mySoil

The mySoil project is a joint development by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH). The project has developed smartphone technologies, based on the iOS and Android platforms, to provide basic information on soil across Europe, with enhanced information such as habitat, soil texture, organic content, temperature, depth and pH range for Great Britain. The data behind the app are derived from the BGS Parent Material Map, the CEH Countryside Survey and Land Cover map datasets, Met Office soil temperature datasets and joint research centre Parent Materials database. All the data are accessed via freely available web map services. The mySoil project has also developed crowdsourcing capabilities to allow users to upload and share their own observations and photographs of soil. The project has recently converted all the smartphone functionality into the UKSO map viewer, enabling all users with web access to view or take part in the project.

The mySoil project maps are based upon a modified version of the BGS Parent Material Map (the data shows the European Soil Bureau classification for Parent Material type) as well as the European-wide Joint Research Centre Parent Materials database. The maps are simplified to enable rapid use in smartphones, and web browsers enabling a wide range of users and developers to view or take part in the project aims of disseminating and crowdsourcing basic soil data.