This is part of a series of videos documenting the field protocols for soil sampling and observations, which will guide the fieldwork in the Soils4Africa project, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union.
The Soils4Africa project aimed to assess soil properties and quality across 20,000 agricultural sites in Africa within 1.5 years. Simple, standardized protocols for sample collection at specified depths were used, with additional focus on heavy metals and pesticide residues at 250 reference sites. Numerous field teams worked in parallel, using electronic data recording and readily available tools. Advanced soil properties were predicted using pedo-transfer functions, and state-of-the-art spectroscopy technology was tested. Observations included terrain conditions, land use, and management practices to ensure comprehensive soil quality assessment.
The field campaign was guided by two key documents: the protocol for the field survey and the protocol for field survey management. The field survey protocol provided standard instructions for surveyors, ensuring consistent and comparable results across different regions. The field survey management protocol offered general instructions for country supervisors, allowing flexibility to adapt to regional and country-specific conditions. For more information, check the “Protocol for field survey” here.
