"Addressing soil data needs and data gaps in catchment-scale environmental modelling: the European perspective"

Effective agricultural management and policy planning depend on accurately simulating water quantity and quality while assessing the impact of land use and climate change on soil health and hydrological processes. However, environmental models that analyze surface and groundwater dynamics at the catchment scale require detailed soil information, particularly concerning movement and retention in the unsaturated zone.

In recent years, an increasing number of open-source soil datasets and innovative estimation methods have become available, offering new opportunities for improving catchment-scale environmental modelling. This study provides a comprehensive catalogue of soil data sources and pedotransfer functions (PTFs) applicable across European catchments. It evaluates the performance of selected PTFs and presents practical R scripts designed to address critical data gaps in soil physical, hydraulic, and chemical properties.

By focusing on key parameters such as bulk density, porosity, soil erodibility, water retention characteristics, and phosphorus content, the research identifies widely supported data sources and pioneering prediction methods that ensure physical consistency. These insights contribute to more accurate environmental simulations and improved decision-making for sustainable land and water management.

Authors are: Brigitta Szabó, Piroska Kassai, Svajunas Plunge, Attila Nemes, Péter Braun, Michael Strauch, Felix Witing, János Mészáros, and Natalja Čerkasova

EGU Scientific Paper, SOIL, 10, 587–617, 2024 - Feel free to click on the link to learn more