Organic soils occur in a wide variety of wetlands (incl. peatlands) and play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Their extent and condition, however, is still uncertain due to their variety of abiotic and biotic features in a wide range of geomorphological settings globally, the invisibility of the peat layer itself with airborne mapping methods, manifold land uses applied, remote locations, lack of training data and diverse definitions (e.g. in relation to peatlands). These uncertainties extend if peaty soils (6-12% SOC) or shallow peat > 10cm come into focus (GPA 2022). Globally, peatlands in (sub-)tropical flooded savannas, mountains and along coasts are the most challenging to be mapped - where, at the small scale, organic and mineral soils are intertwining. The detection of organic soils under long term agricultural use and the translation of national and regional maps into local land use planning, bring along many challenges - particularly in the southern hemisphere.
In recent decades, the application of Digital Soil Mapping, Remote Sensing and GIS has come to the fore - to monitor, report and verify the spatial extent and condition of organic soils. Additionally, historic and legacy maps, as well as local knowledge, are increasingly acknowledged as ancillary sources, as well as the importance of dedicated field work highlighted. In this session we invite contributions from various scientific directions using established and innovative techniques to map organic soils at all scales to help resolving the uncertainties of their extent and status.