iSOIL: exploring the soil as the basis for quality crop production and food security

Abstract

Introduction The quality and safety of crops and derived products depend among other factors on the quality and safety of the soil. To control the quality and safety of the soil and adjust crop and soil management to meet the desired quality and safety standards, a profound knowledge of the soil is indispensable. At present the techniques available for soil mapping are too expensive, are at low resolution and are not suitable for precision farming applications. Objective The EU-funded project iSOIL aims to improve existing and develop new techniques and methodologies for sensor-based high-resolution digital soil mapping (DSM). Methods: In seven work packages the project members will develop and improve current methodologies for high-resolution DSM using geophysical, spectroscopic and monitoring techniques. Results The anticipated result of the project is a set of target-oriented techniques and guidelines for economically feasible high-resolution DSM. The anticipated results are illustrated by a gamma-ray soil mapping example. Conclusion The combination of geophysical methods and DSM techniques can provide a fast and cost-effective approach to create high-resolution digital soil property maps for large areas, but there is still some research necessary. These methods can be used for precision farming and will improve the production of crops at desirable quality and safety levels.