Partners and services

Consultation and Service for Federal Offices, Cantonal Agencies, Universities and Private Clients

The National Soil Monitoring Network offers consultation services for a diverse clientele with various needs. These services include developing recommendations for cantonal law enforcement agencies, addressing specific soil-related questions of federal offices and offering technical advice to private clients. To ensure a nationwide comparability of soil analyses, as stipulated in the national Ordinance on the Pollution of Soil VBBo, NABO also regularly performs proficiency testings.

Soil Data Inventory Agroscope

The soil data inventory of Agroscope contains more than 10'000 soil profile sheets. The assessments originate from over 300 soil mapping projects that were conducted between 1956 and 1996 in Switzerland. In 2014, the inventory and the digitisation were finished. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) and the cantons jointly financed the project.

National Soil Information System NABODAT

The federal government and the cantons analyse and manage the digital soil data of Switzerland in the National Soil Information System NABODAT according to a standardised model. For the spatial analysis, the database is linked with a geographic information system (GIS). Thus, the soil information data in NABODAT are easily available for various questions and various professional disciplines, and promote collaboration among cantons and between federal government and cantons with regard to soil protection issues.

VBBo Proficiency Testing: Contribution to Ensuring Data Quality

To ensure a nationwide comparability of soil analyses, as stipulated in the national Ordinance on the Pollution of Soil VBBo, the National Soil Monitoring Network NABO regularly performs proficiency testing s. These evaluations are commissioned by the federal government and conducted for interested laboratories to ensure indispensable data quality. The VBBo proficiency testing is done in cooperation with the «Wageningen Evaluating Programmes for Analytical Laboratories WEPAL». Results are published in a public laboratory list.