The Global Gridded Surfaces of Selected Soil Characteristics (IGBP-DIS) data set contains 7 data surfaces: soil-carbon density, total nitrogen density, field capacity, wilting point, profile available water capacity, thermal capacity, and bulk density. All the surfaces are global, at a resolution of 5x5 arc-minutes, in ASCIIGRID format for ARC INFO. Each file contains a single ASCII array in a geographic (lat/long) projection. The ascii files consist of header information containing a set of keywords, followed by cell values in row-major order. These data surfaces were generated by the SoilData System, which was developed by the Global Soil Data Task of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) Data and Information Services (DIS). The SoilData System generates soil information and maps for geographic regions at soil depths and resolutions selected by the user. Derived surfaces of selected soil characteristics are suitable for modeling and inventory purposes. The data surfaces are also distributed as part of the Global Soil Data Products CD-ROM. The SoilData System uses a statistical bootstrapping approach to link the pedon records in the Global Pedon Database to the FAO/UNESCO Digital Soil Map of the World. It can generate maps and output data sets for a range of original and derived soil parameters, such as carbon and nitrogen density, thermal conductivity, and water-holding capacity, for any part of the world at user-selected depth ranges. The digital output can be at any resolution (in increments of 5').

This data set provides gridded data for selected soil parameters derived from data and methods developed by the Global Soil Data Task, an international collaborative project with the objective of making accurate and appropriate data relating to soil properties accessible to the global change research community. The task was coordinated by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP-DIS). The data in this data set were produced by the International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project, Initiative II (ISLSCP II) staff from data obtained from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC, http://daac.ornl.gov/). See the related data sets section below. Two-dimensional gridded maps of selected soil parameters, including soil texture, at a 1.0 by 1.0 degree spatial resolution and for two soil depths are provided. All data layers have been adjusted to match the ISLSCP II land/water mask. There are 36 data files with this data set.

The World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials (WISE) database currently contains data for over 4300 soil profiles collected mostly between 1950 and 1995. This database has been used to generate a series of uniform data sets of derived soil properties for each of the 106 soil units considered in the Soil Map of the World (FAO-UNESCO, 1974). These data sets were then linked to a 1/2 degree longitude by 1/2 degree latitude version of the edited and digital Soil Map of the World (FAO, 1995) to generate GIS raster image files for the following variables: Total available water capacity (mm water per 1 m soil depth) soil organic carbon density (kg C/m**2 for 0-30cm depth range) soil organic carbon density (kg C/m**2 for 0-100cm depth range) soil carbonate carbon density (kg C/m**2 for 0-100cm depth range) soil pH (0-30 cm depth range) soil pH (30-100 cm depth range) Data Citation: The data set should be cited as follows: Batjes, N. H. (ed). 2000. Global Data Set of Derived Soil Properties, 0.5-Degree Grid (ISRIC-WISE). Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

The International Soil Reference and Information Centre-World Inventory of Soil Emission Potentials (ISRIC-WISE) international soil profile data set consists of a homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles for use by global modelers. These profiles provided the basis for the Global Pedon Database (GPDB) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - Data and Information System (DIS). The data set consists of a selection of 665 profiles originating from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, Lincoln), 250 profiles obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome), and 210 profiles from the reference collection of the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC, Wageningen). All profiles are georeferenced and classified according to the 1974 Legend of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map (FAC-UNESCO, 1974) of the World, as well as the 1988 Revised Legend of FAO-UNESCO (FAO, 1990). The data set includes information on soil classification, site data, soil horizon data, source of data, and methods used for determining analytical data. The data files are in a comma-delimited format. Data Citation: The data set should be cited as follows: Batjes, N. H. (ed). 2000. Global Soil Profile Data (ISRIC-WISE). Available on-line from the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

The goal of this study was to predict the global distribution of plant rooting depths based on data about global aboveground vegetation structure and climate. Vertical root distributions influence the fluxes of water, carbon, and soil nutrients and the distribution and activities of soil fauna. Roots transport nutrients and water upwards, but they are also pathways for carbon and nutrient transport into deeper soil layers and for deep water infiltration. Roots also affect the weathering rates of soil minerals. For calculating such processes on a global scale, data on vertical root distributions are needed as inputs to global biogeochemistry and vegetation models. In the Project for Intercomparison of Land Surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS), rooting depth and vertical soil characteristics were the most important factors explaining scatter for simulated transpiration among 14 land-surface models. Recently, the Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate of the Global Climate Observation System (GCOS) identified the 95% rooting depth as a key variable needed to quantify the interactions between the climate, soil, and plants, stating that the main challenge was to find the correlation between rooting depth and soil and climate features (GCOS/GTOS Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate 1997). In response to this challenge, a data set of vertical rooting depths was collected from the literature in order to construct maps of global ecosystem rooting depths.The parameters included in these data sets are estimates for the soil depths containing 50% and 95% of all roots, termed 50% and 95% rooting depths (D50 and D95, respectively). Together, these variables can be used to calculate estimates for vertical root distributions, using a logistic equation provided in this documentation. The data represent mean ecosystem rooting depths for 1 by 1 degree grid cells. Related data sets:Â The ORNL DAAC offers related data sets by Jackson et al. (2003), Gordon and Jackson (2003), Schenk and Jackson (2003), and Gill and Jackson (2003).This data set is one of the products of the International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project, Initiative II (ISLSCP II) data collection which contains 50 global time series data sets for the ten-year period 1986 to 1995. Selected data sets span even longer periods. ISLSCP II is a consistent collection of data sets that were compiled from existing data sources and algorithms, and were designed to satisfy the needs of modelers and investigators of the global carbon, water and energy cycle. The data were acquired from a number of U.S. and international agencies, universities, and institutions. The global data sets were mapped at consistent spatial (1, 0.5 and 0.25 degrees) and temporal (monthly, with meteorological data at finer (e.g., 3-hour)) resolutions and reformatted into a common ASCII format. The data and documentation have undergone two peer reviews.ISLSCP is one of several projects of Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) [http://www.gewex.org/] and has the lead role in addressing land-atmosphere interactions -- process modeling, data retrieval algorithms, field experiment design and execution, and the development of global data sets.

This dataset contains global data on soil properties, global maps of soil distributions, and the SoilData System developed by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Data and Information System (IGBP-DIS). These data were originally distributed on CD-ROM, but are provided here as a single zip file. The SoilData System allows users to generate soil information and maps for geographic regions at soil depths and resolutions selected by the user. Derived surfaces of carbon density, nutrient status, water-holding capacity, and heat capacity are provided for modeling and inventory purposes.

The photosynthetic composition (C3 or C4) of vegetation on the land surface is essential for accurate simulations of biosphere-atmosphere exchanges of carbon, water, and energy. C3 and C4 plants have different responses to light, temperature, CO2, and nitrogen; they also differ in physiological functions like stomatal conductance and isotope fractionation. A fine-scale distribution of these plant types is essential for earth science modeling.The C4 percentage is determined from datasets that describe the continuous distribution of plant growth forms (i.e., the percent of a grid cell covered by herbaceous or woody vegetation), climate classifications, the fraction of a grid cell covered in croplands, and national crop type harvest area statistics. The staff from the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Initiative II have made the original data set consistent with the ISLSCP-2 land/water mask. This data set contains a single file in ArcInfo ASCIIGRID format.This data set is one of the products of the International Satellite Land-Surface Climatology Project, Initiative II (ISLSCP II) data collection which contains 50 global time series data sets for the ten-year period 1986 to 1995. Selected data sets span even longer periods. ISLSCP II is a consistent collection of data sets that were compiled from existing data sources and algorithms, and were designed to satisfy the needs of modelers and investigators of the global carbon, water and energy cycle. The data were acquired from a number of U.S. and international agencies, universities, and institutions. The global data sets were mapped at consistent spatial (1, 0.5 and 0.25 degrees) and temporal (monthly, with meteorological data at finer (e.g., 3-hour)) resolutions and reformatted into a common ASCII format. The data and documentation have undergone two peer reviews.ISLSCP is one of several projects of Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) [http://www.gewex.org/] and has the lead role in addressing land-atmosphere interactions -- process modeling, data retrieval algorithms, field experiment design and execution, and the development of global data sets.

This data set provides two estimates of the geographic distribution of the total plant-available soil water storage capacity of the rooting zone ("rooting zone water storage size") on a 1.0 degree global grid. Two inverse modeling methods were used. The first modeling approach (optimization) was based on the assumption that vegetation has adapted to the environment such that it makes optimum use of water (Kleidon and Heimann 1998). The second method (assimilation) was based on the assumption that green vegetation indicates sufficient available water for transpiration (Knorr 1997). The data set was developed to provide alternative means to describe rooting characteristics of the global vegetation cover for land surface and climate models in support of the ISLSCP Initiative II data collection. There are three files in this data set.

The ISRIC-WISE International soil profile data set consists of a homogenized, global set of 1,125 soil profiles for use by global modelers. These profiles provided the basis for the Global Pedon Database (GPDB) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - Data and Information System (DIS). The data set includes information on soil classification, site data, soil horizon data, source of data, and methods used for determining analytical data.

A standardized global data set of soil horizon thicknesses and textures (particle size distributions) was compiled by Webb et al. This data set will be used for the improved ground hydrology parameterization design for the Goddard Institute for Space Studies General Circulation Model (GISS GCM) Model III. The data set specifies the top and bottom depths and the percent abundance of sand, silt, and clay of individual soil horizons in each of the 106 soil types cataloged for nine continental divisions. When combined with the World Soil Data File (Zobler, 1986), the result is a global data set of variations in physical properties throughout the soil profile. These properties are important in the determination of water storage in individual soil horizons and exchange of water with the lower atmosphere. The incorporation of this data set into the GISS GCM should improve model performance by including more realistic variability in land-surface properties. All data are global at a 1 degree resolution and are provided in ASCII format. The primary data consist of 2 files. One file contains the depth and particle size (percent sand, silt, and clay) information for each major continent, soil type, and soil horizon. The other file contains ocean/continental coding (corresponding to FAO/UNESCO Soil Map of the World) (FAO/UNESCO, 1971-1981) and Zobler soil type classifications (Zobler, 1986). A fortran code for reading these data files is provided. In addition to the primary data files, there are also 5 derived data sets available for download: 1) soil profile thickness, 2) potential storage of water in the soil profile, 3) potential storage of water in the root zone, 4) potential storage of water derived from soil texture, 5) data set used to prescribe water-holding capacity in the GISS GCM (Model II). Data Citation The data set should be cited as follows: Webb, Robert W., Cynthia E. Rosenzweig, and Elissa R. Levine. 2000. Global Soil Texture and Derived Water-Holding Capacities (Webb et al.). Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.