Published May 20, 2025 | Version v20250204
Dataset Open

OpenLandMap-soildb: soil organic carbon density (mg/cm3) 2000-2005 0-30cm below ground

Description

Sub-dataset: soil organic carbon density (mg/cm3) 2000-2005 0-30cm below ground

Description

Global annual maps of soil properties for 2000—2022 produced within the scope of the Land & Carbon Lab, integrating Digital surface/terrain model, vegetation/tillage indices, climatic/bioclimatic variables, and based on tree-based spatiotemporal Machine Learning. While the primary focus is on improving monitoring in global soil properties, the dataset provides wall-to-wall coverage across all terrestrial ecosystems and is organized into 300+ global mosaics in COG (Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF) format. Data are presented at 5-year intervals, across 3 standard depth intervals (0–30 cm, 30–60 cm, 60–100 cm), and cover 79 USDA soil taxonomy suborders. Original layers use the WGS84 Coordinate System (EPSG:4326) at a pixel resolution of 0.00025 degrees, and 0.00075 degrees with uncertainty (STAC and GEE). Layers archived on Zenodo are at 0.00075 degrees with uncertainty but include only the initial and final periods (2000–2005 & 2020–2022), including:

  • Soil Organic Carbon Content (g/kg)
    As a key indicator of soil fertility, structure, and microbial activity, it represents the concentration of organic carbon in the fine earth fraction of the soil. Standard method of measurement is dry combustion using elemental analyzers (e.g., ISO 10694).
  • Soil Organic Carbon Density (kg/m³)
    Represents the mass of organic carbon per unit volume of soil. It is derived as: SOC content × bulk density × (1 − coarse fragment volume fraction). This value is critical for estimating total carbon stocks and monitoring soil carbon changes over time.
  • Soil pH
    Indicates the acidity or alkalinity of soil, affecting nutrient availability and microbial processes. Reported as pH measured in water solution (pH in H₂O).
  • Bulk Density (g/cm³)
    Refers to the mass of dry fine earth (<2 mm) per unit volume, excluding coarse fragments. It reflects soil compaction and porosity, influencing water retention and root penetration. Commonly determined using the core method or calculated from pedotransfer functions.
  • Soil Texture Fraction
    Defines the relative proportions of mineral particles by size. Texture influences water movement, nutrient holding capacity, and plant growth.
    • Clay content (%): Proportion of particles <0.002 mm in diameter.
    • Sand content (%): Proportion of particles between 0.05–2.0 mm (some definitions use 0.063 mm as lower threshold).
    • Silt content (%): Particles sized between 0.002–0.05 mm or up to 0.063 mm depending on classification system.
    Textural fractions follow USDA or FAO particle size classifications.
  • Soil Type Probability
    Probabilistic classification of soils based on USDA Soil Taxonomy at the subgroup level. Each pixel is assigned a probability distribution across potential soil types, based on legacy point data and environmental covariates.
30m layers can be accessed through STAC and Google Earth Engine GEE) through: All modeling framework is publicly available at OpenLandMap GitHub - soildb

Data Detail

  1. Time period: 2000-2022, in 5-year intervals (last period covers 2020–2022) for soil properties ; 2000-2022 static for soil type
  2. Type of data: Spatiotemporal soil data base, with depth ranges and weighted percentage data for soil assessments and static soil type classification.
  3. How the data was collected or derived: The data was derived using machine learning models.
  4. Statistical methods used: Tree-based spatiotemporal machine learning
  5. Depth reference: b30cm..60cm = below ground at 30-60cm interval
  6. Limitations or exclusions in the data: no Antarctica; masking out permanent ice and deserts
  7. Coordinate reference system: EPSG:4326
  8. Bounding box (Xmin, Ymin, Xmax, Ymax): (-180, -56, 180, 76)
  9. Spatial resolution: 0.00075 degree (~120m)
  10. Image size: 360,000P, 132,000L
  11. File format: Cloud Optimized Geotiff (COG) format

Dataset Contents

This dataset includes:

  • soil organic carbon density (mg/cm3) 2000-2005 0-30cm below ground

Related Identifiers

Data Details

  • Time period: 0-30cm below ground 2000-2005
  • Type of data: soil organic carbon density (mg/cm3) 2000-2005 0-30cm below ground
  • How the data was collected or derived: Machine learning models.
  • Statistical Methods used: Random Forest.
  • Limitations or exclusions in the data: The dataset does not include Antarctica.
  • Coordinate reference system: EPSG:4326
  • Bounding box (Xmin, Ymin, Xmax, Ymax): (-180, -56, 180, 76)
  • Spatial resolution: 120m
  • Image size: 360,000P x 132,000L
  • File format: Cloud Optimized Geotiff (COG) format.
  • Layer information:

  • File Name Unit Scale Data Type No Data Description
    oc_iso.10694.1995.mg.cm3 kg/m³ 10 UInt16 32767 Organic carbon density derived by multiply fine earth bulk density and organic carbon content
    oc_iso.10694.1995.wpml g/kg 10 UInt16 32767 Organic carbon content based on dry combustion weight percent
    ph.h2o_iso.10390.2021.index - 10 Byte 255 The pH, 1:1 soil-water suspension is the pH of a sample measured in distilled water at a 1:1 soil:solution ratio
    bd.core_iso.11272.2017.g.cm3 g/cm³ 100 UInt16 32767 Bulk density, <2mm fraction, dry is the weight per unit volume of the <2 mm fraction, with volume measured in laboratory
    sand.tot_iso.11277.2020.wpct % 1 Byte 255 Total laboratory-estimated sand 0.063 to 2.0 mm particle diameter
    silt.tot_iso.11277.2020.wpct % 1 Byte 255 Total laboratory-estimated silt 0.002 to 0.063 mm particle size
    clay.tot_iso.11277.2020.wpct % 1 Byte 255 Total clay is the soil separate with <0.002 mm particle diameter
    soil.types_ensemble % 1 Byte 255 Probability of soil type occurrence

    Support

    If you discover a bug, artifact, or inconsistency, or if you have a question please raise a GitHub issue here

    Naming convention

    To ensure consistency and ease of use across and within the projects, we follow the standard Ai4SoilHealth and Open-Earth-Monitor file-naming convention. The convention works with 10 fields that describe important properties of the data. In this way users can search files, prepare data analysis etc, without needing to open files.

    For example, for oc_iso.10694.1995.wpml_m_30m_b30cm..60cm_20000101_20051231_g_epsg.4326_v20250204.tif, the fields are:

    1. generic variable name: oc = organic carbon
    2. variable procedure combination: iso.10694.1995.wpml = organic carbon content based on dry combustion weight per mille
    3. Position in the probability distribution/variable type: m = mean
    4. Spatial support: 30m
    5. Depth reference: b30cm..60cm = below ground at 30-60cm interval
    6. Time reference begin time: 20000101 = 2000-01-01
    7. Time reference end time: 20051231 = 2005-12-31
    8. Bounding box: g = global
    9. EPSG code: EPSG:4326
    10. Version code: v20250204 = version from 2025-02-04

    Acknowledgement

    This project is funded by European Commission through Open-Earth-Monitor project and by World Resources Institute through Land & Carbon Lab

Files

oc_iso.10694.1995.mg.cm3_m_120m_b0cm..30cm_20000101_20051231_g_epsg.4326_v20250204.tif

Additional details

Funding

European Commission
OEMC - Open-Earth-Monitor Cyberinfrastructure 101059548