Ispra, Italy, 14 February, 2014. The Joint Research Centre published the first ever-comprehensive overview of the soils of Latin America and the Caribbean. Through colourful maps and illustrations the atlas explains in a simple and clear manner the diversity of soil across Central and South America and the Caribbean. It highlights the vital importance of a natural non-renewable resource which provides food, fodder and fuel for 580 million people. The atlas shows the delicate relationships between soils and the functions that they provide. It raises awareness of the inter-relationships with climate and land use while illustrating the role of soil in food security, particularly in relation to climate change. Latin America's soils also support some of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems.

Coordinated by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), the Atlas was elaborated in the framework of the EUROCLIMA programme. It is the result of a fruitful collaboration with leading soil scientists in Europe, Central and South America and the Caribbean. As a result of this collaboration, the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Soils Bureaus was consolidated.

The first edition entitled: el Atlas de Suelos de América Latina y el Caribe is published in Spanish. Portuguese and English versions will follow.

Physical copies are available for purchase from the EU Bookshop from the end of February 2014.

Download the PDF version of Atlas of Latin America and the Caribbean (in Spanish).