The Italian Soil Health Database supporting a national soil monitoring network & data elaboration

The extensive body of knowledge on Italian soils, derived from decades of pedological surveys and targeted environmental monitoring programmes at both national and local scales, represents a valuable asset for assessing soil health across different ecosystems and for analysing its temporal dynamics. The National Soil Health Database (BNSS), developed within the framework of the Integrated Monitoring System (SIM) under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, aims to integrate legacy pedological datasets with data from a new nationwide survey campaign (1,500 new soil profiles). This initiative supports the systematic integration of soil monitoring data, with a particular focus on contamination and soil fauna indicators, and the production of a new national soil map at higher spatial resolution (1:100.000 scale). The map development requires the integration of both cartographic and digital maps, legacy soil observations collected through national, regional campaigns, or research institutions.  

The INSPIRE Soil data model has been extended to incorporate the EAGLE framework for land use, land cover and land management, as well as detailed information on sampling designs, sample handling procedures (transport and storage), and quantitative estimates of uncertainty measurement. The associated semantic framework has been partially developed de novo, relying where possible on international or national controlled lists or vocabularies and implemented through codelists. The reference technical documentation for a national harmonized soil survey was updated, and a dedicated Soil survey App & Management portal developed.  

The BNSS can facilitate the creation of a community of soil stakeholders from the national to the local levels and support participation in international initiatives for data standardization, harmonization, and sharing.