Multi‐Depth Soil Attributes Dataset

Abstract

ABSTRACT Comprehensive soil data at multiple depths are essential for climate change assessments, biodiversity analyses, and land‐use monitoring. However, generating such information through laboratory analyses is costly and labor‐intensive. Existing global resources, such as SoilGrids and statistical packages like geodata , provide raster data for soil layers at 0–5 cm, 5–15 cm, and 15–30 cm, but many applications require alternative depth intervals—for example, 0–20 cm for carbon stock modelling (e.g., CENTURY) or 0–30 cm for ecosystem services (e.g., InVEST) and studies of plant growth, water availability, and pollutant dynamics. To address this gap, we developed a global database of raster soil data at depths of 0–10 cm, 0–15 cm, 0–20 cm, 0–25 cm, and 0–30 cm. Soil attributes at specific depths were computed through interpolation and weighted averaging of SoilGrids rasters and validated against empirical soil data from multiple continents, compiled from major global repositories and peer‐reviewed studies. Standard statistical procedures confirmed the robust accuracy of the interpolated rasters. The database provides values for bulk density (Mg m −3 ), soil texture (%), soil acidity (pH), total nitrogen (g kg −1 ), soil organic carbon (g kg −1 ), and soil organic carbon stock (Mg ha −1 ). Potential applications include (i) biogeochemical modelling of soil carbon, (ii) aboveground biomass modelling, (iii) species distribution modelling, (iv) biodiversity assessments, and (v) ecosystem diagnostics. The dataset is open access under a Creative Commons licence, adheres to FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, and is hosted on Zenodo due to its large size, links access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14721139 . Users are kindly requested to cite this paper when employing the dataset.