Revision of the classification and mapping guide of the soils of Switzerland

Since 2019, the classification and mapping methodologies for Swiss soils are being completely overhauled. The project will be completed in 2025.

Factsheet

Situation

The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has commissioned the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (BFH-HAFL) with the revision. The aim is to produce a revised, standardised and broadly accepted overall work for Switzerland: "Description, classification and mapping of the soils of Switzerland". On the one hand, it should permit a highly standardised soil description and, on the other hand, satisfactorily characterise the entire variability of Swiss soils. Furthermore, it should allow efficient and user-oriented soil mapping.

Course of action

The co-project management is accompanied and controlled by project committees. The procedure for the revision is described in detail in various documents. In so-called "milestones", the contents of the revision project are presented to the project committees and other interested parties, discussed and their application checked. The milestones are documented and serve as basis for the ongoing work on the topic.

Result

Interim results and documentation are regularly published on the website www.boden-methoden.ch.

This project contributes to the following SDGs

  • 2: Zero hunger
  • 15: Life on land