Development options for a Soil Information Workflow and System - Overview for methods, standards and tools

The goal of this document is to offer an aid for designing a Soil Information System (SIS) for soil data practitioners. It provides an overview of the options, choices, results, and boundary conditions, and provides links to more detailed resources to execute the design and implementation.

A SIS is defined as an integrated information system that facilitates the storage, analysis, management and dissemination of soil data and information. The system often aims to pro- vide users with access to a wide range of soil-related data and information, including soil properties, classifications, maps, and associated environmental data. It may contain multiple data sets, models, and tools in support of improved decision making by end-users. This defi- nition primarily refers to the technological aspects. In this project, a soil information system encompasses the entire soil information workflow.

There is not one single way to design a SIS because the SIS profile of a country tends to vary depending on end-user needs, data availability, and technical skills. A profiling activity is, therefore, essential to design a sustainable system that links to the use cases and provides a viable business model.