The SOILS4MED MED-SIS is a web-based, integrated platform designed to support the storage, management, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of soil data and information. It provides data and interfaces for decision-support tools and contributes to the development of the future Soil Atlas of the Mediterranean Region.
The SOILS4MED SIS represents a major collaborative achievement, bringing together the expertise and resources of the project partners: more than 15 leading academic institutions and research centres across the Mediterranean region, which implement, manage, and use their own MED-SIS within their respective institutions.
Within the platform, a soil data resource can take different forms, including datasets, maps, documents, geoStories, and dashboards.
The platform is designed to support three types of users: MED-SIS STAFF (system administrators), responsible for implementing and managing the Soil Information System; MED-SIS DATA MANAGERS, responsible for managing, creating, and uploading soil data within the system; general users, who can access the data and information made available to them by MED-SIS DATA MANAGERS or MED-SIS STAFF.
The SOILS4MED SIS enables authorized users to enter soil point data and upload datasets generated through recent soil surveys from which new ones can be created for end users.
The representation of Soil Samples and Soil Profiles within the SIS follows a set of attributes based on the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB 2022) and on the data structure defined by the SOILS4MED partners. The data are organized into 6 tables describing the “General and Surface” section, 21 tables related to the “Layer” section, and 1 table related to the “Laboratory Data” section.
Furthermore, each SIS provides access to a set of soil health indicators selected by the project partners. Some indicators are derived directly from soil properties measured in the field or in the laboratory, while others are calculated specifically within the system.
To increase interoperability, the system publishes the data collected in the SOILS4MED project via an API in accordance with the ISO 28258.
The system has been designed to be replicable and adaptable to different national contexts, supporting its long-term sustainability and continued use beyond the lifetime of the project.
The Soils4Med SIS has been developed by CRS4 (Centro di Ricerca, Sviluppo e Studi Superiori in Sardegna).
The prototype is available online at: https://soils4med.crs4.it/
The code is available online at: https://github.com/crs4/med_
Manuals and videos are available via the help page: https://soils4med.crs4.it/