Global Gridded Surfaces of Selected Soil Characteristics (IGBP-DIS)
Updated 1mo ago
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Available on 2 platforms
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Description
Seven global gridded surfaces model key soil properties, including soil-carbon density, total nitrogen density, field capacity, wilting point, profile available water capacity, thermal capacity, and bulk density. The SoilData System generated these surfaces using a statistical bootstrapping approach to link pedon records with the FAO/UNESCO Digital Soil Map of the World. These derived data surfaces are suitable for global modeling and inventory purposes at a resolution of 5x5 arc-minutes.
Use Cases
Modeling global carbon and nitrogen cycles based on soil-carbon and nitrogen density surfaces.
Assessing agricultural water availability based on field capacity, wilting point, and profile available water capacity.
Estimating soil thermal properties for climate models using the thermal capacity surface.
Conducting global soil inventory and classification studies using derived physical and chemical parameters.
Strengths
Contains seven distinct, globally consistent data surfaces for key soil parameters.
Generated using a documented statistical methodology (SoilData System bootstrapping) linking pedon data to a global soil map.
Provides data at a standardized, relatively high resolution of 5x5 arc-minutes.
Limitations
Metadata completeness is low; specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided.
Conflicting freshness information: one platform lists a 2026 update date, while another indicates the underlying data is from 1996.
The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.
Provenance
Source
SoilData System developed by the Global Soil Data Task of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) Data and Information Services (DIS).
Collection Method
Statistical bootstrapping to link pedon records from the Global Pedon Database to the FAO/UNESCO Digital Soil Map of the World.
Freshness
2026-04-10 02:26:28.448340 (datagov), but underlying data generation date is 1996-12-31 (nasa_earthdata).
Geography
Global coverage.
License is listed as 'other-license-specified'; users must investigate specific terms. Data format is ASCIIGRID for ARC INFO.