Soil Spatial Informatics

Contact:
 Dr Stephen Hallett

Specialist Areas:

Within NSRI, the soil spatial informatics theme embodies the skills and capabilities we hold in handling and managing the spatial dimensions of environmental information both collected directly and incorporated from existing contemporary and historical sources, with especial respect to soil, its conversion to useable form for a wide range of stakeholders and research partners and thus its ultimate dissemination. Such information extends from simple field-scale representation to supra-regional or national inventory of soil-based characteristics. A long-tradition of award-winning GIS and Digital Cartography competencies underline the management and dissemination of this key environmental information.

In the UK, spatial soils information, and its use in embedded, computer-based application tools can play a key role in the development of thematic Spatial Decision Support Systems addressing such sectors as the utilities, finance, agri-business and leisure. The adoption of standards-compliant Spatial Web-based Services provides a powerful means to disseminate and communicate soil-related intelligence to these markets.

At the EU level, with the forthcoming challenges of the now-likely Soil Framework Directive, there is a pressing need to develop agreed standards for representing, in digital form, soil properties and their descriptive metadata. Work to collate information and represent this in coherent form across the Member States is underway in a number of projects that we have inputs to. The INSPIRE Directive adds a further dimension to the requirement for interoperability between a number of spatial themes, including soil and their representation in Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). As INSPIRE nears its full implementation in 2013, there will be an obligation on Member States for environmental reporting mechanisms, including those for soil, to subscribe to these standards. Accordingly, NSRI have developed a strong expertise in Environmental Data Standards, Specifications and Interoperability.

Internationally, much focus is placed upon the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and their obligations. Of these, in particular ‘ending poverty and hunger’ and ‘environmental sustainability’ contain a number of targets which can be addressed and facilitated specifically by the types of information and computer-based applications deriving from knowledge of the spatial nature and distribution of soil properties. Key also to this are the legacy spatial data holdings that NSRI manage.

We are also currently active, in close association with our sister theme, Spatial Geosciences, across a range of research themes determining the spatial expression of environmental characteristics, and placing this in a sound informatics context.

 

People:
Dr Stephen Hallett;   Dr Timothy Farewell;   Mrs Ann Holden;   ;   Mrs Caroline Keay;   Sara Larman ;   Mr Daniel Simms;   Mr Ian Truckell;   Adnan Younas

 

Visiting staff:

Dr Ian Baillie, Mr B Kerr