INSPIRE - CARBIOSOL - Predicted total organic carbon levels - period 2004-2014 in Wallonia (BE)

This INSPIRE data layer shows the total organic carbon content in agricultural soils in Wallonia for the period 2004-2014. This INSPIRE compliant data comes from the CARBIOSOL source data - Predicted Total Organic Carbon Contents - period 2004-2014. The quality of a soil can be assessed through the study of various physical, chemical or biological parameters. Among these parameters, soil organic carbon, which constitutes more than 50% of the mass of soil organic matter, is generally considered the main indicator of soil quality, both for its agricultural and environmental functions. This data layer maps the total organic carbon (TOC) content of soils under permanent crops and grasslands in the Walloon Region for the period 2004-2014. The layer was created by spatial modelling method developed by UCL in the framework of the CARBIOSOL convention. For more details on the mapping layers generated in the CARBIOSOL project, please refer to the metadata sheet documenting the data layer series. In each pixel, the total organic carbon (TOC) content is expressed in grams of carbon per kilogram of dry fine earth (gC/kg). The output of the model is a raster layer of TOC contents at 90 meters resolution and spatially continuous on the Walloon agricultural territory. The average TOC levels observed for soils (surface horizons) under crops and permanent grassland over the period 2004-2014 were 1.30 gC/kg and 3.61 gC/kg respectively, according to the REQUASUD database. During the same period, 22 % of the areas under crops had TOC contents < 1.15 gC kg-1 and 73 % had contents < 1.5 gC/kg. Below 1.15 gC/kg, the soil is destructured. Between 2004 and 2014, soil TOC levels for both land uses tend to increase from north-west to south-east, from the sandy-loamy region to the Ardennes region, and to decrease in the Jurassic region.