Soil, Water and Land use

Team Soil, Water and Land use investigates interactions between the soil-water system and land use. We are using field experience, maps, laboratory facilities (Soil Hydro-Physics Laboratory - WUR), spatial statistics, land evaluation and simulation models to inform the management of soil and water and to support future proof spatial planning in response to climate change.

We maintain maps and data on soils, landforms and groundwater table depth in The Netherlands, partly in our role as administrator for the Dutch National Key Registry of the Subsurface.

We are also in charge of the widely used Soil-Water-Atmosphere-Plant-model (SWAP) for the unsaturated zone, and of the derived model instrument WaterVision Agriculture.

In the European context we participate in projects on soil information and soil health, such as the European Joint Program on Soil.