EUSO [1]
The EUSO is a dynamic and inclusive platform that provides the relevant Commission Services, together with the broader soil user community, with the knowledge and data flows needed to safeguard and restore soils.
The EUSO both supports, and benefits from, EU Research & Innovation on soils while raising societal awareness of the value and importance of soils to the lives of citizens.
The EUSO closely collaborates with relevant EU Agencies (e.g. EEA, EFSA, ECA) and Horizon Europe’s Soil Mission.
Ultimately, the EUSO will support EU policies by ensuring that the Commission is able to fully capitalise on the information made available through integrated data flows by transitioning from simply monitoring to understanding. In this manner, the EUSO will support the implementation of all soil related objectives [3] of the European Green Deal.
- Support the development of an operational EU-Wide Soil Monitoring [4] System.
- Establish an EUSO Dashboard [5] that reflects the state of soil health and trends in pressures affecting soil health.
- Further consolidate and enhance the capacity and functionality of the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) to support evolving knowledge needs and innovative data flows.
- Support research and innovation [6] through the implementation of Horizon Europe’sMission on Soil Health and Food.
- Provide an open and inclusive forum that supports the drive towards a societal change [7] in the perception of soil.
What we do
Launched in December 2020, the EU Soil Observatory is undertaking a number of activities contributing to his objectives.
- The EUSO provides and benefits from EU Research and Innovation [6] activities on soil. The EUSO team of soil scientists at the JRC directly contribute to advance the state of soil science in the EU. For example, in 2022, the EUSO team has published 40 peer-review articles [8] in the fileds of biodiversity, soil erosion, carbon and land degradation. The team also published 28 peer-reviewed articles in 2021, mainly in the field of soil erosion, soil biodiversity, land degradation, distribution of soil pollutants (e.g. mercury and copper). The JRC EUSO team also co-hosts and mentors 6 PhD candidates under the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership programme. The EUSO also benefits from the EU-funded research on soils, and in particular from projects funded as part of the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” (so-called Soil Mission). The EUSO very closely engage with the Soil Mission, steering its research agenda, ensuring alignment between EUSO and the development of research on soils in the EU and contributing to the Soil Mission’s annual work programme. The JRC is responsible for the soil monitoring elements within the Soil Mission. Finally, the EUSO will become the repository of the Soil Mission research projects’ outputs.
- The resulting scientific outputs are stored and openly available on the European Soil Data Centre [9] (ESDAC). Created in 2006, ESDAC is a long-standing provider of scientific knowledge and data on soils and it is at the heart of the EU Soil Observatory. It currently hosts more than 100 datablocks - European or global, serving some 300,000 visitors a year. All LUCAS Soil campaign datasets are freely available on ESDAC.
- The EU Soil Observatory works towards a more integrated, EU-wide soil monitoring [4]. Paramount amongst these activities is the LUCAS Soil survey [10]. The JRC EUSO recently published the results of the 2018 LUCAS campaign and successfully rolled out the LUCAS 2022 campaign. In 2022, the EUSO produced an EU-level SOC change indicator published in Eurostat’s Regional Yearbook. It also contributed to the EEA’s Zero Pollution Monitoring report and to the work of the EIONET-Soil network. One of the EUSO Technical Working Groups [11] has been dedicated to work on soil monitoring integration across the EU.
- The EUSO directly contributed to the development and monitoring of a number of EU policies. In particular in the context of the proposed Soil Monitoring Law [12], the JRC EUSO team is working very closely with DG ENV to develop key concepts and provide the necessary background and knowledge to the Soil Expert Group discussions. The EUSO also provided soil related knowledge and data in support to the Nature Restoration Law, the Carbon Removal Certification, the review of CAP Strategic Plans and CAP monitoring indicators and the Sewage Sludge Directive. It leads the Clean Soil Outlook report in the framework of the Zero Pollution Action Plan. The EUSO developed dedicated indicators on pesticides and nutrient management in the context of the Farm to Fork Strategy as well as a set of indicators for the Chemical Strategy. Last but not least, the EUSO has developed the Soil Health Dashboard [13] in order to 1) monitor soil policy implementation and 2) provide data about the state of soil health in the EU through an easily accessible and interactive platform.
- The EU Soil Observatory aims to provide a space for the soil community to exchange and engage with the annual EUSO Stakeholder Forum [7]. The second EUSO Stakeholder Forum took place on 24-26th October 2022. Some 70 speakers were invited to present their soil work to an audience of 880 participants, which included policy-makers, researchers, businesses, farmers and land owners and civil society. The outcomes of this event can be found here [14].
The oucomes of the EUSO Forum 2022 and all the activities of the EUSO in 2022 canbe found in the EUSO Annuall Bulletin 2022 [15]. The 2021 EUSO activites are available in this report [16].
Learn more about EUSO
Soil Monitoring [4]
Soil Dashboard [5]
Citizen Engagement [17]
Stakeholders Forum [18]