Are existing soils data meeting the needs of stakeholders in Europe? An analysis of practical use from policy to field

Soils form a major component of the natural system and their functions underpin many key ecosystem goods and services. The fundamental importance of soils in the environment means that many different organisations and stakeholders make extensive use of soils data and information in their everyday working practices. For many reasons, stakeholders are not always aware that they are reliant upon soil data and information to support their activities. Various reviews of stakeholder needs and how soil information could be improved have been carried out in recent years. However, to date, there has been little consideration of user needs from a non-expert perspective. The aim of this study was to explore the use of explicit and hidden soil information in different organisations across Europe and gain a better understanding of improvements needed in soil data and information to assist in practical use by non-expert stakeholders. An on-line questionnaire was used to investigate different uses of soils data and information with 310 responses obtained from 77 organisations across Europe. Results illustrate the widespread use of soil data and information across diverse organisations within Europe, particularly spatial products and soil functional assessments and tools. A wide range of improvements were expressed with a prevalence for finer scale resolution, trends over time, future scenarios, improved accuracy, non-technical supporting information and better capacity to use GIS. An underlying message is that existing legacy soils data need to be supplemented by new up-to-date data to meet stakeholder needs and information gaps.