Published

Soil

vr.wm-ear-003 · wm-ear-003-soil

Describe soil identity, profiles, measurements, mapped interpretations and condition with explicit support, uncertainty and use limits.

World Models Physical world and living systems PHY.EAR.SOI

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Classifiers What it is Why it exists Distinguishing features What robots and AI may and may not do Moral aspects Owners Links to other meta-models Identity and identifiers Direct properties Recognition Capabilities and actions Hazards and failure modes Standards and interfaces Context of use Sources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

6 bundles · 12 layers · 18 findings · 54 questions

Soil subject and profile Proposed soil context covering identity and description, profile elements.

Identity and description

Proposed context for identity and description.

Subject identity and grain

Identify the represented soil subject as observed profile, derived profile or mapped body. Keep its record identity separate from the physical material and any parcel.

Which authoritative identifier and subject kind distinguish this soil record? identity
What spatial support, coordinate reference system and depth reference define its extent? spatial
Does this revision correct the same subject or introduce a new subject after split or merge? lifecycle

Observed and derived profile

Keep field descriptions separate from representative profiles synthesized across observations. A derived profile need not have a physical pit location.

Was this profile directly described or derived from other profiles or expert judgement? provenance
When was the field description made and when was it entered or revised? temporal
What location evidence or derivation provenance supports the profile description? evidence

Profile elements

Proposed context for profile elements.

Horizon and layer interval

Record pedogenic horizons separately from operational depth layers. Overlap, incomplete depth and boundary uncertainty require explicit explanation.

Which ordered horizons or purpose-defined layers comprise this profile? composition
What upper and lower depths, units and reference surface delimit each element? measurement
Which gaps, disturbed material or inaccessible depths limit interpretation of the sequence? exception

Classification and spatial representation Proposed soil context covering classification assertions, mapping and prediction.

Classification assertions

Proposed context for classification assertions.

Evidence-backed classification

Attach a classification assertion with its scheme edition and diagnostic basis; retain alternative or uncertain assignments without equating classification with productivity.

Which scheme, edition, class and qualifiers were assigned to this subject? classification
Which diagnostic observations support or contradict the assigned class? evidence
Who reviewed the classification and what evidence would require reassessment? authority

Mapping and prediction

Proposed context for mapping and prediction.

Map unit and component support

A mapped unit describes heterogeneous support, not a guarantee at every point. Link component interpretations and surveyed evidence without converting the map into parcel identity.

At what survey scale and spatial support is this map unit intended to be used? spatial
Which component profiles and estimated proportions characterize the unit? composition
What inclusions, gaps or survey limits prevent a point-level inference from the unit? quality

Predicted property surface

Separate modelled values from measurements; preserve product version, grid support, depth interval, unit conversion and uncertainty statistic.

Which product release and model produced this predicted property value? provenance
What cell support, depth interval and unit conversion apply to the prediction? measurement
Which uncertainty statistic is supplied and does the proposed use exceed the prediction support? quality

Sampling and analytical evidence Proposed soil context covering sampling lineage, results and chemistry.

Sampling lineage

Proposed context for sampling lineage.

Sample lineage and representation

Link physical specimens and subsamples to their actual sampling support. Allow composite samples and depth increments without inventing a single horizon or laboratory chain.

Which sample and subsample identifiers resolve the material used for analysis? identity
What collection method, locations and depth intervals does this sample represent? process
What custody, preparation or storage limitations affect this specimen evidence? provenance

Results and chemistry

Proposed context for results and chemistry.

Observation and result qualification

Every result identifies its subject, property, procedure and applicable time. Unknown, unmeasured, censored, rejected and zero values remain distinguishable.

Which sample or soil feature and observed property does the result concern? relationship
What phenomenon time, result time and ingestion time apply to this observation? temporal
What method, value qualifier and quality evidence permit admission of the result? validation

Chemical property context

Keep pH, salinity, nutrient and exchange measurements tied to analytical conditions and reporting basis. Candidate properties are not fertilizer prescriptions.

Which chemical property, method and extraction or measurement conditions produced the value? measurement
What mass basis, units and detection or quantification limits constrain comparison? constraint
Which method differences or absent measurements prevent the proposed chemistry comparison? exception

Physical, biological and carbon properties Proposed soil context covering physical condition, biology and carbon.

Physical condition

Proposed context for physical condition.

Physical and water-related properties

Describe texture, structure, density and hydraulic observations with conditions. A pedotransfer estimate remains distinct from a direct measurement.

What texture fractions, particle-size convention or structural description is evidenced? measurement
Under what moisture, pressure and sample conditions was density or water behaviour assessed? state
Was the physical property measured, field-estimated or calculated by a transfer model? provenance

Biology and carbon

Proposed context for biology and carbon.

Biological condition indicators

Represent biological indicators as method-sensitive evidence of condition. A single indicator cannot establish total soil health or ecosystem biodiversity.

Which organism activity or biomass indicator was measured and by what assay? measurement
Which season, incubation period or sampling conditions qualify this biological result? temporal
What reference context and uncertainty support interpretation of the biological indicator? quality

Carbon concentration and stock interpretation

Separate reported carbon concentration from stock estimates and stock change. A soil estimate is not a certified removal or emissions account.

Does this value represent organic carbon concentration, density or stock? measurement
Which depth, area and supporting density or coarse-fragment inputs underpin the stock estimate? provenance
What comparability and uncertainty limits prevent a carbon change or credit claim? constraint

Capability and suitability Proposed soil context covering capability context, use-specific assessment.

Capability context

Proposed context for capability context.

Capability interpretation

Store a general capability assertion with its local scheme, limiting factors and assessor. It is an interpretation linked to soil evidence and external land context.

Which capability scheme and class were used for this interpreted area? classification
Which soil limitations and external terrain or climate inputs support the capability judgement? evidence
What review status and authorized assessor govern use of this capability assertion? authority

Use-specific assessment

Proposed context for use-specific assessment.

Use-specific suitability scenario

Qualify suitability by proposed use, management assumptions and wider land conditions; an agricultural suitability result is not inherent soil identity.

For which use or crop and management scenario was suitability assessed? requirement
Which land requirements and limiting factors explain the selected suitability rating? decision
Which missing water, climate, economic or social inputs limit the assessment? constraint

Change, screening and governed exchange Proposed soil context covering condition history, screening and evidence release.

Condition history

Proposed context for condition history.

Condition and change evidence

Record erosion, compaction, salinity or other condition concerns as supported observations or hypotheses. Trend and causation require more than a single report.

Which soil condition concern is observed and what extent or severity is supported? state
Are baseline and follow-up observations comparable in method, season and depth? temporal
What uncertainty or confounding factors qualify the claimed change and its cause? quality

Management and recovery context

Reference external agricultural or restoration activities as possible context for soil change. Completion of work does not establish recovery or authorize field operations.

Which external management or restoration activity affected the soil support? relationship
Who reported the practice history and what temporal or spatial evidence supports it? provenance
What follow-up evidence supports recovery, continuing impairment or an unresolved state? lifecycle

Screening and evidence release

Proposed context for screening and evidence release.

Contaminant screening and review

Record contaminant observations and qualified comparisons. Screening exceedance is a review signal, not automatic contamination confirmation, remediation instruction or clearance.

Which substance, sampled medium and qualified analytical result support this screening concern? evidence
Which threshold source, version, use and exposure assumptions apply to the comparison? constraint
Which competent reviewer or decision record establishes any status beyond the screening flag? authority

Evidence release and exchange

Proposed local governance records release scope and reversible mappings. Exact locations and holder links require an applicable access basis; custody does not establish ownership.

What rights, licence and stewardship basis govern use of these soil records? ownership
Which location precision and holder-linked fields may this recipient receive? access
Which pinned exchange mapping preserves identity, depth, qualifiers and provenance without loss? interoperability

Classifiers Filled

Family: World Models
Category: Physical world and living systems
Entry kind: aggregate
Navigation path: NAV.PHY.EAR.SOI
Domain: PHY.EAR.SOI
Industry: Cross-industry
Tags: soilphy.ear.soi
Also called: P10

What it is Filled

One governed soil evidence aggregate for a declared study or resource extent. Typed profiles, map units, samples and assertions retain separate identities. This format-neutral research proposal is not an executable register, universal classifier or land-management authority.

In scope

Soil subject and spatial/depth support, observed and derived profiles, horizons and layers
Classification, mapping, sampling, analytical evidence and physical, chemical, biological and carbon properties
Qualified capability, suitability, change and screening assertions with release provenance

Out of scope

Land title and universal data-ownership rules
Farm operations, remediation execution, laboratory accreditation and sampling instructions
Clinical risk decisions, binding contamination or clearance determinations and numeric regulatory thresholds
Carbon credits, emissions accounting, economic land-use planning and universal suitability algorithms
Executable exchange bindings and conformance certification

Why it exists Filled

Describe soil identity, profiles, measurements, mapped interpretations and condition with explicit support, uncertainty and use limits.

Distinguishing features Derived, awaiting review

Unlike WM-PLC-002 Land Parcel: Relate soil support to parcel geometry by qualified overlay; no title, holder ownership or one-field-one-parcel rule. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-PLC-001 Terrain / Landform: Reference slope and landform context without duplicating terrain master data. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-EAR-004 Geology / Mineral Resource: Reference parent material context; no mineral reserve or extraction lifecycle. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-PLC-003 Water Body: Reference receiving water context; soil hydraulic observations do not own catchment hydrology. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-ACT-011 Agriculture Operation: Reference practice history and management assumptions; no scheduling or field actuation. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-LIV-009 Cultivated Organism: Reference crop identity for suitability without managing organism lifecycle. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-LIV-006 Ecosystem / Biome: Reference ecological context; biological soil indicators are not a biodiversity inventory. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-MAT-001 Chemical Substance: Resolve analyte identity externally; applicable thresholds belong to a cited assessment profile, not intrinsic substance identity. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-FLW-006 Emission: Keep flux accounting external; carbon stock is not automatically a flux. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-ECO-014 Sustainability Claim / PCF: Keep credits and environmental claims external; a soil stock estimate is evidence only. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-DAT-002 Official Statistics: Delegate official population statistics and estimation governance. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
Unlike WM-XCT-005 Privacy Aggregation Floor: Resolve release aggregation policy externally; a cohort floor alone does not prevent location disclosure. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.

Note: Derived from boundary notes against neighbouring models.

What robots and AI may and may not do Derived, awaiting review

Must not

Screening flags, restoration completion and soil carbon estimates cannot establish clearance, compliance or certified removal.
Create typed records with source references and draft status; retain unknowns and refuse invented master identifiers.
Deny unapproved release of holder-linked or precise sensitive location data; provide only policy-authorized views.

Only with a human decision

Resolve licence, consent or other applicable authority.

May

Register soil support: Create a proposed local aggregate and typed subject references. Proposed and unimplemented.
Attach qualified observation: Link a result to its sample or soil subject while preserving source qualifiers. Proposed and unimplemented.
Revise profile or classification: Supersede a description or assertion with explicit evidence and reviewer attribution. Proposed and unimplemented.
Assess comparison readiness: Check declared method, unit, depth and support compatibility before any local comparison. Proposed and unimplemented.
Record qualified interpretation: Store a supplied capability, suitability or screening assessment; do not independently issue a binding decision. Proposed and unimplemented.
Prepare scoped exchange view: Prepare a local recipient-specific projection with precision and mapping losses disclosed. Proposed and unimplemented.

Note: Derived from functions, policies, CRUD and access rules; prohibitions were not authored for agents as such.

Moral aspects Derived, awaiting review

Resolve licence, consent or other applicable authority.
WM-XCT-005 Privacy Aggregation Floor

Note: Sentences mentioning harm, privacy, consent or similar, collected from the specification.

Owners Filled

Steward

Name an accountable soil evidence steward role and namespace authority; never infer land or data ownership.

Roles

Soil evidence steward: Govern identity, namespace, boundary and review status.
Field contributor: Attribute profile and sampling observations with actual precision and limitations.
Analytical reviewer: Review method, units, qualifiers and sample/result linkage.
Interpretation reviewer: Qualify classification, suitability and screening assertions for the intended use.
Data access custodian: Apply release, retention and disclosure policies and record access decisions.

Links to other meta-models Filled

references

WM-PLC-002 - Relate soil support to parcel geometry by qualified overlay; no title, holder ownership or one-field-one-parcel rule. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-PLC-001 - Reference slope and landform context without duplicating terrain master data. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-EAR-004 - Reference parent material context; no mineral reserve or extraction lifecycle. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-PLC-003 - Reference receiving water context; soil hydraulic observations do not own catchment hydrology. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-ACT-011 - Reference practice history and management assumptions; no scheduling or field actuation. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-LIV-009 - Reference crop identity for suitability without managing organism lifecycle. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-LIV-006 - Reference ecological context; biological soil indicators are not a biodiversity inventory. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-MAT-001 - Resolve analyte identity externally; applicable thresholds belong to a cited assessment profile, not intrinsic substance identity. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-FLW-006 - Keep flux accounting external; carbon stock is not automatically a flux. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-ECO-014 - Keep credits and environmental claims external; a soil stock estimate is evidence only. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-DAT-002 - Delegate official population statistics and estimation governance. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.
WM-XCT-005 - Resolve release aggregation policy externally; a cohort floor alone does not prevent location disclosure. Optional candidate; resolve version and authority before use.

aligned

WRB fourth edition, corrected 2024 - Pin class vocabulary and diagnostics; no automatic classification or crosswalk equivalence.
INSPIRE Soil 3.2.0 - Conceptual exchange alignment; mapping and conformance tests are deferred.
SOSA/SSN Recommendation 2017 - Align observation and sampling relationships without importing an actuation runtime.

neighbor

WM-PLC-002 Land Parcel - Relate soil support to parcel geometry by qualified overlay; no title, holder ownership or one-field-one-parcel rule. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-PLC-001 Terrain / Landform - Reference slope and landform context without duplicating terrain master data. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-EAR-004 Geology / Mineral Resource - Reference parent material context; no mineral reserve or extraction lifecycle. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-PLC-003 Water Body - Reference receiving water context; soil hydraulic observations do not own catchment hydrology. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-ACT-011 Agriculture Operation - Reference practice history and management assumptions; no scheduling or field actuation. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-LIV-009 Cultivated Organism - Reference crop identity for suitability without managing organism lifecycle. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-LIV-006 Ecosystem / Biome - Reference ecological context; biological soil indicators are not a biodiversity inventory. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-MAT-001 Chemical Substance - Resolve analyte identity externally; applicable thresholds belong to a cited assessment profile, not intrinsic substance identity. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-FLW-006 Emission - Keep flux accounting external; carbon stock is not automatically a flux. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-ECO-014 Sustainability Claim / PCF - Keep credits and environmental claims external; a soil stock estimate is evidence only. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-DAT-002 Official Statistics - Delegate official population statistics and estimation governance. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.
WM-XCT-005 Privacy Aggregation Floor - Resolve release aggregation policy externally; a cohort floor alone does not prevent location disclosure. Candidate local binding, not an established relation-ledger edge.

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Incomplete

Sources Filled

World Reference Base for Soil Resources, fourth edition - International Union of Soil Sciences
INSPIRE Data Specification on Soil - Technical Guidelines - European Commission INSPIRE Maintenance and Implementation Group
Soil Survey Manual - United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service
Soil Health Assessment - United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service
SoilGrids layers - SoilGrids Documentation - ISRIC - World Soil Information
A framework for land evaluation - Chapter 1 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Regional Screening Levels - Frequent Questions - United States Environmental Protection Agency
Semantic Sensor Network Ontology - World Wide Web Consortium

Open questions

Complete transport and substantive source/version checks, including manual sections, scheme editions and applicable dataset releases.
Build and validate nested instance schemas and mappings against composite samples, incomplete horizons, map mixtures, censored results, prediction uncertainty and revised geometry.
Obtain specialist profile review for urban fill, peat, submerged and permafrost soils and jurisdiction-specific capability, screening and disclosure rules.
Restore independent second-provider review before promotion beyond reviewable-draft.
Independent second-provider review is absent; local self-audit does not replace it.
Direct HTTP checks were not attempted because the owner reports sandbox blocking. Source byte hashes, redirects and current version verification remain pending.
Executable nested instance schemas, adapters, classifier crosswalks and conformance fixtures are not implemented.
Numeric contamination thresholds, jurisdictional disclosure/ownership law, agronomic prescriptions and official capability algorithms require qualified profile review.
Coverage for urban fill, peat, submerged and permafrost soils needs specialist instance testing; the model does not exclude them.
ISO 28258 and legacy FAO imports are unverified leads, not admitted conformance or mandatory dependencies.

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification AGENTS.md Source Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

world-models research · reviewable-draft

Built from: models/wm-ear-003-soil/spec.yaml