High-resolution hydraulic parameter maps for surface soils in tropical South America

Spatial data files holding gridded parameter maps of surface soil hydraulic parameters derived from a selection of pedotransfer functions. Modern land surface model simulations capture soil profile water movement through the use of soil hydraulics sub-models, but good hydraulic parameterisations are often lacking - especially in the tropics - and it is this lack that we fill here in the context of South America. Optimal hydraulic parameter values are given for the Brooks and Corey, Campbell, van Genuchten-Mualem and van Genuchten-Burdine soil hydraulic models, which are widely-used hydraulic sub-models in many land surface models (e.g. Joint UK Land Environment Simulator JULES).