CHLSOC: the Chilean Soil Organic Carbon database, a multi-institutional collaborative effort

Abstract

A critical aspect of predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations is the lack of available soil information; where information on soil characteristics is available, it is usually focused on regions of high agricultural interest. To date, in Chile, a large proportion of the SOC data have been collected in areas of intensive agricultural or forestry use; however, vast areas beyond these forms of land use have few or no soil data available.

Here we present a new SOC database for the country, which is the result of an unprecedented national effort under the framework of the Global Soil Partnership. This partnership has helped build the largest database of SOC to date in Chile, named the Chilean Soil Organic Carbon database (CHLSOC), comprising 13 612 data points compiled from numerous sources, including unpublished and difficult-to-access data. The database will allow users to fill spatial gaps where no SOC estimates were publicly available previously. Presented values of SOC range from 6 x 10(-5) % to 83.3 %, reflecting the variety of ecosystems that exist in Chile.

The database has the potential to inform and test current models that predict SOC stocks and dynamics at larger spatial scales, thus enabling benefits from the richness of geochemical, topographic and climatic variability in Chile.