Maps of chemical and physical properties — pH values in the soils of the Emilia Romagna plain between 0-30 cm

Soil pH is a key property that can influence many physical, chemical and biological processes. It regulates the availability of many nutrients for plants, influences the activity of micro-organisms responsible for the decomposition of organic matter and most chemical transformations in the soil, and plays a key role in influencing mobility and thus the bioavailability of heavy metals. In addition, some physical characteristics of the soil such as permeability, stability of aggregates, degree of compaction and dispersion of the clay fraction are influenced by pH. the map represents the areal distribution in the lowland soils of the pH value in the surface layer (0-30 cm). The map was drawn up on the basis of data extracted from the Database of Suoli of the Emilia-Romagna Region for the period 1974-2017.