Documents

Over the years, the JRC has produced many publications. These are found in this section. They have been sub-divided in various categories (see Subcategory buttons below). All more than 600 documents can also be inspected irrespective of the category (see 'All documents' below).

Publications in Journals include more than 490 published papers from the Soil Group in the JRC (EU Soil Observatory). Most of the papers refer to the last 11 years (2013-2024). In many cases the papers document the datasets published in ESDAC.

As example statistics, Since the establishement of the EUSO,  the group published:

  • 52 papers in 2025
  • 47 papers in 2024
  • 46 papers in 2023
  • 40 papers in 2022
  • 27 papers in 2021
  • 23 papers in 2020

 

Most of them in high impact journals including Nature Communicaitons, Climate Change, Global Change Biology, etc. Almost all the publications are Open Access. As publications, we present articles published in peer-review journals indexed in Scopus or Web of Science.

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Exploring the inclusion of soil management practices in erosion models towards the improvement of post-fire predictions
Exploring the inclusion of soil management practices in erosion models towards the improvement of post-fire predictions
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024
Wildfires are recognized for having a strong impact on forest soils, a situation aggravated by inadequate pre-fire land management practices. Land management operations, such as plowing, are routinely carried out for cultural reasons and can impact soils for decades after their implementation. Therefore, it is crucial to take into account the pre-fire land management history when predicting post-fire sediment losses in burnt areas. This consideration is critical for a realistic assessment of soil erosion risk and, consequently, for effectively implementing emergency stabilization and/or rehabilitation measures.
The aim of the study was to integrate pre-fire land management practices into erosion models, to enhance post-fire sediment losses predictions at slope scale. To accomplish this goal, both Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and the revised-Morgan-Morgan-Finney model (revised-MMF) were applied in the Colmeal burnt area (Central Portugal). These models were adapted to account the impacts of different management options, specifically no plowing, downslope-plowing and contour-plowing, on the erosive response following a wildfire.
The results revealed fluctuations in the performance of both models across different soil management, and over time since the wildfire. Despite the observed variability, it is important to highlight the positive outcomes achieved with the revised-MMF model over the three monitoring years where contour-plowing was applied. These results demonstrate that the best model performances are achieved when soil management is individualized and analyzed independently. Similarly, the MLR model exhibited improved performance when incorporating management practices into its predictions. This study confirms that disturbances on topsoil, whether caused by wildfires or soil management operations, play key roles in driving change in soil erosion. Hence, integrating these factors into models is essential for providing relevant information for the development of mitigation and/or restoration strategies in areas at high risk of erosion.
 
Editorial: Fire and Soils in a Changing World
Editorial: Fire and Soils in a Changing World
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024
Fire and Soils in a Changing World
 
Fire is a natural ecological process that shapes many ecosystems (Pausas and Keeley, 2009); however, the distortion of the natural fire regimes can lead to significant additional impacts in soils (Úbeda et al., 2023) but also to alternative geomorphic states (McGuire et al., 2024). Land use changes in the last decades driven by human activity, and changes in climate due to global warming have led to projections of increased fire recurrence and corresponding socioeconomic and environmental impacts (Rogers et al., 2020). During the last decades, an impressive bulk of research has been produced addressing fire impacts on soils (Almendros and González-Vila, 2012; Santín and Doerr, 2016), but the most recent shifts indicate more severe wildfires, as well as novel occurrences in non-fire-prone areas, which are less adapted and more vulnerable to this perturbation (Mataix-Solera et al., 2021), highlights the need of translating the current knowledge to other conditions. This Special Issue aims to contribute with a new series of five articles related to this topic.
 
García-Carmona et al. make an interesting summary of the main results of the role of biocrust and soil microbial communities in the recovery of Mediterranean soils after different post-fire management, guiding post-fire interventions such as burnt trees management, soil protection, and practices aimed at ecosystem restoration. The authors focus this mini-review in the colonization of biocrust-forming mosses in early successional stages after fire, and how different post-fire management treatments can affect their efficiency and soil microbial communities, evidencing the importance of these organisms and how we have to pay more attention in the short- and mid-term after fires.
 
Moreno-Rosso et al. assess the effects of prescribed burns of different burnt severity but covering the gap in understanding their effects at the micro-scale level. Prescribed fires are expected to cause low soil burn severity (SBS), but their effects vary due to numerous factors. The study was carried out in managed pine forest in western Mexico. The authors found that generally the top centimetres of soil structure are impacted by low SBS, while high SBS is restricted to the top 2 cm, evidencing disturbed soil structure and reddish aggregates. Immediate post-burn actions are needed to prevent soil erosion before rain even for prescribed fires.
 
Olivares-Martínez et al. explore the effects of surface and ground fires on the infiltration capacity of volcanic forest soil in pine-oak forests in central Mexico. Five sites with fires in the past 20 years were analysed. Tension-infiltration tests measured hydraulic conductivity and active macropores, revealing moderately high conductivity, with burned plots showing lower infiltration capacity than control plots. A non-linear relationship was found between fire recurrence and soil properties, such as water repellency and pore concentration. While changes in soil water repellency and conductivity were observed, they do not necessarily indicate exceeded infiltration capacity. The authors conclude that more research is needed to assess if increasing fire frequency, driven by agricultural activities, could reduce soil resilience and lead to land degradation.
 
García-Braga et al. question what researchers understand by the long-term effects of fire on the soil. A review of the literature that exposes the impact of fire and residence time in the soil concludes that there are external variables, such as climate or substrate, and internal variables, such as soil type and its properties, that extends such effects through time. One variable that depends on the fire itself is its intensity, which is expressed in the severity of burning of the elements such as vegetation, fauna and soil. Forest management, suitable for each location, can prevent high intensity fires and thus improve the recovery time, understood as a natural system, is shorter and the soil is less negatively affected.
 
García-Redondo et al. analyse the wildfire-landscape dynamics in Baixa Limia Serra do Xurés Natural Park in Galicia from 2000 until 2020. Due to a change in land use resulting in a change in forest species and because of climate change, there has been a change in the fire regime. This translates into an increase in severity and a de-seasonalisation, that is, a potential extension or change of the fire season. Using available statistical and remote sensing data, authors have verified how there has been soil degradation and potential desertification in areas affected by recurrent and severe fires. The study provides valuable insights into the impacts of wildfires, changes in land cover, and post-fire soil-vegetation dynamics, which can inform management and conservation efforts in fire-prone mountainous regions.
 
In conclusion, this Special Issue contributes with knowledge about fire and soil and identifying issues that are important to address in future research. Climate change has already modified the fire regime, which translates into an increase in the intensity of fires, which are more severe, which implies a more serious impact on soil properties among others. It has also been proven that the abandonment of agroforestry activities has also induced this change in the fire regime. Given this scenario, it is important to advance in the knowledge of the type of management both pre- and post-fire to achieve less severe fires that in turn produce less drastic changes in soil properties.

Frontiers Publishing Partnerships | Editorial: Fire and Soils in a Changing World
Editorial of the Special Issue Digital Soil Mapping, Decision Support Tools and Soil Monitoring Systems in the Mediterranean
Editorial of the Special Issue Digital Soil Mapping, Decision Support Tools and Soil Monitoring Systems in the Mediterranean
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024
In the digital era, the role of soil surveyors has evolved significantly. With legacy soil data now being recognized as valuable assets, thanks to the increased computational capacity of geographic information systems, the potential of soil spatial assessment has been greatly enhanced [1]. International calls have led to increased collaboration between scientists, and national research projects have been instrumental in advancing innovation in the soil-mapping domain [2].
Soil mapping in the Mediterranean region involves contributions from various authors and institutions [3]. Several prominent research institutions, governmental agencies, and academic organizations are known for their contributions to soil mapping and related research in the Mediterranean region [4,5]. These includes universities with agricultural or environmental, geology and natural science departments, geological surveys, research centers specializing in soil science, and regional or international organizations focused on environmental conservation and land management.
In terms of individual authors, there are numerous experts and scholars who have made significant contributions to the field of soil mapping in the Mediterranean [6,7,8,9]. Several other scholars and researchers have authored key publications, research papers, or reports that have advanced our understanding of soils in the region [10,11,12,13,14,15].
To identify the main contributing author or institution for a specific project or study related to soil mapping in the Mediterranean, it is recommended to analyze the peer-review research literature, being as comprehensive as possible (e.g., by including SCOPUS and Web of Science databases) [16]. This can provide insights into the key contributors and institutions that have played a significant role in advancing soil mapping efforts in the Mediterranean region [17,18,19,20].
The abundance of soil information available today presents an opportunity to integrate and leverage both legacy and new soil data to gain insights into soil properties and their temporal changes, thereby enhancing our understanding of earth processes and informing better soil resource management [21]. The operational use of digital soil mapping (DSM) for precision farming has emerged as a critical activity in modern agriculture, benefiting from technological advancements such as remote sensing [22], decision support systems [23,24,25], web-based soil modeling and mapping, and cloud computing [1,26]. This aligns with the new European soil mission [27] aimed at addressing climate change [28] and environmental challenges, emphasizing the importance of soil maps in supporting sustainable development and climate mitigation efforts [29,30].
The dissemination of soil knowledge and data is crucial to meeting the needs of the broader soil user community and safeguarding soils. In line with these developments, this Special Issue (SI), “Digital Soil Mapping, Decision Support Tools and Soil Monitoring Systems in the Mediterranean”, has received seven contributions focused on various aspects of soil mapping and data management, including smart soil data management, legacy data reuse, and the extraction of spatial knowledge from soil survey data and remote sensing. The articles in this SI report on the results of field experiments and literature reviews, mostly within central European territories (Italy and Croatia), covering several assessments of and methodologies for soil properties.
The aims of the SI were to foster discussions and showcase advancements in leveraging digital technologies to enhance our understanding of soil properties spatial distribution and support sustainable soil management practices, and these objectives were partially achieved.
In recent years, the application of machine learning models in the field of soil science has revolutionized the way we understand and map soil properties. This editorial aims to provide an overview of seven abstracts from recent studies that highlight the innovative use of machine learning in digital soil mapping and the assessment of soil properties. Among the DSM studies, Agaba et al. (2023) [31] present a comprehensive analysis of the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon stock in an alpine valley in northern Italy using machine learning models. The authors employed different machine learning algorithms, including multivariate adaptive regression splines, random forest, support vector regression, and elastic net, to predict the soil organic carbon stock at different depths. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the random forest model in mapping the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon stock with high accuracy. Similarly, Adeniyi et al. [32] utilized linear and nonlinear machine learning models to map soil properties in an agricultural lowland area of Lombardy, Italy. The study focused on predicting and mapping soil properties such as sand, silt, clay contents, soil organic carbon content, pH, and topsoil depth. The findings provided valuable insights for sustainable land use and management in the region. In another study, Vittori Antisari et al. [33] assessed pedodiversity and soil organic matter stock in soils developed on sandstone formations in the Northern Apennines of Italy. This research highlighted the influence of vegetation, topographic factors, and lithology on pedodiversity and soil organic matter content, emphasizing the importance of preserving soil resources in mountain regions. Conforti and Buttafuoco [34] investigated the effects of the study area size and soil sampling density on the prediction of soil organic carbon using visible and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in south Italian forest areas. This study emphasized the need for further research to fully realize the potential of spectroscopy in predicting soil organic carbon. Kaya et al. [35] focused on the predictive mapping of the soil Electrical Conductivity and assessments of the potential soil salinity in a Western Türkiye alluvial plain using machine learning models. This study underscored the importance of monitoring soil salinity to ensure sustainable soil management in irrigated areas. Trevisani and Bogunovic [36] conducted a diachronic mapping of soil organic matter in eastern Croatian croplands, comparing soil organic matter content from the 1970s to that from the 2010s. The study revealed a trend of soil organic matter depleting over time, highlighting the need for soil conservation and restoration actions. With the latest accepted review paper, Adeniyi et al. [37], conducted a systematic review of digital soil mapping application in lowland areas, emphasizing the growing recognition of the pivotal role of digital soil mapping in understanding soil properties in agricultural lowlands. These studies collectively demonstrate the capacity of machine learning models to advance our ability to assess spatial distribution of soil properties (e.g., electrical conductivity soil organic carbon content and stocks), thereby providing valuable insights for sustainable land management, agricultural productivity, and environmental conservation strategies. The integration of machine learning models in soil science has opened up new frontiers in digital soil mapping, enabling researchers to unravel the complex relationships between soil properties, environmental factors, and land use management. As we continue to dig deeper into soil research, these innovative approaches hold immense promise for improving soil management and fostering environmental sustainability.

Editorial of the Special Issue Digital Soil Mapping, Decision Support Tools and Soil Monitoring Systems in the Mediterranean
Compost as an Alternative to Inorganic Fertilizers in Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] Production
Compost as an Alternative to Inorganic Fertilizers in Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] Production
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024

Soil fertility management is essential to sustain agricultural production in smallholder farming systems. An experiment was carried out to assess the viability of the combined use of compost and inorganic fertilizers as an alternative to conventional inorganic fertilization under greenhouse conditions. The 10 treatments, arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with six replications, consisted of a control, conventional mineral fertilization (150 kg NPK ha−1), composts added to the soil alone (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 t ha−1), and their combination with 50% of recommended rate of inorganic fertilizers (75 kg NPK ha−1). Application of 7.5 t ha−1 of compost and 50% of the recommended dose of inorganic fertilizer (75 kg NPK ha−1) gave the significantly highest seed yield, corresponding to a 30% increase over NPK-fertilized plants. The combined application of 2.5 or 10 t ha−1 compost with 75 kg NPK ha−1 increased plant height by 38% compared with the NPK treatment. Additionally, stem diameter increased by 53% when 5 t ha−1 of compost and 75 kg NPK ha−1 were mixed. As expected, control plants produced the most nodules (108), 85% more than inorganic fertilization. Plants fertilized with 7.5 or 10 t ha−1 of compost and 75 kg NPK ha−1 produced 17% more pods, seeds per pod, and seeds per plant than NPK treatments. However, fertilization treatments had no significant effects on cowpea fresh and dry biomass or SPAD values. The results reveal that combining compost with inorganic fertilizer reduced synthetic fertilization by 50%, while producing growth and yields comparable to, or even higher than, recommended inorganic fertilization. This experiment demonstrated that integrated soil fertility management can be used as an alternative to the use of inorganic fertilizers in cowpea cultivation.

Compost as an Alternative to Inorganic Fertilizers in Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] Production - Diatta - 2024 - Legume Science - Wiley Online Library
Fertilization and soil management machine learning based sustainable agronomic prescriptions for durum wheat in Italy
Fertilization and soil management machine learning based sustainable agronomic prescriptions for durum wheat in Italy
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024
Purpose
This research aims to develop a meta-machine learning model to optimize soil and nitrogen management for durum wheat in Italy. It addresses the challenges of increased food production on limited land amidst rising input costs, geopolitical changes, and climate change. The goal is to aid decision-makers in achieving maximum crop yield and income margins through effective agronomic strategies.
 
Methods
The study developed a meta-machine learning model, integrating classification and regression models, and tested it at four sites in Marche and Basilicata, Italy, over several years. The model incorporated data from remote sensing, crop phenology, soil chemical properties, weather data, soil management, and nitrogen levels. A Random Forest model was used to classify crop phenology, while a Neural Network model predicted yield. Eleven nitrogen levels were compared across these sites.
 
Results
The Random Forest model achieved an accuracy of 0.98, kappa of 0.96, and recall of 0.98 for predicting crop phenology. The Neural Network model for yield prediction had an R squared of 0.90 and a Root Mean Square Error of 0.59 t ha-1. Key factors identified for model accuracy were temperature, precipitation, NDVI, and nitrogen input. Simulations of 30 soil management and fertilization combinations revealed that no-tillage management increased grain yield. The Marginal Fertilizer Yield Index determined optimal nitrogen application.
 
Conclusions
The meta-machine learning model accurately predicted durum wheat yield and identified effective agronomic strategies, demonstrating the potential for broader application in field conditions. The model offers a promising approach to sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation by utilising publicly available spatial datasets.

Fertilization and soil management machine learning based sustainable agronomic prescriptions for durum wheat in Italy | Precision Agriculture
Fallen apple detection as an auxiliary task: Boosting robotic apple detection performance through multi-task learning
Fallen apple detection as an auxiliary task: Boosting robotic apple detection performance through multi-task learning
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024

In modern agricultural practices, advanced machine learning techniques play a pivotal role in optimizing yields and management. A significant challenge in orchard management is detecting apples on trees, which is essential for effective harvest planning and yield estimation. The YOLO series, especially the YOLOv8 model, stands out as a state-of-the-art solution for object detection, but its potential in orchards remains untapped. Addressing this, our study evaluates YOLOv8’s capability in orchard apple detection, aiming to set a benchmark. By employing image augmentation techniques like exposure, rotation, mosaic, and cutout, we lifted the model's performance to a state-of-the-art level. We further integrated multi-task learning, enhancing tree apple detection by also identifying apples on the ground. This approach resulted in a model with robust accuracy across evaluation metrics. Our results underscore that the YOLOv8 model achieves a leading standard in orchard apple detection. When trained for both tree and fallen apple detection, it outperformed the one when trained exclusively for the former. Recognizing fallen apples not only reduces waste but could also indicate pest activity, influencing strategic orchard decisions and potentially boosting economic returns. Merging cutting-edge tech with agricultural needs, our research showcases the promise of multi-task learning in fruit detection with deep learning.

Fallen apple detection as an auxiliary task: Boosting robotic apple detection performance through multi-task learning - ScienceDirect
Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems Special Section: Improving Livability in Urban Areas: Examining Urban and Peri-Urban Soil and Plant Management
Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems Special Section: Improving Livability in Urban Areas: Examining Urban and Peri-Urban Soil and Plant Management
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024

As urban agriculture increasingly becomes part of our regional food systems, its role in sustainable urban development grows. Urban agriculture can sustain food demand and contribute to food security, environmental sustainability, and community health. However, soil-related factors in urban agricultural systems pose unique challenges not found in more rural environments, and issues such as soil fertility, soil biodiversity, soil contamination, and existing policy demand further investigation to deepen and enhance the potential contribution of urban agriculture to livability in urban areas. This special issue collects studies to support the need for sustainable soil management, crop diversification, and management strategies for optimal soil health and good crop yield and quality. In addition, the issue examines recent advances in remote sensing technologies and deep learning techniques that offer potential tools for soil health monitoring and plant disease detection related to existing plant-based contamination, providing a way forward to make informed decisions for policy stakeholders and land planners. Combining these initiatives into urban planning and public health policies could have a considerable impact on urban well-being and resilience.

Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems Special Section: Improving Livability in Urban Areas: Examining Urban and Peri‐Urban Soil and Plant Management - Bulgari - 2024 - Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems - Wiley Online Library
A framework for co-designing decision-support systems for policy implementation: The LANDSUPPORT experience
A framework for co-designing decision-support systems for policy implementation: The LANDSUPPORT experience
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024

This work proposes a framework for co-designing decision-support tools for sustainable land management and soil protection at multiple scales. Geospatial dashboards, due to their key capabilities in the use of spatial or geospatial information, are quickly gaining traction for planning and policymaking. Developing the decision-support system (DSS) as a transversal system capable of capturing trends in land and soil properties at the local, regional, national, and EU levels has been co-designed with policy stakeholders. This work seeks to link (i) the main goal of the Soil Mission and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to raise awareness and knowledge on soil conditions (ii) and the LANDSUPPORT (LS) project cross-evaluation on how the spatial decision-support system (SDSS) can support policy-related stakeholders and help them to take evidence-based decisions. To achieve this objective, we present the user engagement process to ensure broad testing and evaluation of the LS SDSS's ability to support selected EU policies and soil-related SDGs by testing the LS platform's European scale tools, including an analysis and conformity check of the data delivered by the LS tools and a critical review of results. The indicators were assessed via direct contact with end users, such as semi-structured interviews (SSI) and 184 questionnaires. Results of the test series have been analyzed by the spatial scale per respective tool and performance indicators. We present a unique, integrated, science-based approach to co-create data-driven decision-making with the stakeholders to promote sustainable land management practices. This methodology strives to involve many stakeholders in scientific research, empowering them to participate in the decisions on topics that directly affect them. Public bodies responsible for land policy implementation, environmental stakeholders, spatial planners, and other users have engaged in the process to ensure broad testing of the LS platform from 2020 to 2022. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis provided a synthesis of the performance of the LS tools. The testing phase proved the utmost importance of usability, underlining that the mixed method of testing allowing quantitative and qualitative analyses based on the same key indicators proved essential for co-designing SDSS tools to be used by a wide range of stakeholders.

Land Degradation & Development | Environmental & Soil Science Journal | Wiley Online Journal
European topsoil bulk density and organic carbon stock database (0-20 cm) using machine-learning-based pedotransfer functions 2024
European topsoil bulk density and organic carbon stock database (0-20 cm) using machine-learning-based pedotransfer functions 2024
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024

Soil bulk density (BD) serves as a fundamental indicator of soil health and quality, exerting a significant influence on critical factors such as plant growth, nutrient availability, and water retention. Due to its limited availability in soil databases, the application of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) has emerged as a potent tool for predicting BD using other easily measurable soil properties, while the impact of these PTFs' performance on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock calculation has been rarely explored. In this study, we proposed an innovative local modeling approach for predicting BD of fine earth (BDfine) across Europe using the recently released BDfine data from the LUCAS Soil (Land Use and Coverage Area Frame Survey Soil) 2018 (0–20 cm) and relevant predictors. Our approach involved a combination of neighbor sample search, forward recursive feature selection (FRFS), and random forest (RF) models (local-RFFRFS). The results showed that local-RFFRFS had a good performance in predicting BDfine (R2 of 0.58, root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.19 g cm−3, relative error (RE) of 16.27 %), surpassing the earlier-published PTFs (R2 of 0.40–0.45, RMSE of 0.22 g cm−3, RE of 19.11 %–21.18 %) and global PTFs using RF models with and without FRFS (R2 of 0.56–0.57, RMSE of 0.19 g cm−3, RE of 16.47 %–16.74 %). Interestingly, we found that the best earlier-published PTF (R2 = 0.84, RMSE = 1.39 kg m−2, RE of 17.57 %) performed close to the local-RFFRFS (R2 = 0.85, RMSE = 1.32 kg m−2, RE of 15.01 %) in SOC stock calculation using BDfine predictions. However, the local-RFFRFS still performed better (ΔR2 > 0.2) for soil samples with low SOC stocks (< 3 kg m−2). Therefore, we suggest that the local-RFFRFS is a promising method for BDfine prediction, while earlier-published PTFs would be more efficient when BDfine is subsequently utilized for calculating SOC stock. Finally, we produced two topsoil BDfine and SOC stock datasets (18 945 and 15 389 soil samples) at 0–20 cm for LUCAS Soil 2018 using the best earlier-published PTF and local-RFFRFS, respectively. This dataset is archived on the Zenodo platform at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10211884 (S. Chen et al., 2023). The outcomes of this study present a meaningful advancement in enhancing the predictive accuracy of BDfine, and the resultant BDfine and SOC stock datasets for topsoil across the Europe enable more precise soil hydrological and biological modeling.

ESSD - European topsoil bulk density and organic carbon stock database (0–20 cm) using machine-learning-based pedotransfer functions
A review of existing tools for citizen science research on soil health
A review of existing tools for citizen science research on soil health
Resource Type: Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports, Maps & Documents
Year: 2024

Soil-related citizen science projects have gained significant interest driven by the prominence of soil within public policy agendas. Amongst others, this includes the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, which contributes to the objectives of the EU Green Deal and proposes specific actions to increase citizen engagement on soils. Increasing citizen engagement is also one of the building blocks in the EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe.

In this work, we reviewed over 60 citizen science projects, across the globe, that considered soil health. We collected citizen science projects based on literature search, expert interviews, suggestions from project partners and through the mailing lists of the European Network for Soil Awareness (ENSA) and the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC). We then screened all projects for the following characteristics: geographic coverage, duration, scientific factors (e.g. soil properties considered, fieldwork), technological factors (e.g. applications used) and their citizen engagement (e.g. target groups).

Two-thirds of the reviewed studies were based in Europe and mostly conducted at regional- or national scales. We recommend to align the citizen science methodology with the desired level of participation. We also identified a need for the development of standardised, user-friendly and costeffective methodologies to generate soil data. Engagement of citizen can be facilitated through, i.) providing feedback protocols on their scientific contribution and, ii.) assigning qualified mediators or activity leaders to support participants throughout the project. All collected information has been made available as an open-access repository and can inform future citizen-science projects on soil health

Download the Report
Evaluation of the ecological risk of pesticide residues from the European LUCAS Soil monitoring 2018 survey
Evaluation of the ecological risk of pesticide residues from the European LUCAS Soil monitoring 2018 survey
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2024

The 2018 LUCAS (Land Use and Coverage Area frame Survey) Soil Pesticides survey provides a European Union (EU)‐scale assessment of 118 pesticide residues in more than 3473 soil sites. This study responds to the policy need to develop risk‐based indicators for pesticides in the environment. Two mixture risk indicators are presented for soil based, respectively, on the lowest and the median of available No Observed Effect Concentration (NOECsoil,min and NOECsoil,50) from publicly available toxicity datasets. Two further indicators were developed based on the corresponding equilibrium concentration in the aqueous phase and aquatic toxicity data, which are available as species sensitivity distributions. Pesticides were quantified in 74.5% of the sites. The mixture risk indicator based on the NOECsoil,min exceeds 1 in 14% of the sites and 0.1 in 23%. The insecticides imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos and the fungicide epoxiconazole are the largest contributors to the overall risk. At each site, one or a few substances drive mixture risk. Modes of actions most likely associated with mixture effects include modulation of acetylcholine metabolism (neonicotinoids and organophosphate substances) and sterol biosynthesis inhibition (triazole fungicides). Several pesticides driving the risk have been phased out since 2018. Following LUCAS surveys will determine the effectiveness of substance‐specific risk management and the overall progress toward risk reduction targets established by EU and UN policies. Newly generated data and knowledge will stimulate needed future research on pesticides, soil health, and biodiversity protection. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1639–1653. © 2024 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Evaluation of the ecological risk of pesticide residues from the European LUCAS Soil monitoring 2018 survey | Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management | Oxford Academic
Soil pollution in the Western Balkans
Soil pollution in the Western Balkans
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2024

Soil contamination in the Western Balkans is a significant challenge, hampered by inadequate legal frameworks, lack of comprehensive field data, and insufficient site investigations. This report aims to support the JRC’s efforts to fill information gaps on soil pollution across the Western Balkans based on an extensive review of the current evidence base of the state of Western Balkans soils. The purpose is to identify the extent of pollution at country and regional level, but also highlighting policy areas of concern. Establishing robust monitoring networks with standardized data collection is crucial for understanding soil health and developing effective remediation strategies. Harmonized soil monitoring and testing programs, aligned with the Green Deal and pan-EU soil initiatives, are essential for cross-border collaboration and policy implementation. This work is part of the JRC project “Environment and Climate in Enlargement” and contributes to the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports, particularly in developing a soil pollution database and supporting capacity building for the Green Agenda.
This work underscores the urgent need for integrated soil protection policies to ensure healthy soils and sustainable land use in the Western Balkans

Download the Report:
The State of Soils in Europe
The State of Soils in Europe
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2024

This report delves into the intricate interplay between drivers, pressures and impacts on soil in the 32 Member States of the European Environment Agency (EEA), along with six cooperating countries from the West Balkans, Ukraine and UK, shedding light on the multifaceted challenges facing soil conservation efforts. Our analysis shows the complex interactions among various factors, both anthropogenic and natural, shaping soil degradation processes and their subsequent consequences. We highlight key findings, including the significant impacts of soil degradation on agriculture, ecosystem resilience, water quality, biodiversity, and human health, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive soil management strategies. Moreover, our examination of citizen science initiatives underlines the importance of engaging the public in soil monitoring and conservation efforts. This work emphasises the policy relevance of promoting sustainable soil governance frameworks, supported by research, innovation, and robust soil monitoring schemes, to safeguard soil health and ensure the long-term resilience of ecosystems.

Direct link: /public_path//JRC137600_State_of_Soils_in_Europe_Report_2024_online.pdf
Soil fertility in the EU taxonomy for the construction of new buildings
Soil fertility in the EU taxonomy for the construction of new buildings
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2024

When soils are used for construction, all their ecosystem services are irreversibly lost. The European Commission has implemented various policies to reduce the loss of soils due to sealing, and this objective is integrated into the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities. In the delegated acts, specific criteria are defined to screen whether the building of new constructions can be considered environmentally sustainable. One of these criteria is that new constructions are not built on arable and crop land with a moderate to high level of soil fertility, and reference is made to the EU LUCAS survey with a hyperlink to the LUCAS project on the ESDAC website (https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects/lucas). Nevertheless, the data available in LUCAS soil do currently not provide a classification of soil fertility for the EU taxonomy regulation. This report presents an overview of national legislations that classify agricultural land for spatial planning purposes, as well as EU and global methods and products (i.e. maps) to classify agricultural land. The advantages and disadvantages of these approaches as potential candidates for the EU taxonomy regulation criterion on soil fertility and new constructions are discussed. Considering recent developments in EU soil policies, the report proposes a new criterion for building new constructions on arable land that is better aligned with the European Commission’s ambition of reaching no net land take by 2050.

Download the PDF document: Soil fertility in the EU taxonomy for the construction of new buildings

Clay mineral inventory in soils of Europe based on LUCAS 2015 survey soil samples
Clay mineral inventory in soils of Europe based on LUCAS 2015 survey soil samples
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2024

Clay minerals are a key factor in mineral soils as they are controlling physic, chemical and biological soil properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis has been widely used to identify and quantify minerals in earth science The aim of this research is to describe the clay minerals in soils of Europe and United Kingdom by using soil samples from the Land Use/Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) topsoil database sampled in 2015. A subset of 388 soil samples were selected from LUCAS 2015 topsoil survey. The clay fraction (<2 µm) was separated by sedimentation in distilled water. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) measurements have been carried out with a Siemens D5000 diffractometer with a graphite monochromator, using CuKα radiation at 40 kV and 40 mA. Clay mineralogy has been studied by measurement of basal spacing parameters on the clay fraction oriented in glass slides: 3 to 13 °2θ range 0.02 °2θ step size. The study involved the measurement of the 1. air-dried sample, 2. ethylene glycol solvated sample, 3. heat treatment at 110, 350 and 550 °C. Identification of clay minerals were based on the d-spacing value of their 00l (mainly 001) reflections after different diagnostic treatment. The semiquantitative composition of <2 µm fractions was estimated by using integrated areas of 00l reflections. Brief description of the clay mineralogy of all samples and semi quantitative mineral composition was performed at country level. The X-ray diffractograms after the different treatment (black = untreated, blue = ethylene glycol solvated, green = 110 °C, dark red = 350 °C, red = 550 °C) for each soil sample were analyzed. Majority clay minerals were compared to soils properties such as CEC, soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), and clay and sand content. Current descriptive analysis can be used to identify the most relevant clay minerals in soils of Europe. Monitoring over time can be used as soil health indicator to establish potential correlations between clay minerals and relevant threats as soil degradation, soil erosion, and soil pollution.

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EUSO annual bulletin 2023
EUSO annual bulletin 2023
Resource Type: Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports, Maps & Documents
Year: 2024

Healthy soils are essential for achieving climate neutrality and providing healthy food. The publication of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the proposed Soil Monitoring Law marked a major milestone for soil protection in the EU. It also highlighted the importance of the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) as the principal provider of soil-related data and knowledge at EU-level. The present report highlights the main activities of the EUSO in 2023. Through its activities in 2023, the EUSO provided policy support to a wide range of policy areas, including the proposed Soil Monitoring Law. The EUSO also launched the EU Soil Health Dashboard, a comprehensive and easy understandable monitor of the state of soil health in the EU. Furthermore, in 2023, the EUSO contributed to sharing data and knowledge about EU soils, supported soil research and innovation, and supported citizen engagements regarding soil matters. The activities of the Working Groups in 2023, a key element of the EUSO, included providing policy support, advancing scientific knowledge, and stimulating the integration of data. The present report also summarizes the EUSO’s activities planned in 2024. The EUSO will continue to provide policy support, e.g. on soil health assessment and soil monitoring. The EUSO Soil Health Dashboard will be updated with new available data and functionalities. In addition, the EUSO will continue to collaborate with Mission Soil research and innovation projects and continue to raise soil awareness among citizens.

 
IACS data sharing project - Final Report
IACS data sharing project - Final Report
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2023

The objectives of the ‘IACS65 data sharing project’ performed by the JRC were to make: IACS data more visible and accessible through the INSPIRE geoportal by the production and publication of discovery metadata for datasets and services, improve interoperability with other relevant data sets for the interest of public administration (LULUCF, crop classification, landscape features), ensure effective re-use through use cases, with a specific focus on soil, explore IACS data when it is integrated with third data bases, collaboration with the Member States (Paying agencies). Substantial progress has been made in the 30 months for the project thanks to AGRI/JRC efforts to facilitate IACS data sharing with Member States, even though data are not yet available for all Member States. Good results have been obtained and the positive trend along time was possible thanks to different EC actions, notably: publication of technical guidelines for the data discovery metadata and datasets metadata, adaptation of INSPIRE geoportal for better visibility of LPIS and GSA(A) (In line with the implementation action on High Value data sets) and trainings for the paying agencies, leading to exchange during workshops and conferences. Nevertheless, the efforts should continue.

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Indicators to support the soil perspectives in CAP
Indicators to support the soil perspectives in CAP
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2023
Attachments: PDF icon JRC132234.pdf

In this report, we evaluate the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from the soil perspective and provide baseline data for the two impact indicators (soil erosion, soil organic carbon) related to monitoring soil in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks across the EU28 for the 2018 were estimated by modelling the changes over a 9-year period from the 2009 baseline (data available in ESDAC) with a statistical model trained with LUCAS soil survey observations. In relation to spatial estimates of SOC stocks, it was observed a marked influence of environmental and site-specific edaphic conditions such as soil clay content. The combined effect of such natural property affecting soil organic carbon directly limits or enhances the potential of carbon sequestration by soil management practices. The mean SOC stock in the EU agricultural areas is about 57.5 t ha-1 (croplands mean stock: 46.6 t ha-1; grasslands mean stock: 84.6 t ha-1). A first-ever assessment at European scale combines the risks of water, wind, tillage and harvesting to reveal the cumulative impact on arable land. It is a basis for developing a comprehensive monitoring system for soil health. This first assessment could be the basis for a composite soil erosion indicator including all erosional processes. Summing up the total soil displacement of all erosional process, we estimate a 575 million tonnes of soil loss. According to our multi-model approach, water erosion is the most dominant erosional process contributing to 51% of the total soil loss in EU and UK. Compared to pre-2000, the soil erosion by water has been reduced by 20% in EU arable lands (reference year: 2016). The soil conservation efforts in the EU focused in a) increasing vegetation cover in arable lands through the year and b) reducing the tillage intensity.

Link: https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/public_path//shared_folder/doc_pub/JRC132234.pdf
EUSO Annual Bulletin - 2022
EUSO Annual Bulletin - 2022
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2023
Publisher: Publications Office of European Union
Attachments: PDF icon JRC133346.pdf

This report presents the activities of the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) that took place during 2021. Through its five main objectives, the EUSO contributes to improving the monitoring of soils, to creating and sharing knowledge and data about EU soils, in particular producing tailored outputs in support of policy development and to the wider public. These activities feed into the overarching knowledge management objective under which the EUSO provided extensive policy support to a range of policy areas, notably the upcoming Soil Health Law and the Horizon Europe’s Soil Mission.


A key element of the EU Soil Observatory are the six EUSO Working Groups (WG) that aim to discuss policy or technical advances on a particular topic. Their activities in 2022 were diverse and ranged from providing policy support (Soil Monitoring, Soil Pollution WGs), technical progress on integration of soil data (Soil Data WG) or advancing scientific knowledge about soils (Soil Erosion WG).


This report also highlights the developments to be expected in 2023. In particular, the EUSO will produce reports on soil pollution, soil organic carbon trends, pesticides in soils, land degradation and a soil fertility index and work on the state of soil health in the EU. A key development will be the publication of the EUSO soil health dashboard. The EUSO will support dedicated Soil Mission research projects and will continue to provide support for the upcoming Soil Health Law proposal. The EUSO is also planning a 2023 EU Soil Week.

Link: https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/public_path//shared_folder/doc_pub/JRC133346.pdf
Pesticides residues in European agricultural soils
Pesticides residues in European agricultural soils
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Scientific-Technical Reports
Year: 2023
In the past 20 years, the use of pesticides in agricultural lands have been target of several European Union (EU) regulations. More recently, and in line with several EU sustainability goals, the use of pesticides has been targeted by relevant policy ambitions aiming to reduce their use and risk following health and environmental concerns. Nonetheless, the current knowledge on soil contamination by pesticides residues is limited, due to a lack of systematic soil monitoring studies addressing soil pollution, especially at EU scale.
 
To fulfil this knowledge gap, the EU Soil Observatory led a study targeting residues of active ingredients of pesticides used as crop protection products in soil samples collected from the 2018 LUCAS survey. This is the largest study providing a comprehensive characterisation on the extent of residues of active ingredients from pesticides in the soils of the EU. This work establishes an initial EU baseline, and project a future assessment of the effectiveness of EU policies and regulations targeting pesticides use and soil pollution. Moreover, this study provides the first steps on the development of risk indicators for soil, allowing to present the first temporal assessment of pesticides in EU soils following a pilot study with samples from 2015 LUCAS survey.
 
This study highlights that pesticide residues in soils are widespread in the European agricultural land (74.5% sites), whereas most of the sites (57.1%) present mixtures of substances (two or more). Additionally, an indicator of the ecotoxicological impact for soil organisms was developed. This indicator compared the concentration of these substances with the no effect concentration (NOEC)
for soil organisms, identifying areas at higher risk (1.7% sites). But also, allowed to estimate an increase in ecotoxicological risk when compared with a previous assessment (2015-2018). Finally, among the substances found was also possible to identify banned and non-approved substances in soils (12%), according to the 2018 regulations (Regulation 1107/2009),The current study brought by the EU Soil Observatory and LUCAS 2018 soil module provides a significant contribution to the status of current knowledge on soil pollution in the EU. The insights provided in this report may help identifying target policies in creating a toxic-free environment.
 
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Patterns in soil microbial diversity across Europe
Patterns in soil microbial diversity across Europe
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2023

Factors driving microbial community composition and diversity are well established but the relationship with microbial functioning is poorly understood, especially at large scales. We analysed microbial biodiversity metrics and distribution of potential functional groups along a gradient of increasing land-use perturbation, detecting over 79,000 bacterial and 25,000 fungal OTUs in 715 sites across 24 European countries. We found the lowest bacterial and fungal diversity in less-disturbed environments (woodlands) compared to grasslands and highly-disturbed environments (croplands). Highly-disturbed environments contain significantly more bacterial chemoheterotrophs, harbour a higher proportion of fungal plant pathogens and saprotrophs, and have less beneficial fungal plant symbionts compared to woodlands and extensively-managed grasslands. Spatial patterns of microbial communities and predicted functions are best explained when interactions among the major determinants (vegetation cover, climate, soil properties) are considered. We propose guidelines for environmental policy actions and argue that taxonomical and functional diversity should be considered simultaneously for monitoring purposes.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37937-4
Climate change and cropland management compromise soil integrity and multifunctionality
Climate change and cropland management compromise soil integrity and multifunctionality
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2023

Soils provide essential ecosystem functions that are threatened by climate change and intensified land use. We explore how climate and land use impact multiple soil function simultaneously, employing two datasets: (1) observational – 456 samples from the European Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey; and (2) experimental – 80 samples from Germany’s Global Change Experimental Facility. We aim to investigate whether manipulative field experiment results align with observable climate, land use, and soil multifunctionality trends across Europe, measuring seven ecosystem functions to calculate soil multifunctionality. The observational data showed Europe-wide declines in soil multifunctionality under rising temperatures and dry conditions, worsened by cropland management. Our experimental data confirmed these relationships, suggesting that changes in climate will reduce soil multifunctionality across croplands and grasslands. Land use changes from grasslands to croplands threaten the integrity of soil systems, and enhancing soil multifunctionality in arable systems is key to maintain multifunctionality in a changing climate.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01047-2
Combining nitrification inhibitors with a reduced N rate maintains yield and reduces N₂O emissions in sweet corn
Combining nitrification inhibitors with a reduced N rate maintains yield and reduces N₂O emissions in sweet corn
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2023

Intensive vegetable production is characterised by high nitrogen (N) application rates and frequent irrigations, promoting elevated nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas indicative for the low N use efficiency (NUE) in these systems. The use of nitrification inhibitors (NI) has been promoted as an effective strategy to increase NUE and decrease N2O emissions in N-intensive agricultural systems. This study investigated the effect of two NIs, 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and 3-methylpyrazole 1,2,4-triazole (Piadin), on N2O emissions and 15N fertiliser recovery in a field experiment in sweet corn. The trial compared the conventional fertiliser N rate to a 20% reduced rate combined with either DMPP or Piadin. The use of NI-coated urea at a 20% reduced application rate decreased cumulative N2O emissions by 51% without yield penalty. More than 25% of applied N was lost from the conventional treatment, while a reduced N rate in combination with the use of a NI significantly decreased N fertiliser losses (by up to 98%). Across treatments, between 30 and 50% of applied N fertiliser remained in the soil, highlighting the need to account for residual N to optimise fertilisation in the following crop. The reduction of overall N losses without yield penalties suggests that the extra cost of using NIs can be compensated by reduced fertiliser application rates, making the use of NIs an economically viable management strategy for growers while minimising environmentally harmful N losses from vegetable growing systems.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-021-10185-y
Nonlinear response of N₂O and N₂ emissions to increasing soil nitrate availability in a tropical sugarcane soil
Nonlinear response of N₂O and N₂ emissions to increasing soil nitrate availability in a tropical sugarcane soil
Resource Type: Maps & Documents, Documents, Publications in Journals
Year: 2023

The reduction of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) to dinitrogen (N2) via denitrification and N2O source partitioning between nitrification and denitrification remain major uncertainties in sugarcane systems. We therefore investigated magnitude and product stoichiometry of denitrification and production pathways of N2O from a tropical sugarcane soil in response to increasing soil nitrate (NO3−) availability.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03482-2
Evaluation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15.3.1 indicator of land degradation in the European Union
Evaluation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15.3.1 indicator of land degradation in the European Union
Resource Type: Documents, Publications in Journals, Maps & Documents
Year: 2023

Land degradation is the persistent reduction in the capacity of the land to support human and other life on Earth (IPBES, 2018). This process jeopardizes the provision of ecosystem services. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, ‘Life on Land’, includes efforts to sustainably manage and recover natural ecosystems and restore degraded land and soil. Under the umbrella of SDG 15, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has defined an indicator framework to monitor progress toward ‘land degradation neutrality’. We evaluated the performance of SDG 15.3.1, focusing on “…proportion of land that is degraded over the total land area” for the European Union (EU) using the TRENDS.EARTH software. We assessed the impact of alternative datasets at different spatial resolutions and policy-relevant data sources for land cover (CORINE) and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock (LUCAS). Our hypothesis was that higher spatial resolution sub-indicators would better identify the total share of degraded land and provide a clearer picture of the extent of degraded land for the target period. Land productivity trajectories were adjusted using the Water Use Efficiency index that revealed the high share of improving land reported by the NDVI trends. Therefore, it is advisable to use always a climate correction to assess land productivity trends. Replacing default datasets with alternative sub-indicators allowed the detection of 25–40% more degraded areas. Additionally, the integration with a combined proxy of land degradation (soil erosion >10 Mg ha−1 yr−1, and SOC concentration <1%) identified an additional 50% land degradation and revealed that a large extent of the EU needs restoration measures.