Initiated in 1984, the Committee Earth Observing Satellites' Working Group on Calibration and Validation (CEOS WGCV) pursues activities to coordinate, standardize and advance calibration and validation of civilian satellites and their data. One subgroup of CEOS WGCV, Land Product Validation (LPV), was established in 2000 to define standard validation guidelines and protocols and to foster data and information exchange relevant to the validation of land products. Since then, a number of leaf area index (LAI) products have become available to the science com-
Soils maps of China have been generated at different scales from ground surveys and laboratory analyses. A comprehensive effort coordinated by the Office for the Second National Soil Survey of China resulted in a series of soil maps covering the extent of the country at a scale of 1:1,000,000. The map series is now being converted from its current paper form to a digital format. The 1:1,000,000 digital soil map of China will consist of three parts: soil mapping unit boundaries, soil attributes, and the “reference system for Chinese soils.”The spatial data is based on the soil genetic classification of China, consisting of 12 orders, 61 great groups, 235 subgroups, and 909 families. The 1:1,000,000 soil maps are delineated based on the soil family definitions. The sampled soil attributes included physical, chemical, and fertility properties measured for 2473 soil species (series) (known as TuZhong in Chinese). The reference system for Chinese soils will use the attribute data for each soil species (series) to cross reference soil names in three classification systems, namely, Soil Genetic Classification of China, U.S. soil taxonomy, and the FAO World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). The cross‐reference system will be constructed in a relational database so that any Chinese or international scientists can access equivalent names for a soil in any of the three systems.
Soil classification systems are not consistent among countries or organizations thereby hindering the communication and organizational functions they are intended to promote. The development of translations between systems will be critical for overcoming the gap in understanding that has resulted from the lack of a single internationally accepted classification system. This paper describes the application of a process that resulted in the translation of the Genetic Soil Classification of China (GSCC) to Soil Taxonomy (ST). A brief history of soil classification in China is also provided to familiarize readers with GSCC and its origins. Genetic Soil Classification of China is the attribute base for the recently assembled digital form of the 1:1 000 000 soil map of The People's Republic of China. The translation between GSCC and ST was based on profile, chemical, and physical descriptions of 2540 soil series. First, the 2540 soil series were classified to their equivalent soil order, suborder, great group, and subgroup according to ST and GSCC subgroup descriptors. Order names for both classification systems were then linked to corresponding map units in the 1:1 000 000 digital soil map of China using a geographic information system (GIS). Differences in classification criteria and in the number of orders of the two systems (there are more GSCC orders than ST orders) meant that each GSCC order could possibly be assigned to more than one ST order. To resolve the differences, the percent correspondence in area between orders was determined and used as the criterion for assigning GSCC orders to ST orders. Some percentages of correspondence were low so additional processing was used to improve the assignment process. The GSCC suborders were then matched with ST orders. When the area for each order was summarized, the percentage of correspondence increased except for two subgroups in the Ferrasols order.
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