Finnish Soildatabase 1:250 000, 1.1

Lack of spatial soil data in digital form has been a primary obstacle in establishing European policies on land use and environmental protection. Abundant data on soil characteristics exist in Finland but have been scattered among various sources, making it difficult for authorities to make country-wide presentations and predictions.The objective of the project was to create georeferenced soil map and database according to the instructions of the European Soil Bureau using data from existing databases and collecting some new data. The basis of the work was a geological map of quaternary deposits, which describes the soil at a depth of 1 metrem (parent material) according to the Finnish classification based on the concentration of organic matter and the texture of mineral material. Primary research topics included generalization methodology of soil polygons with GIS technology, calculation of soil characteristics needed in the database and computerizing the existing non-digital soil information. It was proved that aerial geophysics can be used for separation of shallow peats from deep peat soils and muddy soils and other wet areas can be identified. Soil names according to the FAO/Unesco system and the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB-2014) were derived from the soil names of the Finnish soil classification system and geophysical data. Soilscape (Soil Mapping Units) of Finland with WRB-2014 soil classification, intented to be used in European scale e.g to delineate risk areas mentioned in soil framework directive proposal.