Vocabularies

Publication

Formally managed vocabularies that can be used with ANZSoilML are published here:

CSIRO Linked Data Registry - Soil and terrain

Vocabulary principles

ANZSoilML depends on the use of shared set of vocabularies to provide values for categorical soil properties (for example soil drainage). These vocabularies are published in a standardised way using machine-readable encodings to ensure full interoperability*. The specific vocabularies used will depend on the needs of each community using ANZSoilML. While it is desirable that most systems use a 'single' vocabulary it is by no means mandatory, in fact, enforcing a specific set of vocabularies in the core of the model is unnecessarily restrictive. Therefore, rather than managing vocabularies as formal code lists in the XML schema documents, the ANZSoilML community is developing and managing soil vocabularies in a separate registry (see above). This ensures:

1. The ANZSoilML schema may be used for reasons other than an Australian soil survey.
2. Alternative vocabularies can be used (e.g. those from the New Zealand Soil Description Handbook).
3. Soil vocabularies can change at a different rate to the information model. Managing the two separately is much easier and ensures a new or modified vocabulary will not force a schema version change.
4. The soil vocabularies can be used outside the scope of ANZSoilML, for example in:
   1. another information model or application schema (for example Observations and Measurements);
   2. another technology stack, such as an HTML website (formal terms could be embedded using links to authoritative vocabularies) or a database look-up table.

* According to widespread practice, including in partner earth science communities, ANZSoilML vocabularies are managed using Semantic Web technologies (SKOS terms in a Linked Data Registry).