Soil map of the world

FAO (1971-1981). "The FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World." Legend and 9 volumes. UNESCO, Paris. 

FAO/UNESCO (1979) Soil map of the world. IX, Southeast Asia, UNESCO, Paris, France... 

The receptors of interest are soils of agricultural (arable lands, grasslands) and non-agricultural (forests, steppes, heath lands, savanna, etc.) ecosystems. In non-agricultural ecosystems, the atmospheric deposition is the only input of heavy metals. Regarding the Forest ecosystems, a distinction should at least be made between Coniferous and Deciduous Forest ecosystems. When detailed information on the areal distribution of various tree species (e.g., pine, fir, spruce, oak, beech and birch) is available, this should be used since tree species influence the deposition and uptake of heavy metals and the precipitation excess. On a world scale, soil types can be best distinguished on the basis of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World, climate and ecosystem data from NASA database (1989). 

Table compiled using data in Leinen et al. [64] and Claquin et al. [65], which are based, respectively, on sampling clay-size and silt-size particles over the Northern Pacific Ocean, and different soil types in arid regions consistent with the Food and Agricultural Organization Soil Map of the World. The minerals are listed in approximate order of abundance for these localities, with the most abundant at the top and least abundant at the bottom. 

EAO (1988) Soil Map of the World. Vol. 1. Revised Legend. UNESCO, Rome. 

FAO. (1995). The Digital Soil Map of the World, version 3.5, vol. CD-ROM. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy. 

In a first step, nutrient-depleted soils with low buffering capacity are identified to a,s,sess regions with potential for destabilization of forest ecosystems by acid deposition. Becau.se the acidity neutralization capacity of. soils (ANC) cannot be accurately determined from the global data, a simple approach based on the Soil Map of the World (FAO, 1995) is carried out. To evaluate the buffering capacity of the top.soils, the CEC data (cation exchange capacity) and the base saturation data (Na, K, Mg, and Ca) are combined with a map of the global distribution of forests (WCMC, 1997) to obtain the measures for fore.st soils with low buffering capacity. 

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1988. FAO/Unesco Soil Map of the World (revised legend). World Soil Resources Report 60. FAO, Rome, 119 pp. 

Oldeman, L.R., V.W.P. van Engelen, and J.H.M. Pulles (1990). The Extent of human induced soil degradation. In L.R. Oldeman, R.T.A. Hakkeling, and W.G. Sombroek, eds., World Map of the Status of Human-induced Soil Degradation An Explanatory Note. Wageningen, The Netherlands International Soil Reference and Information Center. 

Oldeman, I. R., et al. 1990. World Map of the Status of Human-Induced Soil Degradation An Explanatory Note. Nairobi UNEP. 

Pimentel, D., ed. 1993. World Soil Erosion and Conservation. New York Cambridge University Press Pimentel, D., et al. 1995. Environmental and economic costs of soil erosion and conservation benefits. Science 267 1,117-1,122 Agassi, M., ed. 1995. Soil Erosion, Conservation and Rehabilitation. New York Dekker. The largest international study of its kind estimated that out of the total of about 750 Mha of continental surfaces that are moderately to excessively affected by water erosion, and the 280 Mha by wind erosion, the mismanagement of arable land was responsible for excessive erosion on some 180 Mha of cropland see Oldeman, I. R., et al. 1990. World Map of the Status of Human-Induced Soil Degradation An Explanatory Note. Nairobi UNEP. 

Plate 3 shows a map of dominant soil orders for the entire world. Although this map necessarily lacks detail due to its scale, the relationship between soils and the biosphere is evident. Different terrestrial ecosystems are correlated with climatic conditions and different soils are correlated with both. For example, Mollisols are common in areas where there are prairies or steppes a result of grasses as the dominant vegetation and low, seasonal rainfall. Spodosols occur where coniferous forests dominate and the climate is cold and wet. Comparing Fig. 8-5 and Plate 3 carefully will show how strong this correlation is for the entire Earth. 

These values are significantly different from those that have been earlier calculated by RAIN-ASIA model (World Bank, 1994). These differences might be related to the much more detailed and comprehensive national data sets on geological, soil, climate (precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, runoff, etc.) and vegetation mapping, physico-chemical properties of soils and geological rocks. This allows the authors to calculate more precise values of all constituents used for maximum sulfur critical load calculation and mapping. 

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