Research summary
Healthy soils are essential for food production, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability—but managing this critical resource effectively requires up-to-date, comprehensive soil data infrastructure. Dr. Brandon Heung, Canada Research Chair in Digital Soil Mapping and Informatics, is tackling this challenge by advancing digital soil mapping and soil informatics to better understand soil-environment interactions across space and time.
Heung and his research team are developing a national soil data repository, mining and integrating data from partners, and establishing a soil spectral library to reduce the cost of soil analysis. These tools will enable more frequent and affordable soil monitoring, improve predictive models, and generate high-resolution soil maps to guide land management and climate strategies. By modernizing how soil data are collected, analyzed and shared, this research will support sustainable agriculture, carbon sequestration efforts, and long-term soil security—ensuring this vital resource is protected for generations to come.