Dossier
Soil Health
Healthy soils are vital. For our food production, for water retention, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, underground and above-ground biodiversity. Unfortunately, the quality and health of our soils is deteriorating rapidly. Time for a change: the European Commission has presented a new Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience, to legally protect the soil. In this dossier, Wageningen experts will show you the importance of soil and what is needed to manage our soils sustainably.
Soil health and why it needs Europe-wide protection
Seventeen soil experts of Wageningen University & Research have collaboratively written a policy discussion note on the importance of soil health and a European Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive.
Read the Policy discussion note on Soil Health (June 2023)
Read more about the proposed Directive
How does WUR work on soil health?
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EU Horizon Research Project: Soil Health Benchmarks
- BENCHMARKS proposes co-development within 24 European Living Labs of a multi-scale and multi-user focused monitoring framework that is transparent, harmonised and cost-effective. Underpinned by the best scientific knowledge and technologies this framework provides a clear soil health index for benchmarking, using indicators that are pertinent to the objective of assessment, applicable to the land use and logistically feasible. -
Soil quality and ecosystem services (SIREN)
- Based on CAP, Green Deal and SDGs, the EU is considering in the Mission on Soil Health the goal of having at least 75% of all soils healthy and able to provide functions and services by 2030 (MBS 2020). To make this possible, there is a major scientific challenge to elaborate suitable indicators, with associated reference values (natural background), target values (e.g. in the light of sustainable soil management) and threshold values (target values triggering action). In the light of these developments, LNV is preparing to monitor and steer soil quality and ecosystem services to which soil contributes. LNV wants all soils in the Netherlands to be used sustainably by 2030. This requires indicators for both soil quality and health and the potential and actual extent of ecosystem services. Various projects are underway on indicators for soil quality and their monitoring. With regard to soil health and broadening sustainable use and integrating management and policy towards other environmental compartments, including on the basis of natural capital and ecosystem services, some knowledge and communication between the parties concerned still need to be developed. There is a need for a picture of variation in the level of soil quality and that of ecosystem services (level in relation to threshold values, reference values and target levels). -
SPRINT
- Farming systems in Europe rely strongly on the use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) to secure profitability, yields, and safety in food production. The knowledge on the effects of the wide-scale use of PPPs on humans (and animals) as consumers and residents, and ecosystems is scarce and fragmented. -
Embodied Ecologies
- Among the existential threats that require lifestyle and policy changes for humans to live within the boundaries of planetary sustainability, one issue remains both under-studied and under-regulated: our growing use of synthetic chemicals that accumulate in our bodies, leading to a range of serious health problems. There is a grim, emerging consensus that the problem is beyond our control, with the unknown cumulative effects of exposures rendering the establishing of causal relationships between exposures and health effects impossible.
More projects on soil health
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Visual soil assessment for improved farm and ecosystem management
- PhD project Maricke van Leeuwen -
Management Bodem en Landgebruik
- The Key Register Subsurface (BRO) is a central database with public data on the Dutch subsurface. The BRO builds on existing registrations of subsurface data, such as BIS Nederland (Soil Information System) managed by Wageningen Environmental Research and DINO (Data and Information of the Dutch Subsurface) of TNO. In addition, the deep mining law-related data, which is currently provided via NLOG (NL Oil and Gas Portal), will be included in the BRO. -
Knowledge dissemination Soil and Land use
- The soil and water system is becoming increasingly important for the major tasks that we have in the Netherlands. Thanks to the Soil Information System (BIS) and the inclusion of many of these data and maps (models) in the BRO, this information is accessible to everyone. Promoting this use, application and possibilities is of great importance. -
Soil quality and ecosystem services (SIREN)
- Based on CAP, Green Deal and SDGs, the EU is considering in the Mission on Soil Health the goal of having at least 75% of all soils healthy and able to provide functions and services by 2030 (MBS 2020). To make this possible, there is a major scientific challenge to elaborate suitable indicators, with associated reference values (natural background), target values (e.g. in the light of sustainable soil management) and threshold values (target values triggering action). In the light of these developments, LNV is preparing to monitor and steer soil quality and ecosystem services to which soil contributes. LNV wants all soils in the Netherlands to be used sustainably by 2030. This requires indicators for both soil quality and health and the potential and actual extent of ecosystem services. Various projects are underway on indicators for soil quality and their monitoring. With regard to soil health and broadening sustainable use and integrating management and policy towards other environmental compartments, including on the basis of natural capital and ecosystem services, some knowledge and communication between the parties concerned still need to be developed. There is a need for a picture of variation in the level of soil quality and that of ecosystem services (level in relation to threshold values, reference values and target levels). -
PPP Better Soil Management, integral and practice-oriented
- Both the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (parliamentary letter of May 2018), and private parties (in the National Programme on Agricultural Soils) have indicated as a target that all agricultural soils in the Netherlands should be managed sustainably by 2030. In the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Sustainable Soil Management from 2013-2016, and the follow-on PPP from 2017-2020 (TKI-AF 16064, www.beterbodembeheer.nl), knowledge has been developed on sustainable soil management in field crops. This continuation is needed to further develop and integrate the knowledge gained into action perspectives for sustainable soil management for farmers and their agribusiness partners. -
Embodied Ecologies
- Among the existential threats that require lifestyle and policy changes for humans to live within the boundaries of planetary sustainability, one issue remains both under-studied and under-regulated: our growing use of synthetic chemicals that accumulate in our bodies, leading to a range of serious health problems. There is a grim, emerging consensus that the problem is beyond our control, with the unknown cumulative effects of exposures rendering the establishing of causal relationships between exposures and health effects impossible. -
Influence of weather extremes on soil quality
- The KNMI has reported that the Netherlands are increasingly confronted with more extreme weather conditions. It is not yet sufficiently clear how and to what extent these weather extremes affect soil quality and what the subsequent impact is on the production capacity, groundwater quality and soil biodiversity. In this preliminary study, we take a first step towards filling these gaps in knowledge. -
Soil hydro-physics
- Hydro-Physics soil data is receiving increasing attention because of its great importance in studies of soil subsidence, carbon sequestration, soil compaction, flooding, etc. Therefore this data is structurally recorded within the BRO and in a few years' time in INSPIRE. The data is subject to increasingly stringent requirements. This project aims to meet this demand.
Meet the experts
Rachel Creamer
Soil health policy should be clear about the challenges and objectives and needs to recognise the vital role of farmers and other land managers in management of soil health.
Edwin Alblas
It is high time policymakers provided firm legal protection for healthy soils, which are fundamental to life and essential for the protection of people and the environment.
Liesje Mommer
The majority of soils across Europe are in poor condition as a result of unsustainable human activities. This has serious consequences for the health of people, the environment we live in, and the ecosystems of our planet.
Jeanne Nel
Science-based frameworks and engagement processes already exist to allow local actors to develop context-sensitive strategies for managing and monitoring soil health.
Esmer Jongedijk
It is clear that soil health and human health are connected through several interconnected pathways: soil, water, vegetable and animal foods, and air. To protect this system, a "one-health" approach is essential.
Janjo de Haan
A lot of societal issues are being imposed on farmers via policy regulations, without providing financial compensation and future perspectives. Soil health policy should therefore be made through a joint search together with farmers.
News on soil health
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Petition calls for the proposed EU Soil Health Law to be supported, but also tightened
- The response of WUR soil scientists’ to the proposed EU Soil Health Law has been met with broad support among scientists of WUR and beyond. “It’s good that there is finally a proposal, but we think the law could be even stricter,” says Fenny van Egmond. -
Home-grown: WUR-experts on the new EU soil legislation
- The soil will likely be legally protected under EU law in the future. WUR researchers wrote a policy discussion document to provide the European Commission with scientific advice. What is their message to Brussels? -
The sprint towards a sustainable future
- More than 2,000 pesticides are used for agricultural production in Europe, yet knowledge about the effects of pesticide residue mixtures on ecosystems and human health is scarce and scattered. The SPRINT project investigates the occurrence and resulting impact of these mixtures on ecosystems and humans. -
Lighthouse farms: a future for farming and food
- What will the world of farming and food look like in 2050? It is becoming harder to predict. But one thing is clear: we need to prepare for a new approach to agriculture. An approach that delivers not only food, but also on the many other expectations of society: e.g. clean water, clean air, room for biodiversity, climate neutrality. An approach that is ready for the many shocks that are becoming the norm, rather than the exception: bio-physical shocks, such as droughts, flooding, heat, frost, and socio-economic shocks, such as supply chain disruptions. -
Illuminating soil biodiversity interactions with links to nutrient cycling and therefore global change
- Soil biodiversity is driving major nutrient cycling pathways, particularly that of carbon. In fact, bacteria and fungi underlie most carbon released to the atmosphere and with increasing temperature this process will accelerate such as because the dominant soil carbon pool stored in permafrost soils will be released. However, the precise role of this biotic part in carbon cycling is unknown and therefore Earth Systems Models differ mostly in the contribution of soil biota to the carbon cycle. Furthermore, while it is increasingly known that predators control microbiome functioning, the impact and contribution of microbiome predators (protists and nematodes) to microbiome functioning, in particular to carbon cycling but also the cycling of other elements remains unknown. -
Examining soil biodiversity in natural systems and their role in plant vegetation dynamics
- Soils contain most biodiversity on Earth and drive major functions such as global elemental cycles and plant community changes. However, we still miss most knowledge on the true biodiversity present in soil and the functional importance of most soil biota especially in soil multifunctionality. -
Deciphering the role of soil biodiversity in sustainable farming practices
- Farming practices are in need for change due to the many negative side-effects induced by conventional agriculture. One largely unexplored possibility of increasing sustainable farming practices is embedded in soil biodiversity including the microbiome and various animals. We aim to fill this gap focusing on various aspects of soil biodiversity (microbiome, nematodes, etc.), in diverse sustainable management practices like intercropping and optimised rotational practices. -
Sustainable and yet highly productive agriculture
- The Netherlands is committed to developing a sustainable and highly productive food system, with less use of fertilisers, water and pesticides, and more biodiversity and crop diversity. To help achieve this goal, WUR is conducting research into ecological arable farming systems based on strip cropping and mixed cropping. -
Regenerative agriculture needs to be made more concrete and measurable
- Regenerative agriculture could be a new and more sustainable solution for our current food production system. For his PhD research, Loekie Schreefel examined how regenerative agriculture works and how it could be implemented. -
WUR researchers collaborate on underground film
- The nature documentary Living Soil was in cinemas in march 2023. The film takes the audience on an underground journey, to the world of worms, moles and fungi. Multiple WUR researchers were involved in the production, including soil experts Ingrid Lubbers and Jan Willem van Groenigen. They both feature in the film, and are very excited about the final product.