Transcript 1_Pre-pages.ppt

FIRST DRAFT
SOIL ATLAS OF
LATIN AMERICA AND
THE CARIBBEAN
A joint initiative of the European Union and Latin America
to support decision-makers and the scientific community on issues and
consequences of climate change, particularly in view of integrating these topics
into sustainable development strategies.
PUBLISHING DETAILS
The citation for this document is:
Jones, A.; Barcelo, S.; Gardi C.; Montanarella, L.; Mendonça Santos, M. de L.; Blu, R. O.; Rojas, A. E.; Castilla, C.; Gauggel, C. A.; Ovalles,
F.; Gonçalves, H.; Orehuela, J.A.; Muniz, O.; Schad, P.; Krasilnikov, P. (eds), 2013. Soil Atlas of Latin America and the Caribbean, European
Commission - Publications Office of the European Union, L-2995 Luxembourg, 144 pp
© European Communities, 2013
Reproduction authorised for the sole purpose of teaching or scientific research provided the source is acknowledged.
EUR 23499 EN
Language: EN
Catalogue number: LB-NA-23499-EN-C
ISSN: 1018-5593
ISBN: 978-92-79-09770-6
DOI: 10.2788/95795
Draft Cover
Legal Notice
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of the
following information.
Cover Image
The map on the cover depicts the major soil types of the Latin America according to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources classification
and correlation scheme. More than 20 distinct soil regions can be found on the South American continent as a result of its geologic history,
topography, climate, and vegetation. Three major groupings correspond to the continent’s three primary land regions—the lowlands, the
highlands, and the Andes. Low natural fertility is a conspicuous feature of soils in the humid tropic regions of South America. About one-fifth
of the continent is covered by arid soils of various types in which agriculture is risky without irrigation. Other regions, representing about 10
percent of the total area, are poorly drained. In the Andes, slopes are often steep, and shallow soils consisting of imperfectly weathered rock
fragments abound, accounting for another 10 percent of the continent’s surface. In the inter-Andean valleys and on some of the foothills,
nevertheless, shallow eutrophic soils deposited by lakes can be found that contain much nutrient matter but are subject to seasonal oxygen
deficiency.
Fertile soils extend over only about 10 percent of the surface of South America. The Argentine Pampas, the largest fertile area on the continent,
is uniformly covered with the so-called pampean loess, which is calcareous, rich in minerals, and mixed with volcanic sediment. The
agricultural development of South America closely reflects the distribution of soils according to their fertility. It is mostly confined to the
eastern mid-latitude plains, in which is concentrated the production of cereal grains and cattle grazing; to the subtropical and temperate parts of
the Andes, from Colombia to Chile, where grazing takes place and a variety of crops are cultivated; and to eastern and southeastern Brazil,
where coffee, cacao, soybeans, and sugarcane are grown, while the interior plateaus are devoted to cattle grazing.
Soil erosion has ravaged a large part of the continent. According to some estimates, in several countries half or more of the presently arable land
has been severely damaged or ruined by poor land management. In the Andes, land that once produced high yields of wheat is now abandoned.
Mountain forests are still cleared for cattle grazing and cultivation, which greatly accelerates erosion and ruins the soil of the region for years
thereafter. Soil damage has been less severe in areas of relatively flat terrain. Campaigns for soil conservation or restoration have been
implemented in most countries.
Cartographic Representations
Cartographic features depicted on the maps of this atlas are derived from the Digital Chart of the World. The cartographic data in the atlas do
not have an explicit legal status; hence, no legal aspects should be derived from the information depicted on any of the maps in this publication.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Chart_of_the_World
Soil Data
The soil maps presented in this atlas are derived from several projects aiming to compile a harmonised soil database for South and Central
America and the Caribbean.
The maps showing the World Reference Base soil names were derived from xx sources: 1)
The map showing the distribution of soil properties originates from xxx et. al. (2007).
The citations for these data are:
•
Cryosol Working Group. 2004. Northern and Mid-Latitude Soil Database, Version 1. Dataset available on-line,
http://www.daac.ornl.gov
•
FAO, 1990. Digital Soil Map of the World. Distributed by UN FAO, http://www.fao.org/
Soil maps are produced by the Soil Action of the Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit, Institute for Environment and Sustainability,
European Commission DG Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy and Lovell Johns Ltd, UK.
Final design and graphical support by Lovell Johns Limited, 10 Hanborough Buisiness Park, Long Hanborough, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX29
8RU, United Kingdom.
2
Comité Editorial
Acknowledgements
Sara Barcelo1, Ciro Gardi1, Arwyn Jones1, Luca Montanarella1, Maria de Lourdes Mendonça
Santos2, Humberto Gonçalves2, Rodrigo Ortega Blu3, Carlos Castilla4, Olegario Muniz5, Carlos
Antonio Gauggel6, Arnulfo Encina Rojas7, Julio Alegre Orehuela8, Francisco Ovalles9, Peter
Schad10 y Pavel Krasilnikov11
This atlas builds on the considerable knowledge on the circumpolar region that has been amassed
through the efforts of many individuals and organisations. Without this considerable effort, the
production of this atlas would not have been possible. The atlas demonstrates fruitful collaboration
between the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy and numerous, soil
science experts, institutions and universities. In particular, the European Soil Bureau Network,
scientists of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) Cryosol Working Group, the Russian
Academy of Sciences Institute of Geography, Institute of Geocryology, Yakutia, Institute of
Biological Resources of the North- Polar Ural, Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute of the Russian
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, University of Vechta, ISRIC
– World Soil Information and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. All are thanked for sharing their
knowledge.
1
European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability
Land Management & Natural Hazards Unit, SOIL Action, 21027 Ispra (Varese), Italy
2 Brasil
3 Chile
4 Colombia
5 Cuba
The initiative to produce this atlas was supported by Jerry Brown, the President of the International
Permafrost Association (IPA) and Vladimir Kotlyakov, Academician of the Russian Academy of
Sciences.
6 Honduras
7 Paraguay
The Editors wish to recognise the valuable contributions of the proof readers, Dr. Robert Jones,
Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute (UK) in tightening up the readability and
grammar of the atlas.
8 Perú
9 Venezuela
10 Germany
In addition, the authors are grateful for the flexibility, understanding and professionalism of Jon
Gammage and Ian Dewsbery at Lovell Johns Ltd (UK) throughout the, sometimes tortuous, process
of assembling this publication.
11 Russia
Authors
Finally, every effort has been made to trace copyright holders. The Editors offer their sincerest
apologies and thanks for any unintentional omissions and would be pleased to add an
acknowledgment in future editions of the atlas.
Oleg Anisimov, State Hydrological Institute of Roshydromet, St Petersburg, Russia
Ơlafur Arnalds, Agricultural University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
Arnold Arnoldusen, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, Ås, Norway
The Editorial Board would like to thank the providers of graphical elements (photographs, diagrams,
illustrative maps) for their permission to use their material in the atlas. All contributors are listed
below:
Alan Belward, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
James Bockheim, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
Henrik Breuning-Madsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Gabrielle Broll, University of Vechta, Germany
Jerry Brown, International Permafrost Association, USA
Roman Desyatkin, Institute of Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Russian Academy of
Sciences, Yakutia, Russia
Sergey Goryachkin, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Bjarne Holm Jakobsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Arwyn Jones, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
Dmitry Konyushkov, Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute, Russian Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Galina Mazhitova, Komi Science Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russia
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), O. Arnalds (OA), M. Badraoui (MB), M.
Balks (MB), A. Belward (AB), P. Bielek (PB), H. Breuning-Madsen (HBM), G. Broll (GB), S. Brozek
(SB), Commission of the European Communities (CEC), M. Drewnik (MD), E.A. Fitzpatrick (EF),
Government of the Northwest Territories (GNT), J. Hollis (JH), International Permafrost
Association (IPA), ISRIC – World Soil Data Centre (ISRIC), B. H. Jakobsen (BHJ), Lovell Johns Ltd
(LJ), Joint Research Centre (JRC), A. Jones (AJ), R. Jones (RJ), D. Konyushkov (DK), C. Kosmas
(CK), M. Karatay (MK), J. Kozak (JK) , P. Kuhry (PK), R. Langohr (RL), A. Lehmann (AL), G.
Mazhitova (GM), G. Montecchi (GMI), E. Micheli (EM), F. Nachtergaele (FN), National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), x. xxxx (PNO), C. Ping (CP), K. Ritz (KR),
M. Serdem (MS), S. Neuvonen (SN), O. Spaargaren (OS), E-M. Pfeiffer, V. Romanovskiy (VR), V.
Stolbovoy (VS),C. Tarnocai (CT), G. Toth (GT), F. Turkelboom (FT), Dirk Wagner (DW), Svenja
Kobabe (SK), Lars Kutzbach (LK), World Climate Project (WorldClim), Ted NSIDC, US
Department of Agriculture (USDA), A. Nelson (AN), Center for International Earth Science
Information Network (CIESIN) E .Zazovskaya (EZ) D J and F G Waters, Andrea Petrocchi (AP), Ian
McCallum (IM), Leaf Eriksson (LE), Oleg Anisimov (OAV) Zhang F. (ZF), R. Desyatkin (RD); I.
Sokolov (IS)
Ian McCallum, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
Luca Montanarella, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Ispra, Italy
Evgeny Naumov, Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute, Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
Moscow, Russia
Paul Overduin, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
Sten Nilsson, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
The SOIL ATLAS OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN has been
carried out under the Administrative Arrangement 2010-236 079 between the
EuropeanAid Cooperation Office (DG AIDCO) and the JRC (Objective 2.2)
Âge Nyborg, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, Ås, Norway
Chien-Lu Ping, University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA
Karl Ritz, National Soil Resources Institute, Cranfield University, UK
Otto Spaargaren, ISRIC - World Soil Information, Wageningen, The Netherlands,
Vladimir Stolbovoy, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
Charles Tarnocai, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada
3
CONTENTS
Información editorial
2
Autores, colaboradores, agradecimientos
3
Índice
4
Prefacio, presentación, etc.
7
Introducción
8
Objetivos del Atlas
9
La Unión Europea y América Latina – EUROCLIMA
10
Las ciencias del Suelo en LAC
11
Función e importancia del suelo
12
El medio ambiente en LAC
Aspectos generales
15
Geográfico, topográfico, climático, vegetación, uso de la tierra, población
16
Biomas
21
Los suelos de LAC
22
Qué es el suelo?
23
Factores formadores del suelo
24
Procesos de formación del suelo
26
La vida en el suelo
31
La clasificación de suelos
32
Introducción a la clasificación de suelos
33
El desarrollo de la clasificación de suelos en LAC
34
Sistemas de clasificación en LAC
35
Sistemas indígenas de clasificación del suelo
36
WRB: un enfoque armonizador
38
Principales tipos de suelos en LAC (WRB)
Cómo se hace un mapa de suelos
Cartografía de suelos
4
14
40
48
50
Introducción
51
Leyenda
52
índice cartográfico
55
Los suelos de LAC
56
Mapas de clases de suelo
58
Mapas LAC de las principales propiedades del suelo
92
La cartografía digital de suelos
98
Los suelos de LAC: una perspectiva global
100
Los suelos y el ciclo del carbono
101
Las reservas de carbono en los suelos de América Latina
104
Cambio climático
106
Interacciones suelo – ambiente natural: el caso de la Amazonia
108
Suelos y agricultura
110
Herencias culturales y suelo
111
Amenazas a los suelos
112
Los suelos de LAC: una perspectiva nacional
114
México
115
Belice
116
Guatemala
117
El Salvador
118
Honduras
119
Nicaragua
120
Costa Rica
121
Panamá
122
Puerto Rico
123
Cuba
124
Haití
125
Republica Dominicana
126
Jamaica y Antillas menores
127
Colombia
128
Venezuela
129
Surinam y Guayanas
130
Ecuador
131
Perú
132
Brasil
133
Bolivia
134
Paraguay
135
Uruguay
136
Chile
137
Argentina
138
Conclusiones
139
Información adicional
Glosario
140
Índice
141
Contactos y bibliografía
142
La serie de Atlas de Suelos del JRC / The Joint Research Centre / OPOCE
144
5
The presence of ice is a characteristic feature of soil in many northern regions. The portion of the soil that does not thaw from one year to another is referred to
as the permafrost. Above the permafrost layer, soil that thaws during the spring and summer months then refreezes in the autumn and winter is known as the
active layer. The depth of the active layer depends on the local climate, exposure, the characteristics of the soil and the nature of the overlying vegetation. The
picture above from Alaska shows peat overlying an exposed section of a large ice wedge. The height of the visible ice wedge is approximately three metres. (CP)
Soil can preserve information about the environment in which it was formed. The profile above, shows a well preserved relict soil from Latvia. The distorted
and cracked reddish horizons are evidence of cryoturbation which is the mixing of soil material as a result of freezing and thawing cycles. Cryoturbation or
frost-churning is a common feature in soils of the northern circumpolar region. The features present in this soil indicate that at some time in the past, this
location has experienced periglacial conditions (extreme cold at the the periphery of glacial areas). Today, the location has a much milder climate. The griy
material occupying the top 30 cm of the profile has been strongly influenced by cultivation and the sharp boundary is the result of ploughing. (EM)
6
DRAFT PREFACE
DRAFT FOREWORD
PREAMBLE
## Not final – not approved.##
## Not final – not approved.##
Polar regions have faced the largest warming on the planet in the
past two decades. Even if the North and South Poles are often
evocative of another world, we should not forget that these unique
environments are amongst the most fragile and important for the
whole planet. They are key components of the climate system and
any major change there will impact our daily life in ways that still
need to be accurately assessed.
Soil is a unique resource that is often overlooked in
discussions on climate change. Soil is the second largest
sink of carbon dioxide on the planet after the geological
pool, containing nearly double the amount stored by
vegetation. Knowledge of soil characteristics in northern
regions is particularly important in our attempts to
understand the processes and responses to climate
change. The thawing of soil in the circumpolar region as
a result of global warming will result in the thawing of
enormous amounts of organic matter that is presently
locked in permanently frozen ground.
The
decomposition of this trapped organic matter could lead
to the release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide
and, more importantly methane, which in turn will
increase greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere and further warming of the climate.
The polar regions are fascinating environments which constantly
challenge our technical abilities. This explains why research in the
polar regions is particularly important today. The International Polar
Year (IPY) 2007/09, the largest international coordinated scientific
effort in the last 50 years, brings us the opportunity to have an
overview of European research activities in the polar regions.
Europeans have been at the forefront of polar research cooperation
since the early days of the polar adventure.
The European Union has a rich polar history and numerous leading
European polar research teams and organisations are active in these
regions.
During my visit to Svalbard, Norway in the Arctic, in July 2007, I
could see that these polar regions are indeed endangered. When you
see the evidence with your own eyes, it becomes difficult to avoid
the conclusion that something more than just natural change is
going on. This trip not only confirmed that climate change is a
reality and one we need to deal with sooner rather than later, it also
showed that science really does reach across national and political
borders and brings people together.
Soil in the circumpolar region plays a crucial, yet often neglected,
role. This new “Soil Atlas of the Northern Circumpolar Region” is
intended to be a step towards raising public awareness on the
importance and the key role of soil in northern latitudes. The Atlas
compiles existing information on different soil types in easily
understandable maps covering the entire arctic and sub-arctic
region. The publication is intended not only for the specialized
reader but also for the general public, aiming to ‘bridge the gap’
between soil science, policymaking and public knowledge. By
addressing a non-specialized audience, the Atlas will increase
public awareness and understanding of the diversity of soils and of
the need to protect them.
Recognizing the importance of soil as a non-renewable resource
which provides many functions crucial to human activities as well
as ecological functions (maintaining production, soil biodiversity,
the filtering and buffering capacity, the role as an archive of cultural
heritage, etc.), will support the development of protective measures
that will incorporate local knowledge about each specific soil type
and function as well as safeguarding soils for current and future
generations.
The European Union is committed to combat the forces
driving climate change by reducing emissions and
through the sustainable management of natural resources.
It is in this context that the Joint Research Centre (JRC),
as the European Commission's main research body, is
carrying out research and collecting information with the
aim of improving our understanding of the nature and
characteristics of soil in northern latitudes, associated
processes and to evaluate the need and effect of EU
policies to protect soil resources and the circumpolar
environment.
As many of the issues affecting soil cross national
boundaries or administrative areas, responsibility for soil
protection is not always easily defined. To address this
issue, the JRC is actively co-operating with world
renowned experts from Europe (many within the
European Soil Bureau Network), the Russian Academy
of Sciences, the US Department of Agriculture, the
International Permafrost Association, and Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada.
I am pleased to see that the result of the collaboration
between the JRC’s Institute of Environment and
Sustainability and the international soil community has
resulted in this striking, informative and, in the context of
the International Polar Year, timely document.
I hope that you will find this atlas both enlightening and
motivating.
The Atlas draws on the expertise and activities of the Joint Research
Centre in this field and has been elaborated in close collaboration
with specialized institutions in Europe, Russia, Greenland, the USA
and Canada. I trust that this publication will mark a crucial step
towards a better understanding of the role of soil in northern
regions.
Roland Schenkel
Director-General of the JRC
While thinking about the Arctic region, the first thoughts
that spring to mind are cold, ice, permafrost, huge
resources of oil and gas, gold mining, treeless tundra,
polar bears and fascinating indigenous people. The vast
majority of us have no idea what soil in the polar regions
might be like. In reality, permafrost-affected soils
(known as Cryosols, Gelisols, Cryozems in soil
classification systems) predominate in high latitudes.
Permafrost-affected soils are one of the most widely
distributed soil types on Earth, covering over 11 million
km2 or more than 8% of the planet’s land surface.
Permafrost-affected soils occur under a wide range of
moisture and physiographic conditions, but all have one
common feature: the association with near-surface
permafrost. Low temperature is the leading soil-forming
factor which also controls the vegetation, populations of
organisms, biogeochemical cycles and relief formation.
The upper portion of the soil profile freezes and thaws
annually (the active layer); the lower portion remains
perennially frozen (the permafrost).
However, the thermal balance of permafrost-affected
soils is very delicate and sensitive to any disturbance of
the insulating topsoil which, in turn, can have dramatic
consequences for local and global environments. At the
local scale, permafrost-affected areas can degrade into an
aquatic landscape causing terrestrial ecosystems to
completely collapse. The huge mass of undecomposed
organic matter that has accumulated in the permafrost
will start to decay and releases greenhouse gases (e.g.
CO2, CH4, N2O) into the atmosphere: key drivers of
global warming.
If one takes into account that permafrost-affected soils
hold over 30% of the global soil carbon pool, the
catastrophic effects of human-induced degradation of
these soils is clear. Soil in the circumpolar regions
regulates several natural and human-induced ecosystem
processes. Our understanding of positive and negative
feedbacks in the ‘climate-vegetation-soil-permafrost’
system are of crucial significance for forecasting the
response of this environment to global change.
Nowadays, anthropogenic pressures on northern
ecosystems and soil resources are rapidly increasing. The
Soil Atlas of Northern Circumpolar Regions is a
consolidated international effort by scientists to raise the
awareness of the value of soil in high latitudes. The Atlas
illustrates vividly the great diversity of circumpolar soils
and northern landscapes while encouraging the general
public and governments to develop policies for the
protection of these fragile regions.
Jerry Brown is investigating the
underside of a 14,000 year old
buried ice wedge in Barrow,
Alaska.
Jerry Brown
President
International Permafrost Association
2004 - 2008
Janez Potočnik
EU Commissioner for Research
Commissioner Potočnik experienced arctic conditions during his
visit to Svalbard (78°54′N) in 2007.
Vladimir Kotlyakov
Head of the Russian Arctic Programme
Institute of Geography
Russian Academy of Science
IPY Joint Committee Member
7
INTRODUCTION
The effects of the cold climate and ice are very pronounced in the northern circumpolar region. The erosive power of glaciers during the last Ice Age has resulted in the formation of characteristic
landforms such as the glaciated valley shown in the above photograph of the Auyuittuq National Park in Baffin Island, Canada. The eroded material was subsequently transported by the glaciers and
deposited over large areas as till plains or as specific landforms such as the lateral moraine visible as a distinct ridge above the red buildings in this photograph. Water from the melting glacial ice
transported and deposited materials as glaciofluvial sands and gravels. These deposits commonly provide parent materials for soil that can be very different in nature from the underlying geological
strata, whose characteristics are masked. Note the 1000 m sheer granite face of Mount Thor in the middle of photograph. (CT)
The harsh territory of northern latitudes, typified by the landscape of the upper photograph, is perceived by the general public as a lifeless and barren environment. However, this is incorrect.
Where ever possible, life flourishes and appears in spectacularly beautiful forms as evidenced by this colourful Alpine Bearberry (Arctostaphylos alpina) which is dark red during the autumn. The
small dark green plants in between are Crowberry (Empetrum hermaphroditum). The branches on top belong to Dwarf Birch (Betula nana), the smallest birch tree in the world. Light-green lichens
are visible on the right side. This stunning mosaic of plants was found on a hillside in the Finnish subarctic. Life in the north appears in the places where soil provides plants with the opportunity to
root and nutrients to survive. (GB)
8