Search

Soil Data

Categories

pH

Soil pH is a critical property that indicates the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. pH affects nutrient availability, microbial activity, and plant growth. Soils with a pH value below 6 are considered acidic, while those above 7 are alkaline. A pH value around 6.5 to 7 is generally considered optimal for most crops. This dataset provides pH levels for different soil samples across Nepal, which helps researchers understand soil health and its suitability for various crops.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Clay Content

Clay content determines soil texture, which influences water retention, nutrient availability, and aeration. Soils with higher clay content are more likely to retain water but may have drainage issues, while those with lower clay content may drain too quickly, leading to nutrient leaching. This dataset provides the percentage of clay particles in soil samples, which is essential for understanding the soil’s physical properties and its suitability for specific agricultural practices.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Organic Matter

Organic matter in soil is a key factor influencing soil fertility, structure, and water retention. It enhances microbial activity, improves nutrient cycling, and helps prevent erosion. This dataset provides measurements of the organic matter content in soil samples across Nepal, highlighting regions with rich organic content that are ideal for sustainable agriculture. High organic matter content is also beneficial for carbon sequestration, an important factor in mitigating climate change.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Total Nitrogen

Total nitrogen content in soil is crucial for plant growth since nitrogen is a key nutrient for plants. It influences protein synthesis and overall plant development. This dataset measures the nitrogen levels in soils across Nepal, which helps in understanding the fertility of soils and optimizing fertilizer use for better crop yields. Adequate nitrogen levels also contribute to soil microbial health and biodiversity.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Boron Content

Boron is a micronutrient essential for the growth of plants, particularly for the development of flowers, fruits, and seeds. Deficiency in boron can cause poor plant growth and reduced crop yields. This dataset provides measurements of boron content in soil across different regions of Nepal. Researchers use this data to identify areas with potential boron deficiencies and recommend corrective measures to optimize agricultural productivity.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Phosphate

Phosphate is an essential nutrient for plant growth, playing a vital role in energy transfer, root development, and flowering. Phosphorus deficiencies can limit crop yields and reduce soil fertility. This dataset provides measurements of Phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) content in soils. It aids researchers and farmers in understanding soil fertility, determining nutrient requirements, and developing sustainable fertilization practices.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Sand Content

Sand content in soil is a key factor influencing soil structure and drainage. High sand content leads to well-draining soils, whereas low sand content results in more compacted soils. This dataset measures the sand content in soils across various regions of Nepal, helping researchers understand soil texture, water retention capacity, and its suitability for different crops.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Silt Content

Silt content in soil influences its ability to retain water and nutrients. High silt content often results in soil with good fertility but poor drainage. This dataset provides measurements of silt content in the soil, allowing researchers and farmers to assess soil quality and improve agricultural practices based on water retention and nutrient availability.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Zinc Content

Zinc is an essential micronutrient for plants, playing a crucial role in enzyme function and plant metabolism. A deficiency in zinc can lead to stunted growth and poor crop yields. This dataset provides measurements of zinc content in soils, helping to identify areas with potential zinc deficiencies and guide soil treatment strategies for sustainable agriculture.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Potassium Content

Potassium is a vital macronutrient that aids in water regulation, enzyme activation, and the overall health of plants. A deficiency in potassium can lead to reduced crop yield and poor plant growth. This dataset measures the potassium content in soils, providing valuable information for researchers and farmers to optimize fertilization practices and improve soil health.

Metadata

Resolution: 250 meters
CRS: WGS 84
Bounding Box: 26°N, 80°E, 30°N, 88°E
Format: GeoTIFF
Release Date: December 2024
Source: NARC in collaboration with CIMMYT
Data License: Nepal Government

Our API

Over View Get Data Our API FAQ's Contact Us

Informations

Soil Data collected from detailed soil survey from pits at 10000 scales. Soil morphological characteristics and properties such as texture, structure, consistency, mottles, porosity, compactness, pH, color, slope and drainage analyzed in each pit. Texture (sand, silt, clay %), pH, Total N, Available P, Available K, Boron, Zinc and Organic matter analyzed from physical and chemical analyses of soil samples at soil lab.


Frequently asked Questions

  • What is DSM?
    Digital Soil Map (DSM) is a computer-assisted production of digital maps of soil properties. This is developed by using mathematical and statistical models that combine soil information from laboratory analysis with environmental variables (soil forming factors).
  • The maps were prepared using soil information from 23,273 soils samples, collected from 56 districts covering seven provinces. These soil properties are combined with a stack of 168 remote sensing-based soil covariates (SRTM DEM derivatives, climatic images, vegetation index etc.). Later the spatial predictions were generated using a machine learning method and the random forest.

    Please refer to the following journal article for the detailed procedure: Hengl T, Mendes de Jesus J, Heuvelink GBM, Ruiperez Gonzalez M, Kilibarda M, Blagotić A, et al. (2017) SoilGrids250m: Global gridded soil information based on machine learning. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0169748. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0169748

  • The current version map predicts the following soil properties:
    • Soil texture (sand, silt and clay)
    • Soil pH
    • Organic matter
    • Total nitrogen
    • Available phosphorus
    • Available potassium
    • Zinc
    • Boron
  • These are different environmental factors that affect soil properties. Covariate layers are generated using satellite images (raster data). Some of the important factors are topographic data, vegetation, precipitation, temperature, soil parent material, land cover type, landform classes.
  • Spatial resolution of the maps created is 250 m.
  • The soil profile data were collected from various government projects including National Land Use Project, Irrigation and Water Resources Management Project, Central Agriculture Laboratory (previously Soil Management Directorate), and Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC).
  • DSM uses advanced computational algorithms that use both soil sample data and environmental variables to generate maps. It does not only use spatial autocorrelation as the means to interpolate the data, but also considers soil forming factors. Also, the process can be automated so that newer versions of the map can be developed faster once new soil samples are collected. As soil properties are combined with environmental variables, a smaller number of soil samples would be enough to generate DSM compared to conventional soil map.
  • Researchers have done different studies and compared results of DSM with conventional methods. One of the studies showed that the random forests algorithm consistently performed better than the linear regression algorithm. The researchers found Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) across soil properties and depths decreased on an average of 15–75% . Similarly another study also showed that the DSM method was more accurate than the deterministic pedological approach.
  • You may use a point or polygon tool on the soil map. You can either click on the farm land or draw a polygon over your farm. The output (soil properties) will be generated in a tabular form that can be downloaded. Caution: The values generated are based on the prediction results, so please consult experts for their interpretation and taking decisions about future farm operation or perform detailed soil analysis for taking further decisions.
  • Yes, you can select the area of your interest using a polygon function provided in the left top corner of the website. Here are some basic instructions:
    • Go to https://soil.narc.gov.np. Go to the Map section and open the soil map.
    • The map will be updated. Select the zoom button under tool and drag the map to zoom an area.
    • On the left side of the screen on the navigation panel, select the polygon tool to select the area. Draw a rectangle or triangle shape around your interested area on the map and start getting the information.
  • · APIs

    The data and information are made available through APIs, so that people can access them easily on web, phone apps or using programming languages.

    · Direct download

    The users can directly download data in raster format after registration.

    · Interactive tools

    The users can use interactive tools for data query. Users can draw a point or polygon over a web map and get different information on soil properties. Later those data can be exported as CSV file format.

    • It can identify a domain with similar soil properties, identify soil fertility status (sufficiency and deficiency of plant nutrients).
    • Farmers, policy makers, extension workers, agri-input retailers and natural resource managers can use it as a decision support tool as it provides easy access to location-specific information on soil properties (spatial distribution) and plant nutrients, and helps to estimate fertilizer requirements.
    • It can be used as input data in models to extrapolate domain specific fertilizer recommendations and to estimate the total amount of fertilizers required for a particular crop and season.
    • It helps to identify areas with deficient plant nutrients and provide site specific fertilizer formulations (i.e., determining nutrient grades of blended fertilizers)
    • It helps to design the program on soil fertility and fertilizer management including correcting soil acidity, management of organic matter, addressing micronutrient deficiency etc.
  • To acknowledge the organizations that have provided data or products, Krishiprabidhi requests that data users include a citation to all data supplied through Krishiprabidhi in output products, websites, and publications. Overall, data are provided to the users under the general terms and condition:
    • Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
    • Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
    • Non-commercial: You cannot use the material for commercial purposes.
    • Non-derivative: If you remix, transform or build upon the material, you cannot distribute the modified material.
  • Yes, soil properties change over the season and it is recommended to update the map every five years.
  • Please write to us using the Contact us page of our web portal.
  • To improve the soil map of Nepal, please consider contributing soil data or you have been involved in data collection, please let us know. Organizations/companies that contributed data are acknowledged as contributing organizations/companies on our website and we will be happy to integrate it. Please Contact us to share information about your dataset, and we’ll be in touch.

NARC’s National Soil Science Research Center (NSSRC) in partnership with USAID’s Nepal Seed and Fertilizer (NSAF) project developed this web based application.

Links

Data