Mexico Soil Carbon Estimates with Model Uncertainty

2852 soil profiles form the basis for 90-meter resolution estimates of soil organic carbon across Mexico for 1999-2009. A model ensemble using environmental covariates explained 54% of the variability, with associated error estimates provided. The dataset was produced by the National Institute for Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and is hosted by NASA.

Use Cases

• Modeling national carbon budgets using state-level SOC summaries.
• Assessing soil health and fertility for agricultural planning via carbon density (kg/m2) maps.
• Validating other soil carbon models using the provided prediction error layers.
• Analyzing spatial relationships between SOC and environmental covariates used in the predictive model.

Strengths

• Based on a substantial field data collection of 2852 soil profiles.
• Model performance is quantified, explaining 54% of variability via cross-validation.
• Provides a high-resolution (90m) national grid with associated error estimates.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates established use.

Limitations

• Sources conflict on last updated date (2009 vs. 2026), suggesting metadata inconsistency.
• Specific column names and total row/pixel count are not provided in available metadata.
• Temporal coverage is a static decade (1999-2009), not current.

Provenance

Source

National Institute for Statistics and Geography (INEGI), hosted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Collection Method

Predictive modeling using an ensemble of regression trees applied to field-collected soil profiles and harmonized environmental covariates on a 90m grid.

Time Range

1999-2009

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:22:29.455387

Geography

Mexico, all states.