Area and spatial information
The sustainable use and long-term protection of soils require extensive knowledge about their distribution and properties. Spatial soil information are a prerequisite for the evaluation and presentation of soil functions, soil potentials, soil pollution and threats to soil. In addition, these data form the basis for the development of new evaluation methods for national and international issues in which soil plays a central role.
Current projects
Spatial soil information is collected and harmonized at BGR and compiled in the BGR Soil Information System (FISBo BGR). It contains data on the soil inventory and the spatial distribution of soils. The core components of the information system are the spatial databases, the laboratory and profile database (LP Soil) and the method database. FISBo BGR is part of a network of soil information systems at federal level which currently includes the soil information system for soil protection (bBIS-UBA) and contaminated sites (ALIS-UBA) as well.
The BGR soil science team compiles maps and comprehensive databases that provide information on the distribution and properties of soils in Germany and Europe. These products are made publicly available as spatial soil information for a wide variety of use. To realise these tasks, BGR works closely with the State Geological Surveys of the federal states, which also play a key role in quality assurance.
The laboratory and profile database (LP Soil) combines the results of our soil and laboratory analyses with the corresponding profile descriptions and thus provides a sound data basis for further evaluations. In addition to general soil chemical and physical data, the database also contains information on the content of inorganic trace substances in soils.
In order to support the development and exchange of harmonized and interoperable digital data (in the context of the EU INSPIRE Directive) in Germany, the information system is increasingly providing tools for data management.
By analysis of the nation-wide soil maps, we generate targeted evaluation maps for a wide range of applications. Here, procedures are applied that are harmonised nationwide and collected in the methods database of FISBo BGR and documented in our MethodsWiki.
Thematic evaluations on tasks in soil protection and in soil function assessment are collected and documented in printed form in the “Method Documentation Soil Science – Evaluation Methods for Assessing the Sensitivity and Resilience of Soils”. The MethodsWiki provides the methods and rules of the documentation as well as the updates and extensions of the Soil Working Group in digital form online.