Announcements

Soils are the foundation of life on Earth. They provide food, regulate water, store carbon, host immense biodiversity, and underpin human wellbeing. In Europe, soils are facing increasing pressures from climate change, unsustainable land management, urbanisation, and pollution. As a result, soil degradation threatens the resilience of ecosystems, the security of food production, and the achievement of the European Green Deal.

In 2021, the European Union launched the Soil Strategy for 2030 and the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, setting ambitious goals for soil health and sustainability. Yet, bridging the gap between science, policy, and societal action remains a challenge. The Soils for Europe conference, organised by the SOLO consortium in partnership with other Mission Soil projects, responds to this need by creating a space for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration across all Soil Mission Objectives, disciplines and sectors.

Taking place from 7-11 September 2026, in Coimbra, Portugal, the conference will cover all Mission Objectives and include cross-cutting sessions, showcasing the latest research being developed across Europe. Mission Soil projects will present their most recent work, allowing attendees to discover the newest innovations and initiatives. 

The conference will also feature a “Living Labs Day,” dedicated to exhibiting the work of the many Living Labs across Europe focused on soil health. Representatives from these will have the opportunity to present their projects, innovations, and activities, and to engage directly with conference participants.

The event targets a broad audience, including researchers and academics in soil science and related fields, policymakers at European, national, and regional levels, land managers, farmers, foresters, and other practitioners, civil society organisations and NGOs, industry and private-sector actors involved in sustainable soil management, and students and early-career professionals who represent the next generation of soil experts.

You can find out more on the conference website and by keeping an eye on SOLO’s LinkedIn and X channels for news and updates - the call for abstracts will open soon! 

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Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101091115, SOLO (Soils for Europe).

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Soils are the foundation of life on Earth, providing clean water and supporting biodiversity; they are the core of food production and an ally in climate change mitigation. Unfortunately, soil is a finite natural resource that has long been under threat, with more than 60% of soils in the EU estimated to be unhealthy. 

To combat this, the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 is dedicated to improving soil health, leading to the establishment of the EU Soil Mission. This includes Horizon Europe-funded project Soils for Europe (SOLO), whose main objective is to identify current knowledge gaps, bottlenecks, and drivers, proposing novel approaches to be considered by the Soil Mission, and support the transition towards healthier soils by 2030. 

To achieve this, the project has established nine Think Tanks working on Soil Mission objectives, each producing an annual outlook on the knowledge gaps needed to reach its objective. The Think Tanks bring together a mix of SOLO partners and external stakeholders who, through annual collaboration and knowledge exchange, co-create outlooks addressing Research and Innovation (R&I) knowledge gaps for the Soil Mission. The project also hosts yearly cross-fertilisation meetings, where members and stakeholders meet in person to further develop these outlooks, the most recent of which took place in October 2025 in Portugal. Every year, new versions of the outlook documents are created and made available for open review on SOLO’s platform, encouraging interested parties to contribute to the texts and become a part of SOLO’s journey. 

This year, SOLO is proud to share its first official Outlook of Soil Health Research and Innovation R&I for 2025, providing an overview of the project and bringing all individual outlooks in one place. The Outlook offers a comprehensive overview of the EU’s current knowledge and innovation needs to improve soil health. It identifies key knowledge gaps, bottlenecks, and recommended actions for relevant soil health topics, each corresponding to one of SOLO’s Think Tanks, namely: 

• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to improve soil structure 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to reduce soil erosion 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps  to improve nature conservation of soil biodiversity 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps related to soil literacy 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to reduce soil sealing and increase the reuse of urban soils 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to reduce land degradation in Europe  
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to conserve and increase soil organic carbon stocks 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to reduce the EU global footprint on soils 
• Outlook on the knowledge gaps to soil pollution and restoration

Read the “Outlook 2025: Soil Health R&I Knowledge Gaps”. 

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Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101091115, SOLO (Soils for Europe).

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

If the recent adoption of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive highlights anything, it is the vital importance that healthy soils have for all life on Earth, and the urgency to act on their protection. 

Horizon Europe-funded project Soils for Europe’s (SOLO) main objective is to identify current knowledge gaps, bottlenecks, and drivers, proposing novel approaches to be considered by the Soil Mission, dedicated to transitioning towards healthier soils by 2030. 

From 14 to 17 October 2025, SOLO held its annual stakeholder meeting, hosted by one of its partners, the University of Évora, in Portugal. The four-day event welcomed project partners and external stakeholders alike, with two days reserved for a consortium meeting and two days open to stakeholders. 

The consortium days consisted of a project meeting, allowing partners to better catch up on each other’s activities since their last in-person meeting in Lund in May 2025. All Work Packages presented their progress over the previous months and mapped out their next steps.

SOLO coordinator Carlos Guerra (University of Coimbra) gave much-awaited updates regarding the organisation of the Soils for Europe conference in 2026, and partners delved into dynamic discussions regarding the life and future of the project; from more practical things, such as planning concrete actions, to considering their vision of SOLO’s work and legacy. 

The stakeholder days were a mixture of discussions and interactive activities, including a study visit. Stakeholders and partners were welcomed by Oliveira Soares in his livestock and cork farm in Alentejo, where he walked them around the land and shared his experience with regenerative soil practices.

The farm, which has been in Oliveira’s family for centuries and under his governance for 50 years now, is dedicated to practices prioritising soil health. One such example is that Soares has implemented a no-till policy on his land - a move he was initially warned against. Despite being told that no-tillage would lead to soil compaction from the cattle, eventually harming the farm, he was not dissuaded. What he found instead was quite the opposite: soil became healthier and more fertile. “Tillage in a climate like ours is dramatic for erosion”, he shared with his guests.

During the study visit, participants had many opportunities to walk through the land and discuss such approaches with Soares. Closing conversations raised questions of transferability, highlighting climate change as an important factor to consider - how can certain regenerative farming practices and approaches be transmitted to other farms and climates? 

Beyond the study visit, stakeholders were involved in interactive activities across Think Tanks. They circled through roundtables, co-creating timelines for the mapped actions corresponding to those particular Think Tanks’ knowledge gaps and bottlenecks. 

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Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101091115, SOLO (Soils for Europe).

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Healthy soils are crucial for reaching climate neutrality, fostering a clean and circular economy, and combating desertification and land degradation. They are also vital for reversing biodiversity loss, ensuring access to nutritious food, and protecting human health. 

Unfortunately, the state of soils in Europe is under threat, with an estimated 60-70% of soils being unhealthy due to issues such as erosion, agricultural intensification, urban expansion and climate change. In response, the EU has launched the Soil Mission, which aims to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to support the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

SOLO’s objective is aligned with the EU Soil Mission by establishing a hub for soil health research and innovation. As part of the project, Think Tanks have been established, each corresponding to different objectives of the Soil Mission. They facilitate knowledge exchange and co-develop EU Research and Innovation roadmaps. 

From 4 to 7 November 2024, SOLO held its second face-to-face stakeholder workshop, hosted by the project partners Pensoft Publishers, in Sofia, Bulgaria. The four-day meeting was attended by 60 participants, both project partners and external stakeholders, with two days dedicated to stakeholder workshops. 

The stakeholder days were filled with interactive activities designed to foster collaboration between the Think Tanks and encourage knowledge exchange. These activities included workshops, matchmaking sessions, and world cafés, with several brainstorming sessions where participants worked on visually representing key concepts related to the Soil Mission. Discussions covered various topics such as soil and water management, regional policies for farmers, and more. The core of the event was collaboration, with Think Tank members mixing throughout the days to share expertise and provide guidance in overcoming bottlenecks and developing roadmaps. 

Notably, the SOLO roadmaps are the cornerstone of the project. Developed by the Think Tanks and often co-authored with stakeholders, they address the main knowledge gaps on soil research and innovation across different Soil Mission Objectives and are available for public review on the SOLO platform. The SOLO platform is an open-access platform which allows you to explore project-related documents, serving as a comprehensive tool for authoring, reviewing, publishing, hosting, and archiving. 

The final day of the meeting provided the consortium with an opportunity to reflect on the previous sessions, as well as host a session on the upcoming "Soil Weeks"—annual events in each project country designed to discuss the Soil Mission objectives, gather national-level feedback, and support the identification of knowledge gaps.

Overall, the meeting offered a valuable opportunity for collaboration among the Think Tanks, enabling them to support one another in identifying bottlenecks, knowledge gaps, and potential solutions. A lot of valuable insight was gained, which will be integrated as the project moves forward. 

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Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101091115, SOLO (Soils for Europe).

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.