Soil Information Workflow: 8 steps to develop a Soil Information System (SIS)

Soil Information Workflow turns data into insights, helping professionals make smarter, sustainable decisions.

The Soil Information Workflow developed by ISRIC-World Soil Information provides a structured process for collecting, organizing, and delivering soil data. It consists of eight key steps: needs assessment, data collection, laboratory analysis, soil archiving, data organization, modeling and mapping, applying soil information, and serving the data. This workflow helps users set up efficient soil information systems, enabling better soil management and decision-making for agricultural and environmental applications.

This technology is pre-validated.

9•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 7/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive medium

By providing accurate soil information in a FAIR manner, farmers can enhance soil health through improved land management practices that result in better yields, profits, and economic returns.

The poor: Positive medium

SIS provides low-middle-income farmers with affordable and actionable soil information to enhance productivity, soil health, and farm income.

Under 18: No impact

Women: Positive medium

By providing accurate soil information in a FAIR manner, female farmers can enhance land management practices, leading to increased productivity and profitability.

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

SIS is adaptable and can respond to changing environmental conditions, including variations in weather.

Farmer climate change readiness: Moderate improvement

SIS enhance better decision-making and agricultural practices in the face of climate change impacts.

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Adopting a SIS can minimise soil contamination and fertiliser overuse, while also protecting nature and biodiversity.

Carbon footprint: Much less carbon released

The carbon footprint of a SIS is generally low compared to other technologies. SIS helps reduce emissions indirectly by promoting better soil management and informed decision-making.

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

By minimising the use of machines and chemicals, SIS lowers carbon emissions and enhances environmental health.

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

SIS can help maintain long-term soil fertility and productivity.

Problem

Africa's soils are deteriorating: Due to factors like organic matter loss, declining fertility, nutrient imbalance, pollution, soil biodiversity loss, increasing acidity, and erosion.
Key drivers: include overgrazing, deforestation, and unsustainable farming practices, leading to soil degradation that threatens biodiversity, ecosystems, and productivity.
Desertification: 65% of Africa’s productive land is degraded due to desertification, which affects 45% of the continent, with another 55% of land at high risk of further degradation.
Climate Change: Climate change exacerbates soil degradation, further threatening agricultural productivity and increasing vulnerability to environmental impacts.
Deforestation: Africa loses 3 million hectares of forest annually, contributing to a 3% GDP loss from soil and nutrient depletion.
Soil infertility: Diminishes agricultural productivity, causing over $43 billion in annual food imports
Lack of Integrated Soil Data Systems: Despite efforts to collect soil data and monitor land degradation, there is no integrated system for sharing this information, hindering effective policy-making, investment planning, and research.

Solution

Building a Soil Information System (SIS): Develop an integrated system to store, analyze, manage, and disseminate soil data to improve soil health and monitor deterioration.
Data Access: Provide users with access to diverse soil-related data, including soil properties, classifications, maps, and environmental data.
Multiple Datasets and Tools: Include various datasets, models, and tools to support better decision-making for end-users.
Customizable Design: Tailor the SIS design to country-specific needs, user requirements, data availability, and technical expertise.
SIS Profile Development: Create a SIS profile that aligns with use cases and includes a viable business model for long-term sustainability.
Step-by-Step Design Process: Follow a structured workflow for designing and building the system to ensure effective implementation and functionality.

Key points to design your project

This technology provides a comprehensive solution for building or enhancing a Soil Information System, offering an effective way to collect, analyze, and disseminate critical soil data for improved land management. It supports sustainable agriculture by promoting better soil health, increasing productivity, and improving resilience to climate change, contributing to SDG 13 (climate resilience) and SDG 15 (biodiversity and land restoration).

To develop or improve a Soil Information System (SIS) in your country, consider the following steps:

Define the Vision and Objectives: Clearly identify the purpose of the SIS. What are the key challenges you aim to address, such as soil degradation, declining agricultural productivity, or enhancing climate resilience? A well-defined vision will guide the development process.
Conduct a Needs Assessment: Work with organizations like ISRIC and CABI to create a SIS roadmap. Participate in workshops following the SIS Framework developed with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This will help tailor the system to your country's specific needs.
Data Collection and Storage: Develop a plan for soil data collection, focusing on accuracy and consistency. Efficiently organize and store soil data and samples in a centralized digital system, while ensuring physical samples are archived for future validation and reference.
Data Organization and Modeling: Organize the collected data into a central system and integrate modeling techniques for soil mapping. These models will support decision-making in land management, agriculture, and climate resilience.
Disseminate and Share Data: Make soil information accessible to all stakeholders through online platforms or dashboards. Ensure that policymakers, researchers, and farmers have easy access to relevant soil data to make informed decisions.
Training and Capacity Building: Invest in training programs to equip stakeholders with the skills to navigate the SIS, interpret the data, and apply it to enhance agricultural practices. This will ensure long-term sustainability and proper use of the system.

By following these steps and collaborating with relevant partners, you can develop or improve a Soil Information System that addresses your country’s unique soil challenges and contributes to sustainable land management.

50,000—100,000 USD

Workshop cost varies based on specific needs

IP

Open source / open access

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	–Not adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	–Not adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Developing SIS will enable policymakers, intergovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders to enhance soil management policies, priorities interventions, improve advisory services, and support broader goals related to food security and production.

Goal 13: climate action

Developing SIS will enhance policy-making, agricultural practices, and land management. By integrating these efforts, we can mitigate the effects of climate change.

Goal 15: life on land

SIS can help to prevent soil deterioration by providing accurate information on soil, which helps in the efficient allocation of resources and the implementation of appropriate interventions.

Depending on the needs, ISRIC can help with each step of the soil information workflow. See examples below:

Needs Assessment: Collaborate with ISRIC and CABI to develop a Soil Information System (SIS) roadmap by attending a workshop, guided by the SIS Framework developed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The framework is available here.
Data Collection: After defining the use case(s) and objectives of the SIS, engage all stakeholders, including data providers, users, and funders. This stage includes designing and executing a field campaign to collect soil data. Examples from ISRIC’s partnership with IITA can be found here.
Laboratory Analysis: Once soil data is collected, the next phase involves laboratory analysis of the soil samples, with ISRIC collaborating with FAO for this work.
Soil Archiving: Organize and store the physical soil samples, specimens, and related documents in a structured archive, which supports the SIS with essential information. ISRIC’s efforts in soil archiving are showcased here.
Data Organization: Organize and integrate field, laboratory, and metadata into a central system for efficient management. For guidance on data organization, see an example here.
Modelling and Mapping: Once data is collected, analyzed, and organized, the next step is modeling and mapping soil properties and types. See ISRIC’s tutorials for more details on data preparation and modeling here and here.
Applying Soil Information: Apply the soil data and models to various scales, from field-level to global. See examples of soil information application here and here.
Data and Information Serving: The final step is making the soil data accessible to users online. This can be done through platforms like the Soils4Africa dashboard here and WoSIS here.

For a comprehensive view of the soil information workflow, refer to ISRIC’s workflow page. Additionally, the ISRIC soil community of practice offers a collaborative space for sharing knowledge and learning at every stage of the process, available here.

Last updated on 28 November 2024