Integration of data on the soils of Russia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine into the Soil Geographic database of the European community

The results of an international project aimed at the development of the European Soil Geographic Database for the territories of Russia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine are discussed. For the first time, unified European standards for soil description and classification have been applied for a vast territory from the western boundary of the former Soviet Union to the Far East region of Russia, and a corresponding soil database has been developed. This database makes it possible to perform a simultaneous analysis of land resources and develop land-use policy, agricultural monitoring, and the assessment of environmental quality on a common basis. The geographic part of the database includes a soil map encompassing more than 40 000 soil polygons. The attribute database includes a comprehensive analytical characterization of more than 400 soil reference pro- files. Special attention is paid to the correlation between national soil classifications, mapping units used in the unified European Soil Geographic Database, and a system of soil units accepted in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources.