KI-SOIL

Background and Objective

Forest soils play a crucial role in the sustainable management and development of forests. Their diverse functions are essential for maintaining ecosystem performance. In light of the climate crisis and future challenges, regularly updating soil and site information is essential.

However, collecting this data—through national forest soil inventories (NFSI), forest site mapping, or environmental monitoring—is time-consuming. Additionally, determining soil properties in the field is often subject to uncertainties.

The KI-SOIL project aims to (partially) automate the recording and description of forest soil properties using innovative technical solutions. This will enhance the efficiency and reliability of forest environmental monitoring and site mapping.

The methods developed will serve as a decision support system, reducing personnel and time requirements while minimizing uncertainties in field assessments of soil properties.

Approach

Key Development Areas

To bridge existing knowledge and technology gaps, KI-SOIL focuses on the following priorities:

• digitization and automation of recording, analyzing, and evaluating previously unmeasurable soil profile characteristics
• systematic and sustainable digital documentation of uniformly classified and comparable soil condition data
• minimally invasive, cost-efficient sampling techniques

TI-WO's Main Responsibilities in the Project:

TI-WO is responsible for the following core tasks within KI-SOIL:

• database extension & integration
• adapting existing databases
• technical implementation, commissioning, and testing (INSPIRE-compliant)
• frontend & backend development
• creating a digital input interface for field surveys
• integrating new and existing data
• data management & interfaces
• collecting, processing, and integrating image and profile data
• connecting new data sources (e.g., NFSI III)

Through these efforts, KI-SOIL will significantly improve digital forest soil analysis and site mapping.