Harmonized World Soil Database v2.0 (FAO/ISRIC)

Harmonized World Soil Database v2.0 (FAO/ISRIC)

MH Subset Needed

Global soil properties database at ~1km (30 arc-second) resolution with 7 depth layers. Provides soil type, texture, pH, organic carbon, nutrient content, and water holding capacity from national ground surveys and lab data. Critical for crop suitability mapping and yield modeling in Maharashtra.

Build a soil characteristic lookup service for Maharashtra that returns detailed soil properties for any location.
Maharashtra subset not yet extracted. This is a global dataset that contains data covering Maharashtra. A regional subset can be extracted by filtering on geographic coordinates or administrative boundaries.
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Quick Start

import rasterio
# Download from https://www.fao.org/soils-portal/data-hub/
print('FAO HWSD v2: https://www.fao.org/soils-portal/data-hub/')
print('Harmonized World Soil Database for global soil properties')
Modality
gridded
Size
~1km resolution; 7 depth layers; 40+ soil properties; global coverage
License
Format
Raster / SQLite database
Language
en
Update Frequency
static
Organization
FAO / ISRIC
Category
agriculture-rural

Schema

FieldTypeDescription
soil_unitstringFAO soil unit code
texturestringSoil texture class
organic_carbonfloatOrganic carbon content percentage
phfloatSoil pH value

Build With This

Create a global-to-local soil data fusion tool combining FAO HWSD with Maharashtra soil health card data
Develop a soil erosion risk mapper for Maharashtra using soil properties and terrain data
Build a carbon sequestration potential estimator for Maharashtra farms using soil organic carbon data

AI Use Cases

Crop suitability mapping for Maharashtra districtsSoil fertility assessment for precision agricultureDrought vulnerability assessment from water capacityCarbon stock estimation for climate modelingSoil erosion risk prediction in Western Ghats
Last verified: 2026-03-09