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National-format soil and land attributes

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Summary

National-format soil and land attributes describe regionally relevant soil profiles. These are based on the SA-format ‘subgroup soil’ types, but are further differentiated according to each land system (resulting in a much larger number of soil variants being described).

This page will help you:

understand how national-format soil data is structured (classified)
access national-format soil data.

Classification system for national-format data

National-format attribute datasets have been developed by the department's Soil and Land Program to provide nationally consistent mapping of soil and land attributes for use in landscape assessments and modelling.

These are based on national criteria (McKenzie et al. 2012) developed by the National Committee on Soil and Terrain. They form part of the Australian Soil Resource Information System (ASRIS), which was launched by CSIRO to provide standardised access to soil and land resource information. This database was superseded by the Australian National Soil Information System (ANSIS), which visualises data from various sources including the Soil and Landscape Grid of Australia (SLGA).

Australian Soil Resource Information System (ASRIS) - Archived

Data typically provided as layer data (polygons) often at standardised soil profile depths. Some legacy soil pit data is available as point data.

This system was originally developed for vector/polygon data; however, it also hosted the Soil and Landscape Grid (rasters).

Australian National Soil Information System (ANSIS) - Active

Hosts layer (polygon and rasters) and point data. This point data can be visualised using scatter plots and summarised as ‘site reports’.

This system was designed to host digital soil mapping (DSM) products and therefore includes better processes for integrating rasters and a better interface for visualising DSM products. Data in this system is updated regularly via a federated network.

Unlike the SA-format data which typically presents data as a single layer (e.g. at a specific soil depth), national-format data is typically presented as five layers, corresponding to standardised soil depths (0-10 cm, 10-30 cm, 30-60 cm, 60-100 cm and 100-200 cm). Some sites have slightly altered depths, as required by conventional soil description processes (i.e. specific sampling depths are required for some soil assessments). For some soil attributes ‘summary characteristics’ are available, which describe the bulk properties of the site, rather than multiple layers. For example: ‘depth to hardpan/rock’.

Example dataset: Available water capacity (ANSIS)

Available Water Capacity is defined as the available water capacity computed for each of the specified depth increments (0-5 cm, 5-15 cm, 15-30 cm, 30-60 cm, 60-100 cm and 100-200 cm, consistent with the Specifications of the GlobalSoilMap).

Three raster files are available for each soil depth: one showing the lower uncertainty limit (5% percentile), one showing the upper uncertainty limit (95% percentile) and one showing the expected value (mean).

Each raster has a 90 m resolution (raster cell size) and assigned a cell value which corresponds to the percentage volume of water that is ‘plant available’. For example, a 15% pixel indicates that for every 100 cm³ of soil, there is 15 cm³ potentially available for plant uptake. Pixel values are visualised using five colour classes to assist with interpretation (see images below).

National-format soil and land attributes — Available water capacity in the top 0-5 cm of the soil profile. Data Source: ANSIS

Accessing national-format data through ANSIS

ANSIS Website

Provides information about the ANSIS project and links to soil standards, data models and other outputs. ansis.net

ANSIS Portal

Provides access to standardised soil data and information from multiple data providers. portal.ansis.net

ANSIS Visualiser

Uses colour to show differences in soil properties, turning complex soil data into clear, visual insights. visualiser.ansis.net

ANSIS Site Report

Presents soil site data in an easy to read, editable, downloadable format. site-report.ansis.net

Links to access national-format soil and landscape data

The following soil datasets are available for download as either raster or point data. Direct links to the datasets are provided where available.

ANSIS data links are not provided but can instead be accessed/downloaded through the interactive ANSIS data portal or ANSIS site report portal. For more information, refer to the ANSIS user guide. Likewise, some of the 90 m resolution Soil and Landscape Grid products (Cloud Optimised GeoTIFFS) can be downloaded directly from the TERN portal.

All ANSIS and TERN data portal below links are indicated with an asterisk (*). 'CSIRO Data Portal' links and all other links will take you directly to the specific dataset.

Australia-wide data

Physical soil attributes

bulk density (t/m³): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
coarse fragment content (%): CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
field capacity volumetric water content (based on estimates for matrix suction of 10 kPa): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal - drained upper limit | TERN Portal*
plant-available water holding capacity (PAWC): ANSIS Portal* | TERN Portal*
saturated hydraulic conductivity (ksat, mm/hr): CSIRO Data Portal
soil texture:
- clay content (%): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
- sand content (%): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
- silt content (%): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
wilting point volumetric water content (based on estimates for matrix suction of 1500 kPa): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal

Chemical soil attributes

cation exchange capacity (CEC):
- CEC (meq/100 g): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
- effective CEC (meq/100 g): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
phosphorus:
- total phosphorus (%): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
- available phosphorus (mg/kg): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
soil organic carbon (%): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal - 1" resolution | CSIRO Data Portal - 3" resolution | TERN Portal*
soil organic carbon fractions (%): CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
soil pH (1:5 CaCl₂ solution): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
soil pH (1:5 water): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*
total nitrogen (%): ANSIS Portal* | CSIRO Data Portal | TERN Portal*

South Australian data

A combined soil attribute dataset for South Australia is available via the CSIRO Data Portal. This includes 10 soil attributes as a collection of 6 slices (soil depths). This includes: available water capacity; bulk density - whole earth; cation exchange capacity; clay content; coarse fragments; electrical conductivity; organic carbon (SOC); pH - CaCl2; sand content; and silt content.

Soil

Australian Soil Classification (ASC):
- ASC pre-2021:
  - TERN Data Portal: ASRIS dominant soil order (250 m): data | metadata
  - CSIRO Data Portal: soil order (3" resolution)
- ASC 3rd edition (includes Arenosols)
  - site data (ASC V3): ANSIS Portal*
  - Australian soil classification (modelled): ANSIS Portal*
national acid sulfate soils: ANSIS Portal*
soil organic carbon monitoring project: CSIRO Data Portal
soil layer thickness and depths:
- depth of regolith: ANSIS Portal* | TERN Portal*
- depth of soil (m): ANSIS Portal* | TERN Portal*
- surface soil thickness (A1, A horizons) and upper subsoil depth (to B2 horizon): CSIRO Data Portal