The Area of Cultivated Organic Soils in Finland According to GIS Datasets

Authors:
Merja Myllys, Harri Lilja and Kristiina Regina

Book:
Proceedings of the 14th International Peat Congress

Venue:
Stockholm

Keywords:
field-plot-database, histic-horizon, histosol, organic-soil, soil-map

Documentfile:
Myllys et al 2012: The Area of Cultivated Organic Soils in Finland According to GIS Datasets

Summary:

Theme III. Agricultural use of peat and peatlands

SUMMARY

The recently published Finnish Soil Database consists of a digital soil map over the entire country. Location of all field plots on active farms is available on a field plot database owned by the Agency for Rural Affairs. By combining these two sources of information by geographical information systems (GIS), the area of cultivated organic soils could be calculated with a good accuracy for the first time. Histosols, and soils with a histic horizon were treated as organic. Organic soils cover 252 000 hectares, i.e. 10.4% of the cultivated area.