Exploring a Dynamic Soil Information System: A Workshop

美国国家科学院、工程院和医学院将举办一个为期两天的研讨会，将科学界的成员聚集在一起，研究如何动态和准确地监测土壤资源，以实现相互支持的目标，即更好地了解对观察到的土壤变化的因果影响，并为土地管理者、科学家、农民和其他人提供可获得的、有用的和可操作的信息。土壤是世界范围内支持人类活动和自然过程的一种重要的结构、生命和动态基质。现有的监测和记录土壤状况的系统不能准确反映土壤在退化、侵蚀、肥力、保水能力和其他性质方面随时间的变化情况。我们目前的监测系统也没有捕捉到土壤与自然(天气、气候和火灾)和人为力量(如土地管理)的相互作用。为了更好地了解这些相互作用和结果，需要一个强大的、纵向的、多地点的数据集，记录土壤的化学、物理和生物属性，并与环境和气候条件以及土地利用活动的数据相结合。构思如此广泛和多样化的数据集，需要仔细考虑收集统一数据的方法和不同土壤属性以及与土壤相互作用的力的适当指标。还有必要切实考虑这种数据库的潜在用户的具体要求，这些用户可能包括来自许多学科的科学家，从微生物学家到生态系统模型师，以及农民等实际用户。国家科学院将任命一个指导委员会，以确定适当的专家和利益攸关方参加研讨会。为探讨动态信息系统的要求，将围绕几个主题组织讲习班讨论，其中包括：确定适当的、可衡量的土壤化学、物理、特别是生物土壤属性指标；确定反映环境条件和土地管理活动以覆盖土壤数据的补充数据集[包括NSF国家生态观测网(NEON)提供的数据集]的可用性；促进及时和具有成本效益的土壤和环境数据收集的现有技术和方法；数据库设计、数据存储和数据管理的概念和实际考虑；以及以不同分辨率提供信息的工具，以满足包括土地管理人员、农民、学术、州和联邦科学家以及政策制定者在内的各种用户的需求。研讨会反映了2016年联邦土壤科学战略计划框架中确定的几个科学和技术优先事项，并解决了2015年联合国粮食及农业组织的世界土壤状况报告中指出的关于北美(特别是美国)土壤特性随时间变化的信息方面的信息空白。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will hold a 2-day workshop to bring members of the scientific community together to examine how soil resources might be dynamically and accurately monitored toward the mutually supporting goals of achieving a better understanding of causal influences on observed changes in soil and of providing accessible, useful, and actionable information to land managers, scientists, farmers, and others. Soil is an important structural, living, and dynamic substrate supporting human activities and natural processes worldwide. Current systems in place for monitoring and documenting soil conditions do not provide an accurate picture of how soil is changing over time with respect to degradation, erosion, fertility, capacity for retaining water, and other properties. Nor do our current monitoring systems capture the interactions of soil with natural (weather, climate, and fire) and anthropogenic forces, such as land management. To achieve a better understanding of those interactions and outcomes, a robust, longitudinal, multi-location dataset is needed that records chemical, physical, and biological soil attributes, and that is coupled to data on environmental and climatic conditions as well as land use activities. Conceiving of such a broad and diverse dataset requires thoughtful consideration of methods for collecting uniform data and appropriate indicators for different soil attributes and the forces that interact with soils. Also necessary is a practical consideration of the specific requirements of potential users of such a database who are likely to include scientists from many disciplines, from microbiologists to ecosystem modelers, as well as practical users, like farmers. A steering committee will be appointed by the National Academies to identify appropriate experts and stakeholders to participate in the workshop. To explore the requirements of a dynamic information system, workshop discussions will be organized around several topics, including: defining appropriate, measurable indicators of chemical, physical, and especially biological soil properties; identifying the availability of complementary datasets [including those provided by the NSF National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)] that reflect environmental conditions and land management activities to overlay soil data; available technologies and methods to facilitate the timely and cost-effective collection of soil and environmental data; conceptual and practical considerations for database design, data storage, and data stewardship; and, tools to deliver information at different scales of resolution to meet the needs of a diversity of users, including land managers, farmers, academic, state and federal scientists, and policymakers. The workshop reflects several of the science and technology priorities identified in the 2016 Framework for a Federal Strategic Plan for Soil Science and addresses information gaps noted by the 2015 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Status of the World Soils report with respect to information about changes in soil characteristics over time in North America (and particularly in the United States).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.