How the EU Soil Observatory is providing solid science for healthy soils

作者：Panos Panagos, Nils Broothaerts, Cristiano Ballabio, Alberto Orgiazzi, Daniele De Rosa, Pasquale Borrelli, Leonidas Liakos, Diana Vieira, Elise Van Eynde, Cristina Arias‐Navarro, Timo Breure, Arthur Nicolaus Fendrich, Julia Köninger, Maëva Labouyrie, Francis Matthews, Anna Muntwyler, Juan Martin Jimenez, Piotr Wojda, Felipe Yunta, Anne Dalles Maréchal, Serenella Sala, Arwyn Jones · 发表于：European Journal of Soil Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1111/ejss.13507 · 被引用次数：67 · 研究领域：Land Use and Management、Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology

Abstract Healthy soils are essential for sustainable food production, achieving climate neutrality and halting the loss of biodiversity. The European Commission turned the spotlights on these vital aspects of soils with the launch of the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) in 2021 to support the European Green Deal. Also, the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the proposed Soil Monitoring Law marked a major milestone for soil protection. This article provides an overview of the functioning of the EUSO within this policy context. Through its activities, the EUSO supports an EU‐wide soil monitoring system and provides policy support to a wide range of policy areas. Moreover, the EUSO monitors the state of soil health in the EU through the EUSO Soil Health Dashboard. This comprehensive and easy understandable tool shows, for the first time, where current scientific evidence converges to indicate areas in the EU likely to be affected by soil degradation. Furthermore, the EUSO supports soil research and innovation, enhances the capacity and functionality of the European Soil Data Centre and supports citizen engagements regarding soil matters. Overall, since 2021, the EUSO has successfully taken up its role to be the principal knowledge hub for soil information and data to underpin EU policy development and implementation. Also in the next years, EUSO will continue to provide data and knowledge to monitor, safeguard and restore soils in the EU.