This year, researchers of the Latvian University (LU), faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences started research of Latvia’s soil to obtain information on Latvia’s agricultural land, including peat soil, at the same time updating and improving data on soil in Latvia.
Already in summer of this year, based on historical data on Latvia’s agricultural land, deep soil drilling has been performed and thus the soil profile database has been supplemented in Riga region, Zemgale and Vidzeme highland.
The Ministry of Agriculture, as a responsible partner of the project “Enhancement of sustainable land soil resource management in agriculture” 2014-2021 (E2SOILAGRI), expresses gratitude to land owners and land managers for their responsiveness and support to researchers, carrying out soil probing, deep-drilling and sampling!
This summer, an intense mapping of peat soil distribution in agricultural land in Viduslatvia and Vidzeme highland was carried out as well as profiles of deep-drillings were performed and soil samples were taken for laboratory tests. At the same time, using remote research data, a model is being developed, which by means of an artificial intellect, will make specification of the distribution of peat soil easier in situ.
Currently, an active work is carried out on adjustment of the soil classification system in field conditions in Taurene parish, describing deep-drilling soil profiles and taking samples for further laboratory tests.
Alongside with the above mentioned, a field variant of agricultural soil mapping methodology has been developed on different scales. Just as the field variant of the Latvian national soil classification system has been developed by improving the classification and aligning it with the international World Soil Classification System of the United Nations Organization Food and Agriculture Organization.
In the course of Latvia’s soil research that will go on for three more years up to January 31, 2024, the results will be obtained, providing information on soil not only for farmers but also for research institutions, non-governmental organizations and Governmental institutions. The restored information on agricultural land will be useful for planning and developing of agricultural and climate policy, based on the latest data and conclusions.
The activity “Improvement of a reliable, State-specific soil information on agricultural land” implemented by the faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences of the Latvian University is part of the project “Enhancement of sustainable land soil resource management in agriculture” 2014-2021 (E2SOILAGRI) of the Norwegian financial instrument.
Cooperation partners to Norway Grants Climate and Environment Program 2014 – 2021 “Climate change mitigation, adaptation to them and the environment” in the pre‑defined project “Enhancement of sustainable soil resource management in agriculture” is the Ministry of Agriculture , Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Latvian University, the Latvian Forest Science Institute SILAVA .
The planned project budget is EUR 1,83 million, including the Norway grant EUR 1,56 million and EUR 0,27 million - the national co-financing.