Soil information system

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Soil information systems (abbreviated BIS ) have been set up in Western Europe since the late 1980s . They belong to the group of agricultural geographic information systems (see also space-related Information System and Land Information System ) and contain exactly situate data of soil science and the near-surface water balance , in Germany usually also those of geology .

In this context, soil in Germany is understood to mean “all areas of the earth's surface in which humans intervene through their activities.” In the Alpine countries , the term soil is defined more narrowly (see definition by W. Blum in the overview article soil science ) and the content of soil -Information systems mainly on organic soil - d. H. up to about 1 meter depth - restricted. This is due, among other things, to the terrain and the complex geology of the Alps, which the federal geological institutes are involved in mapping .

Because of the diversity of soils, the climate and other influences, soil information systems are very complex structures that can only be built up in interdisciplinary cooperation. Wherever they go beyond pedological data, they are often broken down into various individual specialist information systems , in particular in soil mapping , geology , hydrogeology , soil mechanics and environmental monitoring .

Soil science data

A soil information system in the narrower sense, as it is e.g. B. is common in Austria and Switzerland contains

For the individual soil horizons :

Traditionally, so-called soil maps are created on the basis of the samples taken (pricked or drilled) , which can show farmers not only the type of soil but also soil pollution or the risk of erosion .

Further dates and institutions

Soil information systems in the broader sense - as they are common in Germany - include not only pure soil data but also those for description

The primary data of the various measurements bore Descriptions and analysis data to secondary data by classified and generalized. This results in maps of various scales and themes.

The German soil information systems are mainly set up and operated by the state geoscientific services of the federal states . Well-known examples are the BIS-NRW or the Lower Saxony soil information system NIBIS .

In Austria, responsibility for soil mapping was divided between the federal agricultural and forestry agencies until around 2000: Federal Soil Management and Federal Forest Research Institute (FBVA), plus the - organisationally separate but cooperative - financial soil assessment.

Since 2002, the entire soil mapping has been concentrated in the Federal Office and Research Center for Forests (BFW).

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