Figure showing average uncertainty for an aggregation over different geographical areas indicating standard deviation (Mg ha1) of above-ground biomass in the Congo basin.

At global and continental scales, natural resource maps provide a basis for checking on how ecosystems are responding to human impact. However, how accurate are those maps, and how certain can we be that they are reliable to guide our actions on climate change, biodiversity preservation and other big issues?

Field surveyors completing a Soils4Africa training in Zambia in March 2023.

Soils4Africa, a continent-wide effort in Africa to generate 20,000 new soil data points using standardized methods, is now in the fieldwork stage. Through coordinated soil sample collection, lab analysis and data infrastructures, the project aims to deliver the open-data soil information system (SIS) for Africa.

IFDC President and CEO Henk van Duijn sits next to ISRIC Director Rik van den Bosch while signing the new partnership agreement

The WORLDSOILS project consortium is building an Earth observation-based soil organic carbon monitoring system. WORLDSOILS successfully completed phase two in 2022 and is now working on the next phase.

Three key steps were achieved throughout 2022:

The World Reference Base (WRB) is an international soil classification system that evolved from the FAO-UNESCO Legend of the Soil Map of the World. It is now in its 4th edition, which was published in 2022.

Wageningen University and Research Executive Board President Dr Sjoukje Heimovaara met with ISRIC – World Soil Information director and staff on 27th February, 2023 at the World Soil Museum. In a highly interactive session, Dr Heimovaara was introduced to the programmes and projects of ISRIC.

A new open access paper from ISRIC-supported PhD researcher Stephan van der Westhuizen and co-authors demonstrates the use of multivariate random forest modelling in digital soil mapping.

At the 2nd Joint workshop of the International Union of Soil Scientists (IUSS) working groups for “Digital Soil Mapping” and “Global Soil Map” from February 7-9, 2023, six ISRIC – World Soil Information staff made presentations. The theme for the workshop was “Soil Mapping for a Sustainable Future” and it took place in Orleans, France hosted at Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies.

The Organising Committee of the 2023 Wageningen Soil Conference invites soil scientists from around the world to submit abstracts of their work for oral as well as poster sessions. Abstracts are due by April 17, 2023 and should fit within one of the following topics of the conference: