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Soil and Terrain Database for Latin America and the Carribean - 1:5 Million Scale

Entry ID: FAO.SOTERLAC

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Summary

Abstract: Up till now the major source of geo-referenced soil data of Latin America and the Carribean at a scale of 1:5 Million was the FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World. Since the publication of the South and Cental America map sheets in the nineteen seventies, a wealth of new soil information has become available at national level in nearly every country of the region. The present publication taps this ... new material and at the same time uses the principles of the soil and terrain database (SOTER) to store and link soil information. The principles of a soil and terrain database (SOTER) were developed at the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) on intiative of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS, formerly ISSS) with support from UNEP, and later endorsed by FAO as the preferred methodology to store and update soil and terrain information at a global level. These principles are applied here to inventory the land resources in Latin America and the Carribean. This CD ROM contains information on 1490 different SOTER mapping units, with more than 2000 terrain elements, while more than 1800 soil profiles with different measured attributes are present in the database. Geographical information on mapping units is stored in Arc/Info export format. The attribute information is stored in a relational database system. Data on slope, relief intensity, major landform , general lithology , surface rockiness, rootable depth, soil classification in the FAO Revised Legend and in Soil Taxonomy, soil colour, texture, pH and Organic Carbon content are given for most of the soil profiles. In addition a viewer programme, developed by ISRIC, that runs under Windows (3.1 or 95) is included that enables one to display thematic maps and search attribute data for non-GIS users. The whole activity of collecting, correlating and storing the soil data took about 4 years and was made possible by financial contributions of UNEP, AGL's regular programme, CIP and ISRIC's internal funds. Base data and technical information were provided by a large number of national soil institutes in the region.

This CD-ROM contains information on the soil and terrain resources of Latin America and the Carribean compiled according to the soil and terrain database methodology (SOTER). Information is stored in a relational database and in Arc/Info export format. A GIS independent viewer programme allows access to all major information contained in the CD-ROM.

SOTERLAC is also available via download directly from International Soil Reference and Information Centre (http://www.isric.nl/).

Related URL

Link: VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE

Description: This URL is the location from which the Soils and Terrain database for Latin and Central America and the Caribbean (SOTERLAC) may be downloaded.

Link: VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

Description: The goal of the Global Soil and Terrain Database (WORLD-SOTER) is to provide sound soil and terrain resources information on a global scale(1:5 Million).

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: 36.0

S: -60.0

E: -31.0

W: -120.0

Data Set Citation

Dataset Title: FAO, Land and Water Digital Media Series n5; Soil and Terrain Database for Latin America and the Carribean - 1:5 Million scale

Dataset Release Date: 1998-12-01

Dataset Release Place: Rome, Italy

Dataset Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Issue Identification: ISBN 92-5-104170-9

Data Presentation Form: Relational Database and ARC/INFO Export Format on CD-ROM

Online Resource: http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/lwdms.htm#cd5

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > MEXICO

OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA > CARIBBEAN

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > CENTRAL AMERICA > Latin America

CONTINENT > SOUTH AMERICA > Latin America

Science Keywords

AGRICULTURE > SOILS > CARBON > ORGANIC CARBON

AGRICULTURE > SOILS > ORGANIC MATTER

ISO Topic Category

BIOTA

CLIMATOLOGY/METEOROLOGY/ATMOSPHERE

ELEVATION

GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Platform

FIELD SURVEYS

GROUND STATIONS

GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS

Instrument

LICOR PLANT CANOPY ANALYZER

LICOR QUANTUM SENSOR

Project

ARCSS > Arctic System Science

ARCSS/LAII/FLUX > Arctic System Science/Land-Atmosphere-Ice Interaction/fluxes

NSF/OPP > Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation

Ancillary Keywords

ADCC

Alaska

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

ADCC

Data Center

National Snow and Ice Data Center

Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org
Dataset ID: ARCSS012

Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC USER SERVICES Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199 Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468 Email: nsidc at nsidc.org Contact Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center CIRES, 449 UCB University of Colorado City: Boulder Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0449 Country: USA

Arctic System Science Data Coordination Center

Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/arcss/
Dataset ID: ARCSS012

Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC ARCSS USER SERVICES Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199 Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468 Email: nsidc at nsidc.org Contact Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center CIRES, 449 UCB University of Colorado City: Boulder Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0449 Country: USA

Frozen Ground Data Center

Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/fgdc/
Dataset ID: ARCSS012

Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC FGDC USER SERVICES Phone: +1 (303) 492-6199 Fax: +1 (303) 492-2468 Email: nsidc at nsidc.org Contact Address: National Snow and Ice Data Center CIRES, 449 UCB University of Colorado City: Boulder Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80309-0449 Country: USA