Using the Soil Brightness Indicator to inform Participatory Community Planning for SDG2 Projects – a case study in Dodoma, Tanzania

Abstract. Soil is a crucial component of the ecosystem, affected by climate change, and is often overlooked by remote sensing experts and insufficiently considered while discussing sustainable development projects. To enhance the use of soil related datasets based on earth observation during the planning phase of participatory processes, a specific analysis workflow was piloted during community consultations in Dodoma, Central Tanzania. In order to enhance the integration of the soil conditions during the design of a new community development plan Landsat 8 data from 2023 and 2024 was processed and prepared to make soil information more accessible to non-technical staff and the local communities in Chamwino district. Results confirm the suitability of the SBI as soil indicator thanks to its high resolution, easy interpretability, and context specificity. Preprocessing through experts was identified as viable solution for preparing the data. In addition, field truthing exercises and conversations with the local community members further confirm the accuracy of this dataset for highlighting areas affected by soil salinity or fertility loss and for the final use during participatory planning processes.