INTRODUCTION
Most of the variables required in the exchange format (and their relative codes that are listed below) are taken from the
Soil Geographical Database of Eurasia version 4. Some of them are taken from the Manual of Procedures, version 1.1.
New codes have been added, some have been modified (TEXT-TOP-DOM/SEC instead of TEXT-SRF-DOM/SEC, PARMAT-DOM-AR/SEC) and some codes have been integrated (PAR-MAT-DOM-AR/SEC). All changes and new codes are
highlighted by using colors.
While all variables should be evaluated in the pixel according to the criterion of dominant STU, the second part of the
exchange format (PIXEL DESCRIPTION AND SOIL INDICATORS TABLE) should be calculated/evaluated for the whole
pixel as a total result.
The final part of the exchange format (METADATA DESCRIPTION TABLE) requires a detailed description of data
sources and methodologies used for filling in the format and has to be filled in once for the whole pilot area. If necessary it
could be filled more than once for different parts of the pilot area.
In future perspectives, for a soil dastabase of the whole Alpine territory coded variables will be set up in order to fill a new
metadata table that will describe each pixel. Variables coding will be derived by means of the outcomes of the metadata
tables filled in, in this first phase, within the pilot areas.
A BRIEF GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF EACH PILOT AREA IS REQUIRED AS INTRODUCTION TO THE EXCHANGE
FORMAT.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCEDURES USED TO FILL IN THE ETRS_LAEA GRID CONVERTING LOCAL
GEOGRAPHICAL DATA, PROVIDING PROJECTION FILES.
DOMINANT STU DESCRIPTION TABLE
Codes for the description of the parameters of the dominant STU in the pixel
PX-ID: pixel identification code. Pixel lower left coordinates; for 1 km pixels 9 characters, organized as following:
"abcd_efgh" with "abcd" indicating the longitude in km and "efgh" indicating the latitude in km, in the ETRS_LAEA
coordinate system. The ETRS_LAEA 1km grid for the alpine region with cells labeled according to the Unified European
Grid Coding System, is available on web (http://eusoils.jrc.it/projects/Alpsis/MainAlpine.html).
DOM-STU: dominant STU coverage (%). It is useful to give an indication of how “dominant” the dominat STU is.
Sometimes, especially in mountainous environments, the dominant STU can reach only very low percentages in 1 km
pixels.
AGRI-USE
AGRI-USE
CODE
DESCRIPTION
0
No agricultural use
1
Agricultural use
AGLIM1 and AGLIM2: dominant and secondary limitation to agricultural use of the STU.
 A STU can have more than one limitation for agricultural use. Only the two most important limitations are
considered and ranked in order of their relative importance. Attribute AGLIM1 contains the code of the most
important limitation and attribute AGLIM2 the code of the secondary limitation.
If there is only one limitation or if the secondary limitation is unknown, then the value of AGLIM1 must also be
copied to AGLIM2. For example, a soil can be both shallow, with a lithic contact within the first 50 cm, and have
more than 35% gravel. The contributor may determine that shallowness is the dominant limiting factor and gravel
content is the secondary limitation. Then AGLIM1= 4 and AGLIM2 = 2.
AGLIM1 and AGLIM2
CODE
DESCRIPTION
0
No information
1
No limitation to agricultural use
2
Gravelly (over 35% gravel diameter < 7.5 cm)
3
Stony (presence of stones diameter > 7.5 cm, impracticable mechanisation)
4
Lithic (coherent and hard rock within 50 cm)
5
Concretionary (over 35 % concretions diameter < 7.5 cm near the surface)
6
Petrocalcic (cemented or indurated calcic horizon within 100 cm)
7
Saline (electric conductivity > 4 mS.cm -1 within 100 cm)
8
Sodic (Na/T > 6 % within 100 cm)
9
Glaciers and snow-caps
10
Soils disturbed by man (i.e. landfills, paved surfaces, mine spoils)
11
Fragipans
12
Excessively drained
13
Almost always flooded
14
Eroded phase, erosion
15
Phreatic phase (shallow water table)
16
Duripan (silica and iron cemented subsoil horizon)
17
Petroferric horizon
18
19
Permafrost
Poorly drained
IL: depth class of a presence of an impermeable layer within the STU.
 An impermeable layer is a subsoil horizon restricting water penetration. The impermeability can be of lithologic
origin (lithic contact), or pedogenic origin (claypan, duripan, petrocalcic or petroferric horizons).
IL
CODE
0
1
2
3
4
DESCRIPTION
No information
No impermeable layer within 150 cm
Impermeable layer between 80 and 150 cm
Impermeable layer between 40 and 80 cm
Impermeable layer within 40 cm
ROO: depth class of an obstacle to roots within the STU.
 An obstacle to roots is defined as a subsoil horizon restricting root penetration. It can be of lithologic origin (lithic
contact, rock fragments abundance), or pedogenic origin (fragipan, duripan, petrocalcic or petroferric horizons), or
it can result from the accumulation of toxic elements, or from waterlogging.
ROO
CODE
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
DESCRIPTION
No information
No obstacle to roots between 0 and 80 cm
Obstacle to roots between 60 and 80 cm depth
Obstacle to roots between 40 and 60 cm depth
Obstacle to roots between 20 and 40 cm depth
Obstacle to roots between 0 and 80 cm depth
Obstacle to roots between 0 and 20 cm depth
TOP-DEP: depth of topsoil of the STU (cm).
Topsoil in considered as the horizon/s at soil surface (A and/or E horizons) whereas subsoil is the sum of underlying
horizons (B and/or C horizons) till the depth to obstacle for roots .
Texture
TEXT-TOP-DOM: dominant topsoil textural class of the STU, topsoil referring to the soil between the surface and the
TOP-DEP value1.
TEXT-TOP-SEC: secondary topsoil textural class of the STU, topsoil referring to the soil between the surface and the
TOP-DEP value2.
TEXT-SUB-DOM: dominant subsoil textural class of the STU. It is considered SUBSOIL the portion of the STU between
the bottom of topsoil and the depth to obstacle for roots.
TEXT-SUB-SEC: secondary subsoil textural class of the STU.
 Expressing lateral variability:
A STU can have surface textures that fall in two different textural classes. The secondary surface textural class
(TEXT-TOP-SEC) is used to indicate the surface texture less extensive than the dominant one.
Together the TEXT-TOP-DOM and the TEXT-TOP-SEC attributes describe the lateral variability of the surface
horizon texture within the STU. If there is no such variability or if information is unavailable, then the value of
TEXT-TOP-DOM must also be entered for TEXT-TOP-SEC.
The same procedure should be followed for the variables TEXT-SUB-DOM and TEXT-SUB-SEC.
TEXTURE (TEXT-TOP-DOM; TEXT-TOP-SEC; TEXT-SUB-DOM; TEXT-SUB-SEC)
CODE
DESCRIPTION
0
No information
9
No mineral texture (Peat soils, rocks, etc.)
1
Coarse (clay <18% and sand ≥65% )
2
Medium (18% ≤ clay < 35 % and sand ≥ 15%, or clay <18% and 15% ≤ sand <65%)
3
Medium fine (clay <35% and sand ≤15%)
4
Fine (35% ≤ clay < 60%)
5
Very fine (clay ≥ 60%)

1
2
Texture is divided into 5 major classes corresponding to specific particle-size distribution of clay, silt and sand
(CEC, 1985) as shown in Figure 1, where the following textural classes are used:
Sand = fraction between 50 and 2000 m
Silt = fraction between 2 and 50 m
Clay = fraction smaller than 2 m
Similar to TEXT-SRF-DOM (DB 1:1 milion, version 4) where the SRF (surface) refers to the TEX-DEP-CHG (DB 1:1 milion, version 4) variable value
Similar to TEXT-SRF-SEC (DB 1:1 milion, version 4) where the SRF (surface) refers to the TEX-DEP-CHG (DB 1:1 milion, version 4) variable value
Figure 1: Texture classes (after CEC, 1985)
Parent Material
PAR-MAT-DOM-AR, PAR-MAT-SEC-AR: dominant and secondary parent materials of the dominant STU 3.
 AR stays for Alpine Region. The codes refer to the following list that is slightly different from the original one (DB
1:1 milion, version 4) since sub-type levels from 6112 to 6313 have been added by ARPAV.
 The PAR-MAT-SEC-AR attribute provides the option to indicate a secondary parent material code when parent
material variability within an STU is important and some parts of the STU fall into a different parent material class
than that of the dominant one.
 If there is no variability or if the variability is unknown, the value of PAR-MAT-DOM-AR must be copied to
PAR-MAT-SEC-AR.
 Depending on the level of detail available to describe the dominant and secondary parent materials of the STU,
i.e. Major Class or Group or Type or Sub-type, the user will choose any one of the codes provided in the table.
PAR-MAT-DOM-AR; PAR-MAT-SEC-AR
1 Major Class level
2 Group level
0000
No information
0000 No information
1100 psephite or rudite
3 Type level
0000 No information
1110 conglomerate
1120 breccia
1210 sandstone
1200 psammite or arenite
1000
consolidated-clasticsedimentary rocks
1211
1212
1213
1310 claystone / mudstone
4 Sub-type level
No information
pudding stone
1215
calcareous sandstone
ferruginous sandstone
clayey sandstone
quartzitiic sandstone
orthoquartzite
micaceous sandstone
1231
1311
1312
feldspathic graywacke
kaolinite
bentonite
1411
1412
1413
sandy flisch
clayey and silty flysch
conglomeratic flysch
2111
2112
2113
2114
2115
2116
2118
2119
2121
2122
hard limestone
soft limestone
marly limestone
chalky limestone
detrital limestone
carbonaceous limestone
lacustrine or freshwater
limestone
travertine/calcareous sinter
cavernous limestone
cavernous dolomite
calcareous dolomite
2141
2142
chalk marl
gypsiferous marl
1214
1220 arkose
1230 graywacke
1300 pelite, lutite or argilite
0000
1111
1320 siltstone
1400 facies bound rock
1410 flysch
1420 molasse
2110
2000
sedimentary rocks
(chemically precipitated,
evaporated, or
organogenic or biogenic
in origin)
limestone
2117
2100 calcareous rocks
2120 dolomite
2130 marlstone
2140 marl
2200 evaporites
3
Similar to PAR-MAT-DOM and PAR-MAT-SEC (DB 1:1 milion, version 4)
2150 chalk
2210 gypsum
2220 anhydrite
2300 siliceous rocks
2230 halite
2310 chert, hornstone, flint
2320 diatomite radiolarite
acid to intermediate
3100
plutonic rocks
3200 basic plutonic rocks
3300 ultrabasic plutonic rocks
3000
igneous rocks
3400
acid to intermediate
volcanic rocks
3500
basic to ultrabasic
volcanic rocks
3600 dike rocks
3110 granite
3120 granodiorite
3130 diorite
3140
3210
3310
3320
3410
syenite
gabbro
peridotite
pyroxenite
rhyolite
3420
3430
3440
3450
3510
3520
3530
3610
3620
3630
3710
dacite
andesite
phonolite
trachyte
basalt
diabase
pikrite
aplite
pegmatite
lamprophyre
tuff/tuffstone
3720 tuffite
3700 pyroclastic rocks (tephra)
3730
4100
weakly metamorphic
rocks
4200
acid regional
metamorphic rocks
3740
3750
3760
4110
4120
4210
4220
4230
4240
4250
4260
4000
metamorphic rocks
4300
basic regional
metamorphic rocks
ultrabasic regional
metamorphic rocks
calcareous regional
4500
metamorphic rocks
4400
4600
rocks formed by contact
metamorphism
tectogenetic or
4700 cataclasmic
metamorphic rocks
5100
5200
5000
unconsolidated deposits
(alluvium, weathering
residuum and slope
deposits)
marine and estuarine
sands
marine and estuarine
clays and silts
volcanic scoria/
volcanic breccia
volcanic ash
ignimbrite
pumice
(meta-)shale / argilite
slate
(meta-)quartzite
phyllite
micaschist
gneiss
granulite (sensu
stricto)
migmatite
4310 greenschist
4410 serpentinite
4510
4520
4610
4620
4630
4710
4720
4730
5110
marble
calcschist, skam
contact slate
hornfels
calsilicate rocks
tectonic breccia
cataclasite
mylonite
pre-quaternary sand
5120 quaternary sand
pre-quaternary clay
5210
and silt
quaternary clay and
5220
silt
5300 fluvial sands and gravels 5320 floodplain sand or
gravel or loam
or clay and silt
5410 river clay and silt
fluvial clays, silts and
loams
5420 overbank deposit
lake sand and delta
sand
5520 lake marl, bog lime
5530 lake silt
5510
5500 lake deposits
quartz diorite
gabbro diorite
syenite
gabbro
peridotite
pyroxenite
obsidian
quartz porphyrite
3431
3441
porphyrite (interm,)
tephritic phonolite
3711
3712
3713
3721
3722
3723
agglomeratic tuff
block tuff
lapilli tuff
sandy tuffite
silty tuffite
clayey tuffite
4121
4211
graphitic slate
quartzite schist
4311
4312
4313
prasinite
chlorite
talc schist
4411
greenstone
4611
nodular slate
5111
5122
5211
5212
tertiary sand
holocene coastal sand with
shells
delta sand
tertiary clay
tertiary silt
5221
holocene clay
5222
holocene silt
5311
river terrace sand
5312
5321
5322
5323
5324
5411
5412
5421
5422
river terrace gravel
floodplain sand
floodplain gravel
floodplain loam
floodplain clay and silt
terrace clay and silt
terrace loam
overbank clay and silt
overbank loam
4320 amphibolite
4330 eclogite
river terrace sand or
5310
gravel
5400
3131
3132
3140
3210
3310
3320
3411
3412
5121
5600
residual and redeposited 5610 residual loam
loams from silicate rocks
5620 redeposited loam
residual and redeposited
5710 residual clay
5700 clays from calcareous
rocks
5800 slope deposits
5720
5810
5820
5830
redeposited clay
slope-wash alluvium
colluvial deposits
talus scree
glacial till
6110
6100 morainic deposits
glacial debris
6120
6000
unconsolidated glacial
deposits glacial drift
6210
outwash sand, glacial
sand
6220
outwash gravels
glacial gravels
6200 glaciofluvial deposits
6300 glaciolacustrine deposits 6310 varves
7100 loess
7000
eolian deposits
7200 eolian sands
7110
7120
7210
7220
loamy loess
sandy loess
dune sand
cover sand
8110
rainwater fed moor
peat (raised bog)
8100 peat (mires)
8000
8120
organic materials
8200 slime and ooze deposits
9000
anthropogenic deposits
8300
carbonaceaous rocks
(caustobiolite)
9100
redeposited natural
materials
9200 dump deposits
8210
8310
8320
8330
9110
9120
9210
9220
9230
9240
9300
anthropogenic organic
materials
9300
5611
5612
5621
5711
5712
5713
5714
5715
5721
stony loam
clayey loam
running-ground
clay with flints
ferruginous residual clay
calcareous clay
non-calcareous clay
marly clay
stony clay
5831
6111
6112
6113
6114
6121
6122
6123
6211
6212
6213
6221
6222
6223
6311
6312
6313
stratified slope deposits
boulder clay
calcareous
siliceous
mixed
calcareous
siliceous
mixed
calcareous
siliceous
mixed
calcareous
siliceous
mixed
calcareous
siliceous
mixed
groundwater fed bog
peat
gyttja, sapropel
lignite (brown coal)
hard coal
anthracite
sand and gravel fill
loamy fill
rubble/rubbish
industrial ashes and
slag
industrial sludge
industrial waste
anthropogenic organic
materials
WM1: Code for normal presence and purpose of an existing water management system in agricultural land on more than
50% of the STU.
A water management system is intended to palliate the lack of water (dry conditions), correct a soil condition preventing
agricultural use (salinity), or drain excess water in waterlogged or frequently flooded areas. In some cases, it has a
double purpose, for example in zones with contrasting seasonal conditions, alternatively flooded or experiencing
droughts.
 Obviously, WM1 and WM2 are inter-dependant. For example, if WM1 = 2 (no water management system) then
WM2 can only have value 2 (no water management system). As another example, WM1 = 3 (a water
management system exists to alleviate waterlogging (drainage)) is clearly not compatible with WM2 = 9 (flood
irrigation).
WM1
CODE
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
DESCRIPTION
No information
Not applicable (no agriculture)
No water management system
A water management system exists to alleviate waterlogging (drainage)
A water management system exists to alleviate drought stress (irrigation)
A water management system exists to alleviate salinity (drainage)
A water management system exists to alleviate both waterlogging and drought stress
A water management system exists to alleviate both waterlogging and salinity
WM2: Code for the type of an existing water management system. To be filled only when AGRI-USE code is 1
WM2
CODE
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
DESCRIPTION
No information
Not applicable (no agriculture)
No water management system
Pumping
Ditches
Drainage pipe network
Mole drainage
Deep loosening (subsoiling)
Furrow irrigation
Flood irrigation (system of irrigation by controlled flooding as for rice)
Overhead sprinkler (system of irrigation by sprinkling)
Drip irrigation
WR: Dominant annual average soil water regime class of the the STU.
 The annual average soil water regime is an estimate of the soil moisture conditions throughout the year.
WR
CODE
0
1
2
3
4
WR DESCRIPTION
No information
Not wet within 80 cm for over 3 months, nor wet within 40 cm
for over 1 month
Wet within 80 cm for 3 to 6 months, but not wet within 40 cm
for over 1 month
DRAINAGE DESCRIPTION
well drained/excessively
drained
moderately well drained
Water is removed from the soil readily or
rapidly
Water is removed from the soil somewhat
slowly during some periods of the year.
The soils are wet for short periods within
rooting depth.
Wet within 80 cm for over 6 months, but not wet within 40 cm imperfectly drained
Water is removed slowly so that the soils
for over 11 months
are wet at shallow depth (<40 cm) for a
considerable period
Wet within 40 cm depth for over 11 months
poorly drained/very poorly Water is removed so slowly that the soils
drained
are commonly wet for considerable
periods. The soils have commonly a
shallow (<40 cm) water table.
WRB Classification
WRB-ADJ1: First soil adjective code of the STU from the World Reference Base for Soil Resources
WRB-ADJ2: Second soil adjective code of the STU from the World Reference Base for Soil Resources
WRB-LEV1: Soil Reference Group code of the STU from the World Reference Base for Soil Resources
WRB-FULL: Full soil code of the STU from the World Reference Base for Soil Resources. In order to be complete, the full
WRB code must include the group code and at least one adjective.
WRB-LEV1 (Soil Reference Groups)
AC
Acrisol
AB
Albeluvisol
AL
Alisol
AN
Andosol
AT
Anthrosol
AR
Arenosol
CL
Calcisol
CM
Cambisol
CH
Chernozem
CR
Cryosol
DU
Durisol
FR
Ferralsol
FL
GL
GY
HS
KS
LP
LX
LV
NT
PH
PL
PT
Fluvisol
Gleysol
Gypsisol
Histosol
Kastanozem
Leptosol
Lixisol
Luvisol
Nitisol
Phaeozem
Planosol
Plinthosol
PZ
RG
SC
SN
UM
VR
1
2
3
4
5
6
Podzol
Regosol
Solonchak
Solonetz
Umbrisol
Vertisol
Town
Soil disturbed by man
Water body
Marsh
Glacier
Rock outcrops
WRB-ADJ1; WRB-ADJ1
ap
Abruptic
fr
Ferric
mz
Mazic
rs
Rustic
ae
Aceric
fi
Fibric
me
Melanic
sz
Salic
ac
Acric
fv
Fluvic
ms
Mesotrophic
sa
Sapric
ao
Acroxic
fo
Folic
mo
Mollic
si
Silic
ab
Albic
fg
Fragic
na
Natric
sl
Siltic
ax
Alcalic
fu
Fulvic
ni
Nitic
sk
Skeletic
al
Alic
ga
Garbic
oh
Ochric
so
Sodic
au
Alumic
ge
Gelic
om
Ombric
sd
Spodic
an
Andic
gt
Gelistagnic
or
Orthic
sp
Spolic
aq
Anthraquic
gr
Geric
oa
Oxyaquic
st
Stagnic
am
Anthric
gi
Gibbsic
ph
Pachic
su
Sulphatic
ah
Anthropic
gc
Glacic
pe
Pellic
ty
Takyric
ar
Arenic
gl
Gleyic
pt
Petric
tf
Tephric
ai
Aric
gs
Glossic
pc
Petrocalcic
tr
Terric
ad
Aridic
gz
Greyic
pd
Petroduric
ti
Thionic
az
Arzic
gm
Grumic
pg
Petrogypsic
tx
Toxic
ca
Calcaric
gy
Gypsic
pp
Petroplinthic
tu
Turbic
cc
Calcic
gp
Gypsiric
ps
Petrosalic
um
Umbric
cb
Carbic
ha
Haplic
pi
Placic
ub
Urbic
cn
Carbonatic
hi
Histic
pa
Plaggic
vm
Vermic
ch
Chernic
ht
Hortic
pn
Planic
vr
Vertic
cl
Chloridic
hu
Humic
pl
Plinthic
vt
Vetic
cr
Chromic
hg
Hydragric
po
Posic
vi
Vitric
cy
Cryic
hy
Hydric
pf
Profondic
xa
Xanthic
ct
Cutanic
hk
Hyperskeletic
pr
Protic
ye
Yermic
dn
Densic
ir
Irragric
rd
Reductic
1
Town
du
Duric
II
Lamellic
rg
Regic
2
Soil disturbed by man
dy
Dystric
le
Leptic
rz
Rendzic
3
Water body
et
Entic
li
Lithic
rh
Rheic
4
Marsh
eu
Eutric
Ix
Lixic
ro
Rhodic
5
Glacier
es
Eutrisilic
Iv
Luvic
ru
Rubic
6
Rock outcrops
fl
Ferralic
mg
Magnesic
rp
Ruptic
PIXEL DESCRIPTION AND SOIL INDICATOR TABLE
All parameters of the pixel table (SUR-BARE, SUR-URB, W-BODY), are evaluated as percentages of area of the whole
pixel. They should be calculated for the whole pixel (weighted average of all STUs, including non soil bodies, of the
pixel, based on local databases or on European databases Corine Land Cover 2000) and not only for the dominant
STU (as it has been done for all parameters of the dominant STU description table). The methodologies and criteria used
to calculate the total amount of organic carbon in the pixel (t/ha) and actual soil loss (t/ha/year), are not previously
defined; they can be decided by partners and afterwords described in detail in the metadata table.
SUR-BARE: percentage of pixel area covered by rocks, scree, glaciers or perpetual snow (%). Corine Land Cover 2000,
codes 332, 335.
SUR-URB: percentage of pixel area covered by urban surfaces (%). Corine Land Cover: all artificial surfaces (all codes 1)
are considered urban areas, including mine, dump construction sites and artificial non agricultural vegetated areas.
W-BODY: percentage of pixel area covered by water bodies (%). Corine Land Cover 2000, all codes 5.
STU-TOT: percentage of pixel area covered by the all STUs. Total soil coverage (%). It is useful for border pixels where
each partner can describe only part of the pixel.
The sum of SUR-BARE (%)+ SUR-URB (%)+ W-BODY (%)+ STU-TOT (%) should give 100%, exept for border pixels.
data quality
PX-CFL: confidence level of pixel description by means of STUs.
The confidence level is an indicator of the knowledge of the soil-landscape model in the pixel; it is not strictly linked to the
number of observations in the pixel. A pixel with no observations can have a higher confidence level than one with some
observations.
PX-CFL
CODE
1
2
3
4
DESCRIPTION
high confidence level (the local soil-landscape model is well known and, within the pixel, it has been examined in the field)
moderate confidence level:
-either the local soil-landscape model is well known in similar environments and in the pixel it has been derived by means of
similarity of soil forming factors (morphology, geology, etc.);
-or the local soil-landscape model is moderately known and, it has been examined in the field, within the pixel
low confidence level:
-either the local soil-landscape model is moderately known in similar environments and in the pixel it has been derived by
means of similarity of soil forming factors (morphology, geology, etc.;
-or the local soil-landscape model is poorly known and, within the pixel, it has been examined in the field)
no information (no knwoledge of soil-landscape model of the pixel)
PX-AVLB: soil data availability. Type of original data used to fill in the pixel
PX-AVLB
CODE
0
1
2
DATA AVAILABILITY
No data
Point observations through soil-landscape models
Soil maps
PX-SCALE: scale of the main map used as soil data source in the pixel.
Following the same code structure (3 characters), other codes can be added if necessary.
PX-SCALE
CODE
MAP SCALE
750
1:750,000
700
1:700,000
500
1:500,000
250
1:250,000
200
1:200,000
100
1:100,000
050
1:50,000
025
1:25,000
020
1:20,000
010
1:10,000
005
1:5,000
PX-OBS: number of observations in the pixel.
PX-NPROF: number of profiles in the pixel.
organic carbon pool
OC-S-30: soil organic carbon content in the pixel (t/ha), calculated from 0 to 30 cm, meaning by “0” the upper boundary
of the mineral soil surface (or of the organic layers that have been saturated with water for long periods, in case of
organic soils). Weighted average in the pixel including both soil (STU-TOT) and non soil areas (SUR-BARE+SURURB+W-BODY.
OC-HUM: soil organic carbon content in the pixel (t/ha); calculated only for surface organic layers that have never been
saturated with water for long periods, where present. Weighted average in the pixel, including both soil (STU-TOT) and
non soil areas (SUR-BARE+SUR-URB+W-BODY.
OC-S-100: soil organic carbon content in the pixel (t/ha); calculated from 0 to 100 cm, meaning by “0” the upper
boundary of the mineral soil surface (or of the organic layers that have been saturated with water for long periods, in
case of organic soils). Weighted average in the pixel, including both soil (STU-TOT) and non soil areas (SURBARE+SUR-URB+W-BODY). Not mandatory.
erosion
S-LOSS: actual soil loss in the pixel (t/ha/year). Weighted average in the pixel, (including both soil (STU-TOT) and non
soil areas (SUR-BARE+SUR-URB+W-BODY), considering rill and inter rill erosion only.
METADATA DESCRIPTION TABLE
Detailed description of data sources and methods. Most of the fields are “memo” fields in order to give the possibility to
describe methods and data sources carefully, according to the following sugestions. In future perspectives, coded
variables will be suggested.
AREA-ID: pilot area identification code, according to level2 of NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics), plus
a number identifying a specific project or study in the area that has been taken as a reference for the description of pixels.
The references of the projects or specific studies should be precisely described. (i.e. for some parts of the Veneto Region
pilot area the area code could be: ITD3-1 where ITD3 is the NUTS code and 1 refers to the project “Soil Map of Veneto
Region, at 1:250.000 scale, ARPAV 2004, in print).
NUTS
CODE
COUNTRY
AT
ÖSTERREICH
AT1
AT11
AT12
AT13
AT2
AT21
AT22
AT3
AT31
AT32
AT33
AT34
ATZ
FR
FRANCE
FR1
FR10
FR2
FR21
FR22
FR23
FR24
FR25
FR26
FR3
FR30
FR4
FR41
FR42
FR43
FR5
FR51
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
OSTÖSTERREICH
Burgenland
Niederösterreich
Wien
SÜDÖSTERREICH
Kärnten
Steiermark
WESTÖSTERREICH
Oberösterreich
Salzburg
Tirol
Vorarlberg
EXTRA-REGIO
ÎLE DE FRANCE
Île de France
BASSIN PARISIEN
Champagne-Ardenne
Picardie
Haute-Normandie
Centre
Basse-Normandie
Bourgogne
NORD - PAS-DE-CALAIS
Nord - Pas-de-Calais
EST
Lorraine
Alsace
Franche-Comté
OUEST
Pays de la Loire
FR52
FR53
Bretagne
Poitou-Charentes
FR6
FR61
FR62
FR63
FR631
FR632
FR633
FR7
FR71
FR72
FR8
FR81
SUD-OUEST
Aquitaine
Midi-Pyrénées
Limousin
CENTRE-EST
Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne
MÉDITERRANÉE
Languedoc-Roussillon
Provence-Alpes-Côte
d'Azur
FR82
FRZ
IT
ITC
ITC1
EXTRA-REGIO
ITALIA
NORD-OVEST
Piemonte
Valle d'Aosta/Vallée
d'Aoste
Liguria
Lombardia
ITC2
ITC3
ITC4
ITD
NORD-EST
Provincia Autonoma
Bolzano/Bozen
Provincia Autonoma
Trento
Veneto
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Emilia-Romagna
ITD1
ITD2
ITD3
ITD4
ITD5
ITE
ITE1
ITE2
ITE3
ITE4
ITF1
ITF2
ITF3
ITF4
ITF5
ITF6
ITG
ITG1
ITG2
ITZ
SI
SI0
SI00
SIZ
SIZZ
SIZZZ
CH
CH0
CH01
CH02
CH03
CH04
CH05
CH06
CH07
CENTRO (I)
Toscana
Umbria
Marche
Lazio
Abruzzo
Molise
Campania
Puglia
Basilicata
Calabria
ISOLE
Sicilia
Sardegna
EXTRA-REGIO
SLOVENIJA
SLOVENIJA
Slovenija
EXTRA-REGIO
Extra-Regio
SCHWITZERLAND
SCHWITZERLAND
Région lémanique
Espace Mittelland
Nordwestschweiz
Zürich
Ostschweiz
Zentralschweiz
Ticino
PARENT MATERIAL: description of the sources used to describe the parent material of the dominant STU: type of maps
(geological, lithological, quaternary deposits, etc.), scale of the maps, soil survey, other sources.
SOIL CLASSIFICATION: system used to classify profiles in the pixel: direct WRB classification, translation from a
national system or from Soil Taxonomy (by re-classification or according to “translation tables”, in this case, give a short
description of such translation system).
PIXEL COVERAGE: data sources (i.e. Corine 1994) to evaluate soil coverage,water bodies, bare soil, urban areas, etc.)
To evaluate the organic carbon pool, ISO methods should be taken as references. The values obtained with any other
method (national methods) should be transformed into ISO values. The transformation and the confidence level of it
should be carefully described.
ORGANIC CARBON POOL: soil data used (map, scale and year of the map) to calculate the weighted average carbon
content of all STUs in the pixel.
BULK DENSITY: measurement or pedotransfer rules. Describe type of samples, measures or pedo-transfer rules.
OC MEASURE METHOD: original laboratory method used to measure carbon content from original data.
ISO–OC: transformation of organic carbon contents from the national method values to ISO method values.
ACTUAL SOIL LOSS ASSESSMENT: weighted average of all STUs in the pixel.
Sources (scale and year of soil maps, land cover or land use data, DEM (e.g. 30 m) and kind of erosion model should be
carefully described. Only rill and inter rill erosion should be considered (no mass movements and gully erosion). The most
suitable model for each pilot area should be adopted, The only simple qualitative approach suggested is CORINE
EROSION. It would be useful to use it in all areas as comparative model even if it has been worked out for Mediterranean
countries. Corine Erosion is anyway recommended but not mandatory.