Documenting Soil Archive Use in Peer-Reviewed Publications: 1915-2021

Peer-reviewed publications with documented use of soil archives were identified through a literature search using the USDA National Agricultural Library’s Digitop search engine, supplemented with results from Wageningen University & Research Library and Google Scholar. References in identified publications were further screened for additional publications relating to use of archived soils. Only publications in English or with English abstracts were considered. Identified publications were vetted to ensure archived soils were experimentally used in each study. For purposes of this compilation, archived soils were designated as those that had been stored for five or more years. A total of 245 publications were identified. Each publication was reviewed for key metadata, including publication year, age of oldest sample, and sample collection location. Land use associated with archived soil, along with the subject of each investigation were also recorded. Compiled metadata were transcribed into a single spreadsheet with sortable columns. An abstract for each publication was included in the spreadsheet, and when available, a digital object identifier was recorded to facilitate electronic access. Compiled information in the spreadsheet provides researchers a valuable resource for documenting use of soil archives globally.