Bold Soil-Mapping Venture Seen as Crucial to Efforts on Climate, Agriculture

Long left in the dust by their peers in climate research, a small group of soil scientists is spearheading an effort to apply rigorous computer analysis to the ground beneath our feet.

Their goal: to produce a digital soil map of the entire world.

It is a daunting task. In many parts of the world, such as Africa and South Asia, knowledge of soil is sketchy at best, relying on fading paper maps. And without accurate soil information, it is difficult for planners to know where crops are best grown, or for climate modelers to predict how much carbon might be released from soil into the atmosphere.

Climate scientists, hydrologists, agronomists and ecologists all want to feed these data into their models, Hartemink said, so they can better address big questions: What happens if there’s drought in the Midwest? Or if huge swaths of land are given up for biofuels?

“People are realizing that food comes from the land,” Hartemink said. “And if you want to end hunger, then you need to know your soil and the soil needs to be in a good condition.”

NY Times