follow these links:Living Atlas Discussion GroupSoil Data Discussion GroupThe Esri Insider Blog provides an introduction to the Ecophysiographic Mapping project.

(Layer of the Group layer SUOLO) Service for consulting soil systems and subsystems and soil distribution (UTS) according to the guidelines and standards set by the European Soil Bureau (ESB). The Land Charter of Umbria, in collaboration with the Department of Agro-environmental Sciences and Plant Production of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Perugia), in implementation of the Interregional Programme "Agriculture and Quality, Mis. 5 "Implementation of the map of Italian soils 1: 250,000“(2000/2001)”.

Soil salinization and sodification risks are two of the main threats in agricultural soils of Italy (Dazzi, 2008). In Italy they are mainly due to irrigation with saline waters (Dazzi and Lo Papa, 2013), to seawater intrusion (Castrignanò et al., 2008, Dazzi and Lo Papa, 2013, Selvaggi et al., 2010), and to saline parent materials (Dazzi and Fierotti, 1994). The water level is strictly regulated by channels and pumping stations (Vittori Antisari et al., 2020; Buscaroli and Zannoni, 2010; Teatini et al., 2007), and seawater intrusion along rivers, canals and in the groundwater aquifer is exacerbated by subsidence (Teatini et al., 2005). The salt-rich parent material can be exposed due to soil erosion (Piccarreta et al., 2006; Cocco et al., 2015). In the last decades, several Italian regional authorities for soil data produced soil salinity (risk) maps, resorting to different mapping approaches. Previous examples of salinity risk maps of Italy have been also attempted (Dazzi, 2008, Costantini et al. 2009). This works presents the maps of salt-affected soils of Italy, as part of the 1k grid GSSmap, realized adopting the procedure proposed by the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), and involving the Italian regional authorities, which are part of the Italian Soil Partnership.

The Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) is a 30 arc-second raster database with over 16000 different soil mapping units that combines existing regional and national updates of soil information worldwide (SOTER, ESD, Soil Map of China, WISE) with the information contained within the 1:5 000 000 scale FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World (FAO, 19711981). The raster database consists of 21600 rows and 43200 columns, which are linked to harmonized soil property data. The use of a standardized structure allows for the linkage of the attribute data with the raster map to display or query the composition in terms of soil units and the characterization of selected soil parameters (organic Carbon, pH, water storage capacity, soil depth, cation exchange capacity of the soil and the clay fraction, total exchangeable nutrients, lime and gypsum contents, sodium exchange percentage, salinity, textural class and granulometry).

Use Constraints

All rights reserved. No part of this Harmonized World Soil Database may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means for resale or other commercial purposes without written permission of the copyright holders. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Full acknowledgement and referencing of all sources must be included in any documentation using any of the material contained in the Harmonized World Soil Database, as follows:

Citation: FAO/IIASA/ISRIC/ISS-CAS/JRC, 2012. Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2). FAO, Rome, Italy and IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria.

Data Quality

Reliability of the information contained in the database is variable: the parts of the database that still make use of the Soil Map of the World such as North America, Australia, West Africa and South Asia are considered less reliable, while most of the areas covered by SOTER databases are considered to have the highest reliability (Central and Southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe).

Acronyms

ESDB - European Soil Database

CHINA - China soil map

SOTER - Soil and Terrain database

SOTWIS - Regional SOTER databases

WISE - World Inventory of Soil Emission Potential database

DSMW - Digital Soil Map of the World

Soil maps, soil unit and soil profile descriptions, soil analyses, background information, connected with soil map at scale 1:25,000 of the Upper Volturno Basin, Molise, Italy,

The Soil and Terrain Database for Northeastern Africa contains land resource information on soils, physiography, geology and vegetation for the following ten countries: Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. The information is accessible with an easy-to-use viewer program and is also stored in vector Arc/Info export format. Information on individual soil properties with class values is also given. A land suitability assessment for irrigated and upland crops for each unit is included. The scale ofthe source material is variable and ranges between 1:1 million and 1:2 million. A user manual for the viewer program and background information on the collected and correlated land resource materials are contained in filed documents.

Soils are classified in the Revised Legend; physiographic and lithology information was collected using an earlier draft version of the SOTER manual.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) -- Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia -- Crop Production System Zones (CPSZ) software is a detailed database that provides background information about actual farming in the region. It comes with a program (CVIEW, a CPSZ viewer) that displays maps, zooms in and out, and provides export facilities for the maps in image format and for the actual data in text format. The elementary mapping unit is a compromise between administrative units and agro-ecological zones: whenever steep agro-ecological gradients exist, administrative units are subdivided, thus resulting in 1200 mapping units that are homogeneous from an agro-ecological point of view, while retaining the compatibility with the administrative units used for most socio-economic variables in agricultural planning.

The just over 500 mappable variables are subdivided into several categories covering the spectrum from agronomy and livestock to the physical environment. For each mapping unit, detailed information is also presented on the crop calendar, typical yields and main pests and diseases.

This CD-ROM contains a collection of land and natural resource information for Northeastern Africa, in particular for the IGAD countries bordering the Nile basin. It includes data on administrative boundaries, rivers and lakes, soil and terrain, climatology, land use, physiography, geology and natural vegetation in easily accessible format.

Soil and Terrain Database for Northeasterm Africa (1:1 Million Scale) and Crop Production System Zones of the IGAD Subregion is provided on CD-ROM by the FAO, Land and Water Digital Media Series (Number 2). The CD-ROM can be purchased (Price: US$40) from FAO, Sales and Marketing Group, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 0100 Rome, Italy (Fax: +39-06-5705-3360 E-mail: publications-sales@fao.org).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the University of Copenhagen Institute of Geography, the European Soil Bureau, the University of Manchester Institute of Landscape Ecology, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, and the Agricultural Research Institute Iceland have shared data and expertise in order to develop the Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database (Cryosol Working Group, 2001). This database was the source of data for the current product. The spatial coverage of the Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database is the polar and mid-latitude regions of the northern hemisphere: Alaska, Canada, Conterminous United States, Eurasia (except Italy), Greenland, Iceland, Kazakstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Italy, and Svalbard. The Northern and Mid Latitude Soil Database represents the proportion (percentage) of polygon encompassed by the dominant soil or nonsoil. Soils include turbels, orthels, histels, histosols, mollisols, vertisols, aridisols, andisols, entisols, spodosols, inceptisols (and hapludolls), alfisols (cryalf and udalf), natric great groups, aqu-suborders, glaciers, and rocklands. Also included are data on the circumpolar distribution of gelisols (turbels, orthels, and histels), and the ice content (low, medium, or high) of circumpolar soil materials (from the International Permafrost Association, 1997). The resulting maps show the dominant soil of the spatial polygon unless the polygon is over 90 percent rock or ice. Data are in the U.S. soil classification system and includes the distribution of soil types (%) within a map unit (polygon). Data are available in ESRI shapefile format and include the same attribute values with the exception of Italy, which does not contain distribution values.

Geological map of Italy at 1:500,000 scale. The legend was reconstructed starting from the paper version.

New-ID: NBI16

Agro-ecological zones datasets is made up of AEZBLL08, AEZBLL09, AEZBLL10.

The Africa Agro-ecological Zones Dataset documentation

Files: AEZBLL08.E00 Code: 100025-011 AEZBLL09.E00 100025-012 AEZBLL10.E00 100025-013

Vector Members The E00 files are in Arc/Info Export format and should be imported with the Arc/Info command Import cover In-Filename Out-Filename.

The Africa agro-ecological zones dataset is part of the UNEP/FAO/ESRI Database project that covers the entire world but focuses on Africa. The maps were prepared by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), USA. Most data for the database were provided by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Service Land and Water Development Division, Italy. The daset was developed by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Kenya. The base maps that were used were the UNESCO/FAO Soil Map of the world (1977) in Miller Oblated Stereographic projection, the Global Navigation and Planning Charts (various 1976-1982) and the National Geographic Atlas of the World (1975). basemap and the source maps. The digitizing was done with a spatial resolution of 0.002 inches. The maps were then transformed from inch coordinates to latitude/longitude degrees. The transformation was done by an unpublished algorithm (by US Geological Survey and ESRI) to create coverages for one-degree graticules. This edit step required appending the country boundaries from Administrative Unit map and then producing the computer plot.

Contact: UNEP/GRID-Nairobi, P O Box 30552 Nairobi, Kenya FAO, Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Service, 00100, Rome, Italy ESRI, 380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92373, USA

The AEZBLL08 data covers North-West of African continent The AEZBLL09 data covers North-East of African continent The AEZBLL10 data covers South of African continent

References:

ESRI. Final Report UNEP/FAO world and Africa GIS data base (1984). Internal Publication by ESRI, FAO and UNEP

FAO/UNESCO. Soil Map of the World (1977). Scale 1:5000000. UNESCO, Paris

Defence Mapping Agency. Global Navigation and Planning Charts for Africa (various dates:1976-1982). Scale 1:5000000. Washington DC.

G.M. Grosvenor. National Geographic Atlas of the World (1975). Scale 1:8500000. National Geographic Society, Washington DC.

FAO. Statistical Data on Existing Animal Units by Agro-ecological Zones for Africa (1983). Prepared by Todor Boyadgiev of the Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Services Division.

FAO. Statistical Data on Existing and Potential Populations by Agro-ecological Zones for Africa (1983). Prepared by Marina Zanetti of the Soil Resources, Management and Conservation Services Division. FAO. Report on the Agro-ecological Zones Project. Vol.I (1978), Methodology & Result for Africa. World Soil Resources No.48.

Source : UNESCO/FAO Soil Map of the World, scale 1:5000000 Publication Date : Dec 1984 Projection : Miller Type : Polygon Format : Arc/Info Export non-compressed Related Datasets : All UNEP/FAO/ESRI Datasets, Landuse (100013/05, New-ID: 05 FAO Irrigable Soils Datasets and Water balance (100050/53)

The Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of the Territory financed the Experimental Institute for the Study and Defense of the Soil in Florence with an act dated 28-12-2001 for the ''Preparation of a National Atlas of areas at risk of desertification'' to the recognition scale (reference scales 1:100,000 - 1,250,000). The MATTM considers this Atlas a preparatory tool for the correct implementation of the National Plan to combat drought and desertification, adopted by the Italian State in implementation of the United Nations Convention to combat drought and desertification. The aforementioned act envisages the participation of the National Institute of Agricultural Economics in its specific areas of competence. The study area includes Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Umbria. Soil regions are the first level of the landscape hierarchy. The information layer of the pedological regions represents potentially homogeneous areas of soil evolution at the continental level, called ''soil regions''.