Criteria and considerations for the choice of pilot areas: towards a 1:250,000 soil database of the EU; working paper

The choice of pilot areas follows from an analysis of problems that must be solved before a georeferenced 1 : 250 000 database of the European Union can be built. These problems are: the harmonization of existing maps and data; the harmonization of additional soil survey and data collection methods; and the definition of the structure and content of the database. Options to solve these problems were inventoried and evaluated in a JRC-sponsored workshop. A general approach towards a georeferenced 1 : 250 000 soil database for the EU is proposed and the implications for the work to be done in the pilot areas are reviewed.