**Guided R tutorials covering the soil information and data lifecycle, from soil sampling design and mapping to data-driven decision-making**
Healthy and productive soils are fundamental to resilient agrifood systems, sustainable land management, and climate adaptation. Yet, in many regions, soil information remains fragmented, outdated, or inaccessible. The Soil Mapping for Resilient Agrifood Systems (SoilFER) programme responds to this challenge by building comprehensive soil information systems that integrate sampling design, laboratory analysis, soil spectroscopy, digital modeling, and decision support tools. These systems aim to empower governments, researchers, and farmers with actionable knowledge for crop selection, fertilizer recommendations, and soil health management.
This manual, provides a step-by-step guide along the entire soil data value chain. It is designed as both a technical reference and a practical training resource, bridging the gap between raw soil data and its functional use in agricultural and environmental decision-making.
The objectives of this manual are to:
* Present harmonized approaches for soil sampling design used under the SoilFER programme
* Provide guidance on the integration soil spectroscopy estimated soil parameters into the digital soil mapping process
* Introduce best practices in soil data preparation and management, aligned with the Global Soil Information System (GloSIS)
* Demonstrate methods for digital soil modeling and mapping, covering classical statistics, machine learning, and hybrid inference for both continuous and categorical soil properties.
* Explain how to generate functional soil information to support evidence-based decision-making.
* Facilitate data sharing and dissemination, promoting open standards, metadata documentation, and web-based services.
By integrating these components, the manual equips users to move from raw samples to reliable soil information products that inform policy, guide sustainable soil management, and strengthen food and nutrition security.