Database Structure
Proposed list of the IRSDB database entry fields
(after Becker-Heidmann 1996):
The field names were designed to be compatible with the proposed International Radiocarbon Data Base (IRDB) (Kra 1986: Walker & Kra 1988). Data that are essential for assessing carbon turnover and, therefore, global change calculations, are marked accordingly; those that might overload the database, are marked with a question mark (?). All other fields were recognized as generally useful and should be added to the database if available.
General
- Labcode and no. (essential)
- Single sample or sample set (profile or catena, set no.) (essential)
- Submitter (name and address) (essential)
- Collector (name and address) (essential)
- Date of sampling (essential)
- Date of measurement (essential)
- Sampling location (longitude, latitude) (essential)
- Pretreatment for dating (essential)
- Type of soil fraction(s) or other material used for dating (essential)
Results
- 14C result (pM ± error (as defined by Stuiver and Polach 1977); raw data) (essential)
- δ13C (essential)
- Possible contamination (essential)
- Submitter’s comment (essential)
- Lab’s comment (essential)
Context
- Literature references (essential)
- Original field of study
- Quality control figure (?)
Environmental data
- Country
- Site description
- Parent material, time of deposition
- Topography (landform ?)
- Ecosystem type and climatic conditions (mean temperature and annual rainfall) (possible values see below)
- Vegetation (actual, history and potential)
- Land use
Profile-related data
- Soil order and type (both FAO and local classification) (essential) (possible values see below)
- Profile description (data related to carbon turnover and migration)
- Humus form
- Rooting pattern
- Stratigraphy
- Physical barriers to water penetration
- Reference to Soil Conservation Service file
Sample-related data
- Sampling depth intervall, depth and horizon (essential)
- Method of sampling
- Bulk density (essential)
- Soil color (wet, moist, dry) (?)
- Particle size distribution (<2 mm, >2 mm) (at least texture) (essential)
- Clay type
- pH (and method) (essential)
- Eh
- CEC (?)
- C content (organic and inorganic) (essential)
- Corg/N ratio
- Lignin content (?)
- Phosphorus (and method) (?)
- Microbial biomass (?)
- Data on other isotopes (heavy, stable) (?)
Possible values of certain data fields
Ecosystem type and climatic conditions
- Boreal forest
- Tundra and alpine meadow
- Temperate evergreen forest
- Temperate deciduous forest
- Temperate woodland
- Temperate grassland
- Tropical moist forest
- Tropical seasonal forest
- Tropical woodland
- Tropical grassland
- Swamps and marshes
- Desert
Soil order and type
A. Major Soil Groupings of FAO System (Driessen and Dudal 1989, meanwhile outdated):
- Histosols
- Anthrosols
- Andosols
- Arenosols
- Vertisols
- Fluvisols
- Gleysols
- Leptosols
- Regosols
- Cambisols
- Plinthosols
- Ferralsols
- Nitisols
- Acrisols
- Alisols
- Lixisols
- Solonchaks
- Solonetz
- Gypsisols
- Calcisols
- Kastanozems
- Chernozems
- Phaeozems
- Greyzems
- Luvisols
- Podzoluvisols
- Planosols
- Podzols
B. Orders of Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff 1994, meanwhile outdated):
- Alfisols
- Andisols
- Aridisols
- Entisols
- Histosols
- Inceptisols
- Mollisols
- Oxisols
- Spodosols
- Ultisols
- Vertisols