This map shows the natural susceptibility of agricultural soils to compaction if they were to be exposed to compaction. The evaluation of the soil’s natural susceptibility is based on the creation of logical connections between relevant parameters (pedotransfer rules). The input parameters for these pedotransfer rules are taken from the attributes of the European soil database, e.g. soil properties: type, texture and water regime, depth to textural change and the limitation of the soil for agricultural use. Besides the main parameters auxiliary parameters have been used as impermeable layer, depth of an obstacle to roots, water management system, dominant and secondary land use. It was assumed that every soil, as a porous medium, could be compacted. The map of natural soil susceptibility to compaction was created from the evaluation of selected parameters from the ESDB. The soil susceptibility to compaction was divided into 4 categories. Two additional categories represent the data concerning places where this evaluation was either not relevant or could not been provided because of lack of information. In total there are 6 categories (attribute "Evaluation" in the shapefile): 0 - no soil. This represents water bodies, glaciers and rock outcrops 1 - low susceptibility to compaction 2. - medium susceptibility to compaction 3. - high susceptibility to compaction 4. - very high susceptibility to compaction 9. - no evaluation possible. This was the case of towns including also soils, soils disturbed by man and marsh. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Global estimates of soil organic carbon stocks have been produced in the past to support the calculation of potential emissions of CO2 from the soil under scenarios of change land use/cover and climatic conditions (IPCC, 2006), but very few global estimates are presented as spatial data. For global spatial layers on soil parameters, the most recent and complete dataset is available as the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD). The HWSD represents a step forward towards a spatially more detailed and thematically more refined set of global soil data. This dataset contains the organic carbon density (t ha-1) for the topsoil (0 – 30cm) from the amended HWSD. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

This map shows the natural susceptibility of agricultural soils to compaction if they were to be exposed to compaction. The evaluation of the soil’s natural susceptibility is based on the creation of logical connections between relevant parameters (pedotransfer rules). The input parameters for these pedotransfer rules are taken from the attributes of the European soil database, e.g. soil properties: type, texture and water regime, depth to textural change and the limitation of the soil for agricultural use. Besides the main parameters auxiliary parameters have been used as impermeable layer, depth of an obstacle to roots, water management system, dominant and secondary land use. It was assumed that every soil, as a porous medium, could be compacted. The map of natural soil susceptibility to compaction was created from the evaluation of selected parameters from the ESDB. The soil susceptibility to compaction was divided into 4 categories. Two additional categories represent the data concerning places where this evaluation was either not relevant or could not been provided because of lack of information. In total there are 6 categories (attribute "Evaluation" in the shapefile): 0 - no soil. This represents water bodies, glaciers and rock outcrops 1 - low susceptibility to compaction 2. - medium susceptibility to compaction 3. - high susceptibility to compaction 4. - very high susceptibility to compaction 9. - no evaluation possible. This was the case of towns including also soils, soils disturbed by man and marsh. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Maps of estimated total zinc concentrations in soils using 1588 geo-referenced topsoil samples from the FOREGS Geochemical database. The concentrations were interpolated using block regression-kriging over the 26 European countries that contributed to the database. Heavy metal contents are expressed in mg kg-1. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Maps of estimated total cadmium concentrations in soils using 1588 geo-referenced topsoil samples from the FOREGS Geochemical database. The concentrations were interpolated using block regression-kriging over the 26 European countries that contributed to the database. Heavy metal contents are expressed in mg kg-1. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Maps of estimated total copper concentrations in soils using 1588 geo-referenced topsoil samples from the FOREGS Geochemical database. The concentrations were interpolated using block regression-kriging over the 26 European countries that contributed to the database. Heavy metal contents are expressed in mg kg-1. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Maps of estimated total chromium concentrations in soils using 1588 geo-referenced topsoil samples from the FOREGS Geochemical database. The concentrations were interpolated using block regression-kriging over the 26 European countries that contributed to the database. Heavy metal contents are expressed in mg kg-1. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Maps of estimated total arsenic concentrations in soils using 1588 geo-referenced topsoil samples from the FOREGS Geochemical database. The concentrations were interpolated using block regression-kriging over the 26 European countries that contributed to the database. Heavy metal contents are expressed in mg kg-1. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

Global estimates of soil organic carbon stocks have been produced in the past to support the calculation of potential emissions of CO2 from the soil under scenarios of change land use/cover and climatic conditions (IPCC, 2006), but very few global estimates are presented as spatial data. For global spatial layers on soil parameters, the most recent and complete dataset is available as the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD). The HWSD represents a step forward towards a spatially more detailed and thematically more refined set of global soil data. This dataset contains the organic carbon density (t ha-1) for the topsoil (30 - 100cm) from the amended HWSD. The original delivery from JRC consisted of two files in IDRISI Raster format, each covering half of the globe. For convenience, these files have been merged at EEA into a single GeoTIFF file covering the whole globe. The original files are in the zip archive HWSDa_OC_Dens_30SEC.zip This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.

In the context of Service Level Agreement between JRC and EFSA, a series of datasets have been developed as support to the FATE and the ECOREGION EFSA PPR Working Groups. Soil maps: Organic matter content of the topsoil, pH of the topsoil, Bulk density of the topsoil, Texture of the topsoil, Water content at field capacity. This metadata record is adapted from the orginal one received from JRC.