ANALYSIS OF THE WORLDWIDE MODERN SOIL INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SOIL DATABASES

Abstract

Problem Statement and Purpose. Since the end of the ХХ century, a number of soil information systems and information databases have been developed and implement­ed. As of today, there are more than two dozen large soil information systems of various scales, which we have analyzed in order to determine the parameters and necessary resources for the development of our own soil information system. The purpose of the study was to conduct an extended analysis of the most important soil information systems. Approbation and testing of these information systems were also performed.Data & Methods. In order to study the soil information systems, which cover individ­ual countries, regions or are global, a detailed analysis of (1) literature sources, mostly foreign authors, which describes the information systems, their advantages and dis­advantages, describes the structure of the database, etc; (2) available online official resources, which contain a detailed description of soil information systems, features of their creation and use, databases, as well as applied aspects; (3) downloaded and in­stalled software applications, which are separate software products of soil information systems, and allows to use and study them autonomously using PC.Results.The most well-known soil information systems SOTER, LUCAS, ESDB, NASIS, CanSIS are analyzed, the main objectives of which are to provide informa­tion on soil and landscape resources at different scales to model the potential of agri­cultural production, climate change, landscape restoration and land management, in education purposes, as well as to ensure harmonized norms and rules of soil cartog­raphy, classification, interpretation of information about soil resources. Summing up the analysis of various soil databases and information systems, it should be noted that despite the achievements, most soil information systems do not yet provide complete information for forecasting global soil changes. Methods of studying soil properties are not standardized, which complicates the harmonization of data for use within a single database. There is a need to continue work on the formalization of soil informa­tion, using the rich experience gained by soil scientists throughout human history. In this regard, it is necessary to strengthen developments in this area, which will increase the contribution of the Ukrainian school of soil science in the formalization of soil research at the global level.