RADAMBRASIL: Soil Profiles of the Amazon Basin

RADAMBRASIL project data contains soil profile descriptions from 1,153 pits across Brazilian Amazonia. Each profile was sampled by horizon and analyzed for texture and chemical composition. The data is based on surveys combining soil pit information, aerial photography, and geologic maps.

Use Cases

• Modeling soil carbon and nitrogen stocks based on horizon-specific chemical composition data.
• Classifying Amazonian soil types using detailed profile descriptions and texture analysis.
• Calibrating remote sensing data for soil mapping using ground-truthed pit locations.
• Studying soil-vegetation relationships in the Amazon using spatially distributed profile data.

Strengths

• Contains data from 1,153 systematically distributed soil pits, providing basin-wide coverage.
• Profiles include horizon-specific data on texture and chemical composition, allowing for detailed analysis.
• Data collection combined multiple methods: field pits, aerial photography, and geologic maps.

Limitations

• Conflicting metadata: one platform lists a last update in 2026, while another indicates the underlying data is from 1986.
• Column names and exact data structure are not specified in the provided metadata.
• Documentation is referenced as a separate PDF file, which may not be immediately accessible.

Provenance

Source

IPAM, Brazil / WHRC, USA, based on RADAMBRASIL project surveys.

Collection Method

Soil pits were described, sampled by horizon, and analyzed for texture and chemistry, combined with aerial photography and geologic mapping.

Time Range

1986

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:07:51.044291

Geography

Brazilian Amazonia