Global Soil Phosphorus Forms at 0.5-Degree Resolution

0.5-degree resolution global maps estimate six forms of naturally occurring soil phosphorus: labile inorganic P, organic P, occluded P, secondary mineral P, apatite P, and total P. These data, nominally for the pre-industrial period circa 1850, were assembled from chronosequence information and global spatial databases, with calculated uncertainty for each form. The distribution maps provide initial estimates for biogeochemistry models treating phosphorus as a limiting element in biological production.

Use Cases

• Initializing soil phosphorus availability in global biogeochemistry models based on the estimated distribution of labile inorganic P.
• Assessing spatial patterns of nutrient limitation for biological production using the global grid of total phosphorus.
• Studying long-term soil development and phosphorus cycling by referencing the pre-industrial baseline and secondary mineral P forms.
• Quantifying uncertainty in soil nutrient stocks for model sensitivity analysis using the provided per-form uncertainty estimates.

Strengths

• Provides a global, spatially complete gridded product at a 0.5-degree resolution.
• Distinguishes six specific phosphorus forms with individual uncertainty estimates, offering detailed chemical partitioning.
• Represents a pre-industrial baseline (ca. 1850), useful for modeling historical or long-term change.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact data collection methods are unspecified.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2026 vs. 1850) create ambiguity about the dataset's maintenance status.
• The temporal component is nominal and static, limiting analysis of trends or contemporary conditions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), based on work by Yang et al., 2013.

Collection Method

Assembled from chronosequence information and global spatial databases.

Time Range

Pre-industrial period, nominally circa 1850.

Freshness

2026-04-10 02:26:51.203345

Geography

Global