The Soils4Africa project is pleased to announce the release of the first soil datasets providing new insights into African soils.
Two datasets are now available:
Soil properties: Estimates of 19 soil properties, derived from mid-infrared (MIR) spectra, for more than 11,000 soil samples collected from over 6,100 locations across 21 African countries.
Pesticide residues: Data on the occurrence of pesticide residues in topsoil from 272 locations representing diverse farming systems across Africa's agricultural land.
The datasets are available on the project's Zenodo repository and the Soil Data of Africa system.
The two datasets released complement the field observations dataset that is also available through the Zenodo repository. Using these results, the EU-funded AUSO project is working to establish a soil health dashboard for Africa.
The Soils4Africa project has collected soil samples at more than 13,000 locations in 33 African countries, and the analysis and quality control of the samples and resulting data are still ongoing. The dataset released now covers samples from approximately 6,100 locations, collected at different depths, and includes a subset of the analysed properties. Additional properties for these locations will be released as they become available, along with soil data from the remaining sampling locations.
The data contribute to a stronger, harmonised soil information base for Africa and mark another step towards making reliable soil information more accessible and usable across the continent.
Interested in learning more about the Soils4Africa project? Read additional insights into the project’s methodological approaches and findings:
A Continental-Scale Framework for Harmonised Soil Monitoring in African Agricultural Lands: Design, Implementation, and Baseline Field Observations from the Soils4Africa Project, describes harmonised approaches for collecting soil samples and field observations across Africa's agricultural land.
African Soils Are Also Under Threat: Occurrence of Pesticides in Agricultural Soils and Implications, provides new insights into the occurrence and distribution of residues from more than 150 pesticides in African agricultural soils.
The Soils4Africa project was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 862900.