Soil Health BENCHMARKS

🔔 We're ready to kickstart the 𝐄𝐔 𝐒𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 in Brussels!

Join the conversation on implementing soil health policy across Europe by following the 🔴 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 09:15–11:50 𝐂𝐄𝐓: lnkd.in/eDcfC9Sn

🌱 EU Soil Policy Dialogue | 19 Jan, Brussels

Soil health is moving from policy to practice. With the EU Soil Monitoring Law approved, the focus is now on how to implement soil health across EU & national frameworks.

🔴 Live stream 09:15–11:50 CET
👉 webstreaming.cor.europa.eu/en/cor/eu-so...

@rachelcreamer.bsky.social

Throughout Mission Soil Week, one theme resonated strongly: farmers and land managers must be at the heart of Europe’s soil health transition. Supporting them requires more than policies and indicators – it requires listening.

🎥Watch Prof Rachel Creamer's reflection: www.youtube.com/watch?v=le6D...

📢We've just launched the Soil Stakeholder Insights Explorer, an online interactive tool that collects insights from 600+ stakeholders in 21 workshops across 24 case studies and 9 European countries.

👉Explore the tool: ecoenvai.ijs.si/benchmarks/s...

@paolodilo.bsky.social

🌱 Today, #BENCHMARKS presenting at #EUROSOIL2025:

🗣️ Paolo Di Lonardo |12:30–12:45
“𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴: 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯”
🗣️ Tiina Törmänen | 14:45–15:00
“𝘚𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥-𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘝𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘝𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯”

Today at 6pm, #BENCHMARKS Scientific Project Manager Paolo Di Lonardo @paolodilo.bsky.social joins the British Society of Soil Science panel “Missions to Protect Soil” at #EUROSOIL to throwh light on the progress being made at BENCHMARKS and the project’s potential impact on soil health assessment.🌱

PLUS: Mon 8 Sep (18:00), Paolo Di Lonardo joins the British Society of Soil Science workshop “Missions to Protect Soil” 🌱

📅 Wed 10 Sep
🔹 Rachel Creamer (12:30) – Soil biota as soil health indicators
🔹 Felix J David (12:45) – Impact of Soil Biodiversity Loss on Soil Processes and Ecosystem Functions
🔹 Carmen Vazquez Martin (15:00) – Soil biology, soil health & ecosystem services

📅 Tue 9 Sep
🔹 Paolo Di Lonardo (12:30) – Rethinking soil health in urban systems
🔹 Tiina Törmänen (14:45) – Soil properties & forest vegetation variation

We're heading to #Eurosoil2025 in Seville! Our team will share our latest research on soil health, biodiversity & ecosystem services, and discuss #BENCHMARKS's impact on soil health assessment.

We look forward to connecting with the soil science community!

#SoilHealth #EUSoilMission

What are the key themes, turning points & research gaps in 25 years of soil health research?

Read this new study to find out: 👉 www.frontiersin.org/journals/soi...

#SoilHealth #BENCHMARKS #ScienceToPolicy #HorizonEU

Sample of the protocols

📢BENCHMARKS Soil Sampling Protocols have just been published! This is a major step toward standardised soil health monitoring in Europe. Congratulations to all collaborators!

🚜🌳Ag and forest: tinyurl.com/ycyahprw
🧪Ag & forest experimental sites: tinyurl.com/mpampnah
🏙️Urban: tinyurl.com/n3rttpxu

Response of soil biota to agricultural management practices: A systematic quantitative meta-data-analysis and method selection framework Soil organisms are vital to soil health, however, their inclusion in monitoring frameworks remains limited. Yet, it is well-known that agricultural ma…

How do agricultural practices impact soil organisms? 🌱 A recent #BENCHMARKS study found that sustainable practices support soil health, and developed a new scoring system for selecting biological indicators.

Access it here: tinyurl.com/3hbmpmdy
#SoilHealth #BENCHMARKS #SoilBiota

Are you interested in learning more about soil health and biological measurements? Then register for our lab skills course focused on the biological aspects of soil health. It takes place the 1st week in September 2025, but register early as places go quite quickly. Max 25 persons.

Our brilliant Project Coordinator @paolodilo.bsky.social will present #BENCHMARKS at the EGU General Assembly 2025 in Vienna!

🗓️ 30 Apr 2025
📍 Session: SSS4.11 – Soil health under global change and human impact

🔗 Full details: meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/EGU25-...

#EGU25 #SoilHealth

Soil monitoring law: Council reaches deal with Parliament The Council reached a provisional deal with the European Parliament on a directive to improve monitoring and assessment of all soils within the EU.

EU environmental law - new legislation on soil monitoring agreed
www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...

🧪 “Soil health is the glue” that sustains life and drives us forward!

At the BENCHMARKS AGM in Nancy, project partners gathered for strategic discussions, hands-on workshops and community building for healthier soils in Europe. 🌱

Read more: soilhealthbenchmarks.eu/soil-health-...

#SoilHealth

🧪 Project Manager @paolodilo.bsky.social joins the organising committee + leads an exclusive Wageningen lab tour – April 7
🗣️ Titia Mulder joins the panel on tech + soil data (Earth Observation, AI, Spectroscopy) – April 8
🌾 Fabio Volkmann gives a keynote on farmer-led soil regeneration – April 10

Soil Health Now - European Conference 8–10 April 2025, Wageningen International Conference Center (WICC), Wageningen A 3-day international conference with keynotes, discussion forums, oral talks, workshops and demonstrations + fieldwork

BENCHMARKS is joining the Soil Health Now! conference in Wageningen, NL — April 8–10, 2025!

We’re proud to have strong presence at this key event on European soil health! Check the details in the thread.

Join us:
🔗 2025.ai4soilhealth.eu

#BENCHMARKS #SoilHealthNow #HorizonEU

Paolo Di Lonardo on LinkedIn: Luciana Chavez Rodriguez and I spent 3 wonderful days at EcoEnvAI… Luciana Chavez Rodriguez and I spent 3 wonderful days at EcoEnvAI (Ljubljana, SI) where we met with Marko Debeljak, Manca Topole, Bojan Blažica, Vid Podpečan…

@lucianachr.bsky.social and I spent 3 wonderful days at EcoEnvAI (Ljubljana, SI) where we met with Marko Debeljak and his team, to discuss the development of @shbenchmarks.bsky.social. Follow the link for more insight: www.linkedin.com/posts/paolod...

How LUCAS soil data supports EU policy and research - AI4SoilHealth Data from the LUCAS soil database has revealed a critical warning: 60-70% of Europe’s soil is now classified as unhealthy. But what exactly is LUCAS soil, and

Data from the LUCAS soil database has revealed a critical warning: 60-70% of Europe’s soil is now classified as unhealthy. But what exactly is LUCAS soil, and how does it gather this essential data?

Find out in this blog by Lucas Gomes
@aarhusuniint.bsky.social
ai4soilhealth.eu/how-lucas-so...

📢 🪱 Earthworms enthusiasts 😁 : The official website for the 13th Symposium on Earthworm Ecology is now live! ✨ 🪱
📅 SAVE THE DATE: August 23-28, 2026 in Wageningen, the Netherlands
🔗 Check it out and stay tuned for updates!
event.wur.nl/isee13/home-2
📸Amazing pictures @frankashwood.bsky.social

📣We are delighted to announce that BENCHMARKS Project Manager Paolo Di Lonardo @paolodilo.bsky.social will speak at the 4th Annual Meeting of the International Network on Soil Biodiversity (NETSOB) to discuss soil biodiversity.

📆26th Feb
🕜13.30

Register: lnkd.in/eZsJvDRc

#SoilHealth #BENCHMARKS

‼️ Last Chance to Register for Soil Health Now! 🌱

Join us April 8-10 at WICC, Wageningen, The Netherlands, to discuss #SoilHealth #SoilScience #SoilMonitoring #CarbonFarming

⏳ Registration closes 1 Feb 2025!

👉 Secure your spot: pretix.eu/opengeohubfo...

Excited to announce the registration is open for the 2025 lab skills course. This course introduces a range of soil biology techniques for assessing soil functions and soil health. For details on registration, dates and programme see below

Original picture credits go to Pinus Sylvestris, Kutschera, L.; Lichtenegger, E., "Wurzelatlas mitteleuropäischer Waldbäume und Sträucher". - Graz, Stuttgart : Leopold Stocker Verlag, 2002 (2. Aufl. 2013). - 604 p.

This season, as Christmas trees 🌲 grace many of our homes, let’s flip the perspective: the roots beneath rely on healthy soil for life. Here’s to the hidden pillars of healthy growth! 🌱

Happy holidays from BENCHMARKS—wishing you warmth, gratitude & reflection! 🌟

#SoilHealth #Roots #BENCHMARKS

🌱 Soil Blitz events by Earthwatch Europe in partnership with BENCHMARKS empower communities to protect soil health. The latest, with Wij.Land at De Vooruitgang farm (NL), saw 25 farmers assess soil health. Stay tuned for more citizen science updates! 📸credits Earthwatch Europe. #SoilHealth

📢 Calling Stakeholders! Join SOILSCAPE, a 4-year EU-funded project to promote soil health by 2030. Partner with UNESCO & connect with experts from science, arts, & culture to build a Soil Literacy movement. 🌱 Apply now: tinyurl.com/bdhntftr
#SoilHealth #SOILSCAPE #HorizonEurope #ArtForSoil